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‘Satan Himself Lives In San Pedro,’ Honduras: Scary Pictures Of The Most Violent City On Earth

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‘Satan Himself Lives In San Pedro,’ Honduras: Scary Pictures Of The Most Violent City On Earth"Satan himself lives here in San Pedro," a mortician from the second largest city in Honduras told The Guardian. "People here kill people like they're nothing more than chickens."

With a murder rate of 169 per 100,000 people in 2011, San Pedro Sula was named the world's most violent city in a study by Mexico's Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice.

Over the last few years, homicides in Honduras have risen, even while violence falls in neighboring countries like El Salvador and Guatemala.

Arms and drug trafficking have flooded the country, contributing to high gang violence. Lax gun laws (civilians can own up to five personal firearms), corruption, and poverty make life in San Pedro Sula even worse.

What's more, inmates have controlled Honduras' 24 prisons since the state gave up on rehabilitating convicts, according to a recent report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

-In 2008, the mounting number of murders forced San Pedro Sula to store bodies in refrigerated trucks before transporting them to mass-burial sites.--A military coup ousted former president Manuel Zelaya in 2009, and the tense political environment only caused more problems. Here, one of his supporters holds his photo during a protest in San Pedro Sula, many of which turned violent.-

Source: New York Times-A shocking incident in 2010 saw 18 people massacred in a shoe shop as part of a gang war. This photo shows police searching for weapons the very next day.-
See the rest of the story at Business Insider Reported by Business Insider 10 minutes ago.

A Remote-Controlled Car That Fears No Terrain

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This drone can handle any terrain: It flies, drive on ground and even glides on water

The radio-controlled gadget, which weighs less than one pound, was unveiled during the Tokyo Toy Show, which took places from June 12 to 15. Made by Takara Tomy, it's called the Earth Rider RC (or "Land Sea Air RC").

See also: 12 WTF Things at the New York Toy Fair

The drone's tires keep it afloat when it lands on water, and the propellers that keep it in the air help it move on water's surface

This isn't the first gadget that has been able to switch from land to air to water. But where this one seems to differ is how it moves forward; rather than powered wheels, the force from the propeller makes it move like a car or boat Read more...

More about Tech, Gadgets, and Drone Reported by Mashable 6 hours ago.

Earth's oldest rocks hold essential ingredient for life

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A critical building block for creating the first life on Earth was found in 3.8-billion-year-old rocks from Isua, Greenland, researchers reported at the annual Goldschmidt geochemistry conference. Reported by FOXNews.com 5 hours ago.

Gearheads, gawkers drawn to 'Vette museum sinkhole

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(AP) — For years, just enough hardcore classic car lovers and curious travelers wandered through the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky to keep the doors open. When the earth opened up in February, stunned museum officials first saw it as a devastating setback as they assessed the wreckage to the cars and building. [...] in the months since, business has shifted into over-drive, a welcome development for an attraction that struggled years ago to stay afloat. Since reopening after a one-day closure, attendance is up nearly 50 percent from the same period a year ago; previously, the museum averaged about 150,000 visitors a year. Museum officials say it's shaping up as the biggest prolonged surge in the attraction's nearly 20-year history, much of it because of the giant hole and damaged cars exhumed from the abyss. The attendance surge doesn't surprise Jason Swanson, a University of Kentucky assistant professor in hospitality management and tourism. At the Corvette museum, officials first set up a webcam that allowed thousands of people to follow the painstaking work to retrieve the fallen cars and reinforce the area around the sinkhole. Reported by SeattlePI.com 6 hours ago.

Hutchinson to celebrate its Superman origins claim

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A Kansas city that claims to be the inspiration for Superman's hometown on Earth plans to celebrate the supposed link with a festival later this week. Reported by Miami Herald 6 hours ago.

36-year-old NASA probe may not return to duties yet

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A group looking to reboot the International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 probe has been delayed by NASA's approval process. Reported by Christian Science Monitor 5 hours ago.

Pilot for skydivers takes first leap after accident

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As last skydiver on Shawn Kinmartin's Cessna exited the plane, he damaged its controls and sent it hurtling towards the Earth Reported by CBS News 6 hours ago.

Oldest Rocks On Earth Found To Contain Key Building Block Of Life

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A critical building block for creating the first life on Earth was found in 3.8-billion-year-old rocks from Isua, Greenland, researchers reported this week here at the annual Goldschmidt geochemistry conference.

For the first time, rich concentrations of the element boron have been found in Isua's ancient marine rocks, study author Takeshi Kakegawa, a professor at Tohoku University in Japan, said Monday (June 9). The discovery signals that boron was circulating in seawater and was absorbed by marine clays, which eventually became tourmaline, he said.

Boron can stabilize ribose, one of three key components of RNA. Ribose, an organic sugar molecule, has a short half-life and naturally decomposes without a stabilizer. Many researchers think life on Earth descended from RNA, which self-assembled from building blocks such as ribose. [7 Wild Theories on the Origin of Life]

Until now, theories for the origin of RNA life pointed to RNA-based chemicals arriving on Earth from Mars. That's because Earth's first rocks and oceans seemed devoid of boron, which takes the form of borate minerals on Earth. On Mars, clays with boron and another RNA stabilizer, molybdenum, are abundant.

"I want to challenge this idea that the early ocean was borate free," Kakegawa said. "The early ocean already contained borate, and therefore, early Earth — not Mars — could provide environments to stabilize ribose."

The Isua rocks are among the oldest pieces of crust still around from Earth's earliest eons. The layers were deposited under a liquid water ocean, perhaps when life was first emerging. After billion of years of continental smashups, the rocks have been heated, faulted and folded, but geologists can still decipher their original history. Some of the rocks were seafloor sediments, such as mud and chert, and others were lavas erupted from underwater volcanic vents, such as pillow basalts.

Kakegawa discovered the boron in tiny tourmaline crystals trapped inside garnets in the ancient seafloor sediments. The garnets and tourmalines formed after the sediments were deposited, when the rocks were metamorphosed. Boron is one of the major elements of tourmaline.

Isua's volcanic rocks also carry boron-rich tourmalines, according to a separate study reported Wednesday (June 11) by Edward Grew, a professor at the University of Maine. Hydrothermal fluids circulating in the rocks are the likely source of the boron, Grew said.

Boron has two isotopes (elements with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei). The boron isotope ratio in Isua's volcanic rocks also suggests early oceans carried enough boron to support RNA-based life, Grew reported. "This is consistent with the scenario Dr. Kakegawa suggested," Grew said. "There could have been a role for boron in the stabilizing of ribose in the RNA origin of life."

Grew found evidence for boron-rich seawater cycling through the Isua volcanic rocks, despite a lack of continental crust. The tourmaline formed in an environment resembling today's deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where superheated seawater and other fluids spew from volcanic fractures.

The abundant tourmalines indicate the fluids circulating through the ancient rocks were rich in boron, Grew said. "There is no convincing evidence of seawater boron concentrations being lower at 3.8 billion years ago than at the present," Grew said.

EmailBecky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science.· 7 Most Mars-like Places on Earth
· Extreme Life on Earth: 8 Bizarre Creatures
· Big Bang to Civilization: 10 Amazing Origin Events

Copyright 2014 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

Words & Weddings: 5 Passages for Book Lovers

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"Reader, I married him."
--Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

June is one of the most popular months for marriage, and there is nothing we love better than a wedding between two bookworms. (Okay, correcting other people's grammar is a close second.) Here are five poems and passages that are perfect reading material for a literature-themed wedding.

*The Old Testament, Song of Songs*
The Song of Songs, also called the Song of Solomon, is an oddity in the Old Testament. Although scholars have interpreted it as a metaphor for God's love, it can also be read as a more earthly love poem.
My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
*Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit*
This classic children's book, first published in 1922, is the kind of happy-sad that makes so many people cry at weddings. This passage might be an especially good choice for a couple marrying later in life.
You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.
*Christina Rossetti, "I Loved You First"*
Victorian poet Rossetti was the youngest child in a family of writers, scholars, and artists, including the great pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Like her brother's art, Rossetti's poetry is lush and romantic--ideal for the couple who spends their time cooing "No, I love you more."I loved you first: but afterwards your love
Outsoaring mine, sang such a loftier song
As drowned the friendly cooings of my dove.
Which owes the other most? my love was long,
And yours one moment seemed to wax more strong;
I loved and guessed at you, you construed me
And loved me for what might or might not be

*Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker*
For the unconventional couple who plans to write their own vows (and possibly get married while skydiving), this passage from Tom Robbins' 1980 novel is the perfect choice:
Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words 'make' and 'stay' become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.
*Shakespeare, Sonnet 116*
We mentioned this in our list of love poems for Valentine's Day, but it's worth revisiting. One of Shakespeare's most popular sonnets, #116, there's a reason this one is a classic.Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.

What literary masterpiece would you read at your wedding? Reported by Huffington Post 5 hours ago.

Israel Spares No Expense to Rescue Kidnapped Nationals

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Israel Spares No Expense to Rescue Kidnapped Nationals Day Four--and the three kidnapped Israeli boys are still missing.

Everything is happening all at once:

The IDF has launched a massive manhunt on the West Bank. They have also asked journalists to use the hashtag #EyalGiladNaftali and to include photos of the boys and videos of the ongoing search. In order to prevent the kidnappers from fleeing the area with their prey, Israel has closed the Erez and Keren Shalom crossings. IDF updates may be found here.

Ari Soffer, of Israel National News, has also mounted a site devoted to updating the situation. 

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strongly believe that Hamas—and Hamas alone--is behind this kidnapping. Hamas is an organization similar to Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS, and it is now Mahmud Abbas’s coalition partner in an attempt to unite Palestinians. These organizations wish to create a global Islamic Caliphate under Shariah law. Although Sunni Muslims are locked in a perpetual religious war against Shiia Muslims, both groups envision a similar triumph of anti-infidel barbarism and gender and religious apartheid.

IDF Chief of Staff General Benny Gantz states: “We’re going to hit Hamas hard and continue forward.” He is clearly a man of his word. To date, forty senior Hamas officials have been arrested and 150 have so far been detained.

Yesterday, a gun battle took place in Hebron, and two major Hamas officials were arrested. According to one source, Hassan Yusuf, one of the top Hamas officials arrested on Sunday, gave a speech a week ago at Bir Zeit University (a university that is funded by the American government) which warned that Hamas would bring an uprising to the West Bank. He stated that his organization would continue on the path of terrorism despite the accord with the PA. He said, "Every centimeter of the soil of historic Palestine is part of the Resistance that emanates from the Gaza Strip."

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon is considering the re-establishment of a campaign of targeted killings against Hamas to thwart future attacks. He believes that Hamas should pay a “heavy price” for their continued aggression.

According to Israel National News, “The executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) convened for a meeting on Sunday, following which it accused Israel of terrorism and rejected Israel’s placing the blame on the Palestinian Authority for the kidnapping of the three yeshiva students in Gush Etzion."

Martians did it. Maybe the Zionists did it themselves—the same Zionists who were behind the 9/11 plot.

The committee, headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, condemned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for what it termed his "racist attack" on the PA and its leader using the kidnapping of “three settlers” as an excuse.

I interviewed two of Israel’s leading anti-terrorism experts. According to Dr. Mordechai Kedar, former IDF military intelligence officer and currently one of Israel’s leading Arabists, “Hamas wants to follow the Hizballah model: to sit in a government and to continue terror. Israel has decided to put an end to it in the beginning by cracking the Hamas infrastructure, in order to prevent another Hamastan in Judea and Samaria (aka West Bank).”

Anat Berko, criminologist, IDF lieutenant colonel, and anti-terrorism researcher, tells me: "Every Jew on earth is a target. Hamas is part of the Global Jihad that endangers the world’s safety. They are connected to the ideology of the Islamists fighting in Iraq and Syria. They all share the same Ideology of Radical Islam. Every day we get a wakeup call in the West and yet there are still people who don't understand what one Hamas leader told me 'We will start with Shabbat and finish on Sunday.'"

To repeat: Hamas is a terrorist organization similar in ideology to Boko Haram. Nevertheless, First Lady Michelle Obama has not yet tweeted, “Bring our boys home,” as she did when the Nigerian Christian girls were captured by Boko Haram.

Well, no matter. While the Israeli boys may still be missing—so are the Christian Nigerian girls.

Here’s the difference: Israel will not rest until the boys are found. They will spare no expense, either in blood or treasure, to bring them back. Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan, will do no such thing.

Is Israel so hated because it cherishes life and does not worship death? Because it will not sacrifice its children to martyrdom operations? Because it does not hide behind children when engaged in battle? Or locate their weapons in kindergartens and hospitals? Is Israel demonized because Israel protects its children and does not believe in child sacrifice? (This is precisely what God meant when he told Abraham’s not to sacrifice his son Issac). Is this reason enough to incur undying enmity? Palestinians celebrate the martyrdom of their children and young men and women as well as the barbaric murder of others. They are praising this kidnapping.

Nevertheless, miracles abound. Robert Mardini, the head of the International Red Cross in the Middle East, has called for the boys’ immediate and unconditional release and has offered to be an intermediary. Secretary of State John Kerry has also condemned the kidnapping. Mahmud Abbas himself has also condemned this act—but it took him four days to do so.

Last night, more than 30,000 Jews prayed for the safe return of the three boys at the Kotel. On their way back, Arabs gratuitously attacked them with rocks and bats and blood-curdling curses.

Eighty-five Palestinian terrorist prisoners in jail in Israel have been on a hunger strike for the last seven weeks. According to Avi Issacharoff, at the Times of Israel, three top Hamas officials, Hassan Salameh, Abbas-al Sayd, and Mahmud Shreitach, have just ended their fast.

At first, the usual terror apologists blamed Israel for provoking this latest outrage and trotted out the usual Big Lies (“Israel tortures children,’ etc.). According to Honest Reporting, the American media initially described the boys as “settlers” not as teenage Yeshiva students; the media also reminded their readers that the Palestinians are merely (!) seeking “justice” against the “oppression of occupation via settlement”. Read the British Guardian and the Christian Science Monitor. While the Washington Post and the New York Times carried stories, they have done little follow-up and have not featured this story on their front pages. By the way: the Washington Post article was accompanied by a photograph of Israelis arresting a Palestinian man. Today, the New York Times has a story on page A4 which is continued on page A8—edging closer to their front page.

While there is filthy anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism (the two are the same right now) stinking up the internet, I also think that the demonization of Israel is slightly less vicious this time around. I believe that the horrifying events spiraling out of control in Syria and Iraq have perhaps put Hamas, at least temporarily, in a new light. Yesterday, even CNN had a fairly balanced story on the kidnapping, including an interview with the Frankel parents.

The great Talmudic scholar, Adin-Even Steinsaltz, the head of the yeshiva where two of the three kidnapped boys are studying, has called upon Jews to pray and to study Torah. The Israeli Consulate in New York City will be hosting a Prayer Vigil at 12:30pm today.

Today, Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis has called on the international community to withdraw its support for the Hamas-Fatah unity government. He says: "It is the ultimate moral duty of the nations of the world to withdraw their recognition of the Palestinian terrorist government."

President Obama: Are you listening? Will you go to Jerusalem, the West Bank, Ashkelon, and Gaza to see, first hand, what living next door to a terrorist state whose sole aim is your destruction is like? Will you? Reported by Breitbart 5 hours ago.

Vast 'oceans' could be trapped in rock beneath Earth's surface

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Forget Atlantis -- scientists say they may have discovered the store a whole new ocean of sorts on Earth. Reported by Forbes.com 3 hours ago.

Early Addition: These Are The Most Polite Soccer Fans On Earth

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Early Addition: These Are The Most Polite Soccer Fans On Earth Jay Leno's interview secrets, college accepts tuition by BitCoin, Greenpeace's big loss, Watergate garage torn down and more midday links. Don't forget to follow Gothamist on Twitter and like us on Facebook. You can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up here. [ more › ] Reported by Gothamist 4 hours ago.

What satellite firm Skybox will do for Google, humans

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We're getting an inkling of what Google plans to do with its $500 million purchase of Skybox Imaging: By 2016, Google expects to take high-resolution images of the entire globe two times a day using six satellites at a level of detail that was illegal to sell commercially until last week, according to the Wall Street Journal. Two years after that, its full fleet of 24 satellites will hit the skies, capturing images of the Earth three times a day at a resolution that will enable real-time video… Reported by bizjournals 4 hours ago.

Dot Earth Blog: Exploring Academia’s Role in Charting Paths to a ‘Good’ Anthropocene

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Enterprising journalists and communicators report on humanity’s growth spurt, urban rush and innovations in family planning. Reported by NYTimes.com 3 hours ago.

NASA Sniffs Out An Aromatic Molecule In Titan's Atmosphere

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You may wonder what an alien world looks like, what its atmosphere might hold, whether its terrain is similar to Earth’s or even if it holds extra-terrestrial life, but have you ever wondered what it might smell like? That’s just what NASA scientists have done by coming up with a recipe to figure out the aromatics of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan... Reported by Forbes.com 2 hours ago.

Skybox Can Predict iPhone Launch Using Satellite Imagery

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The Wall Street Journal profiles one of Google's recent acquisitions which has implications on mapping, competitive intelligence and even privacy. Skybox Imaging is an intelligence company that by the year 2018 will be able to take satellite imaging to the next level:

By the time its entire fleet of 24 satellites has launched in 2018, Skybox will be imaging the entire Earth at a resolution sufficient to capture, for example, real-time video of cars driving down the highway. And it will be doing it three times a day.

The ability to take such frequent imaging will certainly aid Google's Maps product, but it also opens up a market for competitive intelligence. Skybox says they are already looking at Foxconn every week and are able to pinpoint the next iPhone release based on the density of trucks outside their manufacturing facilities.

Google plans on initially using the technology to improve their Maps product, potentially providing more up-to-date satellite images, but Skybox executives have long term plans for offering their data to outside developers for a fee.*Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories*
• MacBook Airs as Low as $649 With Best Buy EDU Deals
• Foxconn Looking to Secure Orders for iPhone and iPad Displays with Sharp Partnership
• Newest MacBook Airs on Sale for Father's Day
• Apple Plans to Encrypt iCloud Email in Transit Between Providers
• Buyer's Guide: Discounts on Retina MacBook Pro, iPad mini, Beats Headphones, and More
• Microsoft Considering Expanding Cortana Virtual Assistant to iOS and Android
• Twitter App Gets World Cup 'Timelines' in New Update
• Facebook Updates Messaging App with 15-Second Videos, 'Big Likes' Reported by MacRumours.com 2 hours ago.

Ancient Subsurface Ocean Could Have Flowed on Pluto's Moon Charon

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Pluto’s moon Charon may have once had subterranean oceans of liquid water, something the U.S. space agency NASA hopes to investigate further when its New Horizons spacecraft swings by just over a year from now. The notion that there could have been liquid water on a body 29 times further away from the sun than Earth seems far fetched given the surface temperature on Charon is minus 229 Celsius, but NASA scientists say that because the moon may have had an “eccentric,” or slightly... Reported by VOA News 1 hour ago.

Fox News Is the Gold Standard of Television Journalism

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I've been watching a lot of Fox News lately. Fox News is sort of like a news channel, but the total opposite of that.

I like Fox News for lots of reasons: the women pundits are attractive, the on-air graphics are colorful and child-like, it offers fair and balanced coverage of Neil Cavuto's depraved sexual fantasies. But what I enjoy most about FOX News are the commercials for gold and silver.

Watch any Fox News commercial break and you're likely to see advertisements for gold and silver. Fox News is like the snowman from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas Special. It loves gold!Companies with names like Lear Capital and Merit Gold and Goldline run continuous ads on Fox News. The commercials are entertaining and well-produced, always featuring a friendly, likeable white spokesperson encouraging you to buy up as much gold and silver as you can to store it in your underground bunker, already fully stocked with ammo and freeze-dried Sarah Palin quotes.

Merit Gold promises "no liquidation charges." In other words, you send the company your money. And they send you gold. But they won't charge you extra for sending them money. I think that's fair. Also, Merit Gold promises free delivery insurance on all gold deliveries. That way, if you send them money but you don't get your gold, you get to keep your money. Personally, I get "free insurance" on every undelivered product I pay for; it's called "calling the company and telling them I didn't get it."

Basically, the gist of all this it is that America is within weeks of complete social and economic implosion. And this time next year, you'll be living in a cave, your bank account will be worthless, and you'll have to troll the forest for food. In other words, you'll be living the life that Hulk Hogan is living now. And the only "currency" left of any value will be the precious metals buried in your backyard and in old-school rappers' teeth.

Why are we on the brink of disaster? If you don't know the answer to that, you're not watching Fox News. It's President Obama's fault! Or, as Greta Van Susteren innocently asks her guests each night, "Is this President Obama's fault?"

Now here's my question...

The gold and silver companies have all this gold and silver. And they're telling me that my cash is going to be worthless. So I should send them my cash, and they'll send me gold and silver in exchange. But then... why would the company want my worthless cash? That seems like a bad business plan. A better idea, logically, would be for the company to just keep all its gold and silver. Plus, they'll save money on advertising.

If the economy crumbles into nothingness (a sarcastic "Thanks a lot, Obamacare.") and your cash and all your stocks and bonds become worthless, I doubt your gold and silver will be worth much, either. That's because gold and silver are just shiny rocks. In a post-apocalyptic world, shiny rocks don't add much to your survival portfolio. You need non-perishable food. In these times of uncertainty, it makes sense to invest in Pop Tarts.

The United States went off the gold standard in the early 1970s, which is to say that American currency is no longer backed by gold. But there was never any objective basis to gold's value. Our money could just have easily been dependent on copper or silver or lap dances. (In fact, there are currently thousands of "cash-for-lap dance" businesses all over the country... usually near the airport.)

Hats have an objective value in that, without them, your head gets cold in the winter. But gold has no beneficial use, unless you're Scrooge McDuck out for a swim. I'm not sure I can trust a salesman raving about gold during commercial breaks on The Five, especially one who wants to trade his valuable gold for my worthless cash. Incidentally, am I the only one who notices that Bob Beckel spends most of the show coughing?

Did you know that when the United States was on the gold standard, and then up until 1974, it was illegal to own gold? Of course, now you can own all the gold you want. I mention this in order to point out that, despite what the actor who plays that ridiculous Sean Hannity character says, Americans have much more freedom now than we had in the past. So when conservatives say we need to "take back America," I would ask, "Take it back to where, the 1950s?" Back then, you weren't even allowed to own your own telephone. Wait- you mean Sean Hannity is a real guy?!

My favorite gold and silver commercials are the ones from the Rosland Capital company. Rosland's commercial spokesman is the charismatic- and one of my favorite actors -- William Devane. Did you know he was the original choice to play Sam the bartender on Cheers? Anyway, the Rosland Capital commercials usually feature Devane doing something rustic, like riding a horse or sitting on a cabin porch or bathing in moose blood. And then he says some grandfatherly gobbledygook and then he talks a little bit about how the world is falling apart and then he says, "I buy gold every chance I get." That's not really true, though, because he had the chance to buy gold while he was filming the commercial, but instead he chose to film the commercial. I bet Rosland Capital pays Devane's spokesperson fees in cash. Nevertheless, he's great on 24.

At the end of the Rosland Capital commercials, Devane looks into the camera and asks, "What's in your safe?" Answer: Beanie Babies.

But I know that William Devane doesn't buy gold every chance he gets, because now he is doing Rosland Capital commercials for silver, too. In fact, there has been a noticeable increase in silver commercials on Fox News. Silver is the new gold... though don't tell that to the Miami Heat. But that's because gold prices have plummeted in recent years.

One of the Lear Capital commercials displays a graph that shows how gold prices have gone up 400 percent over the past 12 years. But the announcer fails to mention how the price has spiraled downwards during the past few years. And it's not easy to catch this on the graph, because the spokesperson quickly stands in front of the drop, blocking it from sight. Oh, commercials are so sneaky. It's like how the trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction fails to mention how awful the movie is... though, in fairness, it is implied.

I suspect that gold prices have gone down because, despite what you hear from the naysayers, the post-Bush economy is improving. Hence, gold is an unnecessary commodity. Or maybe it's just that Nicki Minaj's multiple gold records have devalued its prestige factor.

The problem with silver, though, is that it's still not worth nearly as much as the same amount of gold. Therefore, you need a lot of it. And who has space for all that silver? Where are you supposed to put it all? I mean, I need my six walk-in closets for shoes. Plus, precious metals are heavy. It's already so awkward asking friends to help you move furniture, but silver? "Hey, guys, I have a few thousand pounds of metallic rock I need you to help me move into my new apartment. There'll be free pizza!"

You probably didn't know that the most valuable precious metal on earth is a rare element called rhodium, which is twice the value of gold. I suspect that you'll begin seeing rhodium commercials on the Fox News channel once the Supreme Court votes in favor of gay marriage and destabilizes the economy irrevocably. Damn liberals.

Meanwhile, I'm going to stick with cash for now. It might not be as secure as gold or silver, but it comes in handy when I'm at the store. Reported by Huffington Post 1 hour ago.

Forget Gun Control: Legislate for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Instead

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The NRA has one on gun control advocates: Guns aren't a cause of violence. When used for non-sporting purposes, they're a symptom of emotional disorders.

Of fear amplified to irrational levels.

Of sadness and clinical depression so deep that there seems no way out.

Of anger and rage and hatred unchecked by the "filters" most of us have.

Shootings happen when mental self-control breaks down. Filters either organically not there because of some level of mental illness, from bipolarism to clinical depression to rage control issues, or because alcohol strips them away temporarily, impairing judgment.

They come out because we've institutionalized and legitimized fear as a means of allowing everyone from peace officers to the stand-your-ground crowd to take human life with little consequence or consideration.

There is a broad systemic mental health concern. America has a cultish obsession with guns and gun violence that accepts all of this killing as "normal."

We blanche at letting our children see a sex act on a television or movie screen, but the majority of adults, many parents, see little or no problem with them watching hundreds of people slaughtered brutally in a movie or television show, or slaughtering hundreds of people first-person in a "shooter" video game.

Guns touch on the third rail of our most primal fears, which is why the NRA remains so powerful.

They are the magical shield against otherism, Wheaties for those with irrational fears of black helicopters and "big brother" government, minorities, and others with guns in a neighborhood, or a family.

They are phallic power to the powerless: Status symbols of personal power and tribal strength in groups ranging from minority youth gangs to AK-47 toting white gun groups strutting into Starbucks.

Guns generate fear. Gun fear begets more guns.
"The number of privately owned guns in the U.S. is at an all-time high, upwards of 300 million, and now rises by about 10 million per year," said the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action in a firearms safety fact sheet released Jan. 17, 2013. - GUNFAQ
That's an average of about 90 firearms per every 100 residents in this country, according to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.

If 43.8% of gun applications are for rifles, 56.2% of gun permit applications tracked by the FBI are for handguns.

Fewer scared people are holding on to more and more firepower though, as gun ownership per capita has been declining.

While we focus on the deaths, more than 30,000 each year in the United States, if you count those wounded, the numbers skyrocket to epidemic levels.

The CDC reported that there were 73,505 non-fatal firearm injuries in 2010. There were an additional 13,851 non-fatal injuries from BB or pellet guns use.

In its third year, the American Gun Victims Wall, a project to chronicle every news report of a shooting in the United States, connects the dots. Those underlying mental illness issues are expressed in injury and death by firearms that stems from:
· *Mental Illness* - (Across a whole range of disorders like bipolar, depression and rage control);· *Crippling Stress* - People in bankruptcies, divorces, relationship breakups, family disputes, or property issues with neighbors where stressers push reasonable people past their breaking point into temporary fits of rage or depression that clouds judgment;· *Accidental Shootings* - Poor weapons handling, poor storage, and bad judgment about leaving weapons in places where children can access them;· *Substance Abuse* - Alcohol and/or drug use that impairs judgment;· *Low intelligence* - People who are not high functioning enough to legally obtain a driver's license can still get a gun;· *Failure to Comply* - Police shoot people stopped for failure to comply 100% with their instructions even when there is no gun visible. The perception of a possible gun is enough to justify a shooting. A wrong motion by a suspect can end in death or injury.
All of which goes back to the root causes, and is why the NRA has been opposing Dr. Vivek Murthy as the Obama Administration's nominee for Surgeon General.

As Bill Moyers points out:
"Murthy's views represent a consensus among medical professionals that gun violence is a major public health issue. Gun violence, including suicide, kills some 30,000 Americans every year, about the same number as car accidents. Cars are highly regulated for health and safety; guns, barely. Accordingly, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among many others, have called for stronger gun safety laws. It would be surprising if, as a doctor, Murthy did not have concerns about gun violence and the strength of current regulations."
The gun control lobby has locked in on assault weapons as their target for reducing gun violence because they're BIG violence, scary looking, and they think, rather wrongly, are enough to drive Americans to the polls and to their Congressmen demanding action every time a shooter pops up at a school or a movie theater intent on their own private Rambo moment of glory as their mental disease escalates to acting out on their impulses.

*What to Do*

There are new attempts at restricting gun ownership by the mentally ill floating around Congress in the wake of the latest spate of mad people on shooting sprees: Santa Barbara. Oregon. Las Vegas.

They all miss the mark, kowtowing to the powerful NRA lobby and chipping away at the edges of the problem rather than tackling it head on.

What do we need to end the epidemic of gun violence? Better mental health and social health policy:
· *Laws regarding mental health need overhaul* to allow parents, family members, and caregivers of people with crippling emotional disorders more responsibility, with family court/judicial oversight, of the care decisions of those with mental illness.· *Stabilizing medications and therapies*, in some cases, should not be optional.· *Appointment of social workers* or NGO volunteers to serve as caregivers to advocate with mental health professionals and the mental health system for those whose families have abandoned them;· *Police* called out for domestic disturbances from suicides to family abuse to neighborhood disputes should be trained to make judgment calls, and temporarily cache weapons of a household at a secure location run by the police, write a citation, and allow a judge to review the continued permitting of the weapon in the household, its possible restriction to a firing range or secure hunting facility, or revocation of the permit;· *Tougher penalties for failure to secure weapons* in households to prevent children and teens from gaining access without parental supervision.· A federal convocation of state legislators whose committees regulate gun laws to establish uniform and *consistent rules for dealing with gun law infractions*. A woman in New Orleans does four years for child shooting that resulted from hiding a gun under her bed for "safety." A couple in West Virginia leave a loaded child rifle in an umbrella stand that results in a child shooting and receive a citation;· More federal dollars targeted to *social welfare programs* to improve family mental health to help those with rage and other spectral emotional disorders cope and de-escalate;· *Get tough laws on carry under-the-influence* of alcohol or drugs of any kind;· The *ban of weapons within a wide radius of venues which serve alcohol*. Many mass shooters keep guns in their cars in parking lots and on nearby streets, and return to bars with them to settle scores or perceived sleights.· *Revocation of so-called Stand Your Ground/Castle laws*;· *Increased police training in less deadly use of force*, with *annual Justice Department reviews* of shooting statistics by all law enforcement agencies to determine if possible intervention or criminal filings against those misusing their badge are warranted;

The Second Amendment stands. Americans have a right to own guns responsibly.

When they find themselves in situations of temporary or permanent mental distress, though, that makes that ownership a danger to themselves or others, the solution to the problem is better mental health, and more police/court intervention, not more people arming themselves to the teeth in the most gun-saturated country on planet Earth.

My shiny two. Reported by Huffington Post 56 minutes ago.

The Earth’s Hidden Ocean

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An ocean of water appears to be tied up in minerals of the mantle 400 miles below the surface, according to an analysis of seismic waves passing through the deep earth. Reported by NYTimes.com 1 hour ago.
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