Saturday, March 21, 2015

Take the ‘Race Relations Reality Check’ Quiz That Starbucks Is Now Seemingly Handing Out | TheBlaze.com

Take the ‘Race Relations Reality Check’ Quiz That Starbucks Is Now Seemingly Handing Out | TheBlaze.com:

"Despite the relentless online ridicule over its “Race Together” initiative encouraging baristas to talk to customers about race, Starbucks has apparently taken its efforts one step further.

Several Twitter users claimed on Friday that a “race relations reality check” quiz is now being made available to customers. TheBlaze TV’s Dana Loesch first brought attention to the quiz, which she also referred to as a “are you a racist?” quiz."

Study measures the foul smell of fat bias

Study measures the foul smell of fat bias - Yahoo News: "
People can be so turned off by obese individuals that they actually imagine a bad smell, according to a new study.
Study participants who were shown images of heavy and thin individuals while sniffing odorless substances rated the “scent samples” as smelling worse when they were paired with images of heavy people.
“Our findings suggest that people may hold negative views of heavy individuals that are sufficiently entrenched that they can cross over into olfactory (that is, smell) perceptions though people may not be aware that they hold such views,” senior author Andrew Ward told Reuters Health in an email.
“This is the first study to show that negative bias toward heavy individuals is sufficient to affect smell perception,” said Ward, a psychology researcher at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania."

Why the US Should Worry About Russia, Not China

Why the US Should Worry About Russia, Not China | The Diplomat:
"Last Friday, the United States released its updated Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower (CS-21).
One of the biggest critiques of the first Cooperative Strategy concentrated on the difficulty of fitting China and Russia into the “cooperative” frame.
China continues to expand its navy and has obviously undertaken a set of assertive actions in the East and South China Seas.
Russia has, in recent years, invaded Georgia and Ukraine, effectively annexing parts of both countries. 
How does it make sense to include either of these countries under the tab “cooperation?”
...Russia and China pose the greatest potential threats to the vision of liberal international order implicit in CS-21, a situation that has more or less held since 1949.
Yet China is, for the first time in its history, deeply dependent on the sea. 
...Russia is different. 
While we should generally view geographically determinist accounts with skepticism, there is no question that the maritime sphere is far less important to Russia than it is to the United States or China.
Russia benefits less from a reliable set of interlocking regimes and procedures for managing the maritime sphere, and can take advantage of asymmetric opportunities to disrupt that system.
In short, Russia has the luxury of playing the spoiler, because Moscow understands that everyone else needs the sea more than Russia does. 
Beijing, on the other hand, needs the system of order that the United States has constructed in the maritime sphere. 
While China may fight hard to ensure it gets an appropriate seat, it’s far less likely than Russia to try to upend the table."

Listen to How Obama Reacts When Reporter’s Question Strays Away From His ‘Really Important Story’ | Video | TheBlaze.com

Listen to How Obama Reacts When Reporter’s Question Strays Away From His ‘Really Important Story’ | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"Associated Press reporter Mark Smith got into a brief exchange with President Barack Obama on Thursday after his questioning strayed from what the commander-in-chief considered to be a “really important story.”

Obama spent the day outlining his latest executive order aimed at combatting global warming by cutting the greenhouse gas emissions of federal agencies. However, as the Washington Examiner points out, reporters asked him about other issues, like the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran."


I wish someone from the puppet press would cut their strings and challenge the executive on his facts.  

The Breakdown of Where Your Tax Dollars Go

The Breakdown of Where Your Tax Dollars Go:
"Tax dollars paid for about 85 cents of every dollar spent in 2014—the rest was borrowed. 
Where did all that money go?
 Your 2014 tax dollars—which are due next month—went primarily to pay for government benefits."
fedbudget2

Blog: Dianne Feinstein's husband wins near-billion dollar California 'high speed rail' contract

Blog: Dianne Feinstein's husband wins near-billion dollar California 'high speed rail' contract
To the surprise of absolutely no one familiar with the ways of Corruptifornia, the one-party state completely in the hands of the Democrats, a consortium whose lead firm is controlled by Richard Blum, husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, was awarded a nearly billion-dollar contract for the construction of the first phase of the so-called high-speed rail line to link San Francisco and Los Angeles. 
Those paying attention to the project call it the “half-fast” rail line because it will share trackage with  conventional commuter rail trains in the sprawling Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, lowering its average speed to levels achieved by American railways a century ago.
Crazifornia.com writes:
The Perini-Zachary-Parsons bid was the lowest received from the five consortia participating in the bidding process, but “low” is a relative term. The firms bid $985,142,530 to build the wildly anticipated first section of high speed rail track that will tie the megopolis of Madera to the global finance center of Fresno. Do the division, and you find that the low bid came in at a mere $35 million per mile.
And that doesn’t include the cost of rolling stock (that’s engines and cars to the normal among us). Nor does it include the cost of electrifying the route. Does it at least include the cost of land acquisition? No, it does not....
...Just another day in Jerry Brown’s world of imaginary high-speed rail that is sure to cost at least twice what it is budgeted at (just south of a hundred billion dollars), take five hours for a journey that takes an hour or so by air, and which will have to charge much more than airlines do for the trip.

Oops: US Close-Air Support Bomb Doesn’t Fit on the F-35

Oops: US Close-Air Support Bomb Doesn’t Fit on the F-35 | The Diplomat:
"The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will not receive the software package required to operate the Pentagon’s top close-air support bomb until 2022, according to military.com.
The article also stated that the JSF office already had discovered earlier that the precision-guided air-dropped Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) does not fit onto Joint Strike Fighter Marine Corps variant without modifications to the aircraft’s weapons bay.
Yet the Department of Defense will wait until the F-35 B (the Marine Corps variant of the F-35) reaches initial operability before modifying the F-35’s armament bay, since the weapon will be useless without the right software package..."

Google CEO Eric Schmidt, a Democratic Supporter, Blasts Gov’t Spying: ‘It’s Called a Front Door’ | TheBlaze.com

Google CEO Eric Schmidt, a Democratic Supporter, Blasts Gov’t Spying: ‘It’s Called a Front Door’ | TheBlaze.com:

“So my answer to the government and the U.S. government is, ‘It’s called a front door,’” Schmidt said. “Go to court – by the way, you can get these things in an hour. We have to follow the law. The law requires us to react immediately. We do so. We’ve never had a problem. I just don’t agree,” he added.

“I would much prefer them to say, what we would like to be able to do is to watch what everyone’s doing in order to figure out who the bad guys are because that’s what they want but that’s also not something that I want,” Schmidt added.

Google, unlike many companies, encrypts users’ information in its databases so that not even the government can access it through a so-called “back door.” Apple has similar measures in place where users’  data are so secure inside its servers that not even the government can access computer files belonging to someone it suspects is involved in a crime or terrorist act."

Grownups Pay Big Bucks to Attend NYC 'Adult Preschool'

Grownups Pay Big Bucks to Attend NYC 'Adult Preschool' - ABC News:
"Getting in touch with your inner child has never been so expensive.
The Brooklyn-based Preschool Mastermind, as it's called, is a preschool-type experience for adults.
No, really.
And according to its founder, there's show-and-tell, arts-and-crafts such as finger paint, games (think musical chairs) and even naps...
...Adult preschool -- not unlike New York City's preschool's for children, doesn't come cheap. Payment for the class is on a sliding scale ranging from $333 to $999.
Joni said that "preschool is all about choice. I want them [the students] to feel good about the choice they're making.""


Feds to Weigh Children in Daycare

Feds to Weigh Children in Daycare | Washington Free Beacon:
"Bureaucrats from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will weigh and measure children in daycare as part of a study mandated by First Lady Michelle Obama’s Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
The agency published a notice in the Federal Register on Friday proposing data collection on what meals are served in professional and home daycare facilities and how much physical activity children perform.
Aside from assessing how healthy the food in daycare is, the USDA will also check the weight and height of roughly 3,000 children.
 “Children will be asked to cooperate with study staff who will weigh and measure them for the Standing Height and Weight Form,” the notice said."


Rental Cars for Michelle O’s Kyoto Visit Cost $78,741

Rental Cars for Michelle O’s Kyoto Visit Cost $78,741 | Washington Free Beacon:
"First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to a Buddhist Temple in Kyoto is costing taxpayers nearly $80,000 for rental cars, according to a government contract.
Mrs. Obama, who is travelling to Japan and Cambodia for a girls’ education initiative, will arrive in Kyoto, Japan, on Friday.
...Mrs. Obama is promoting “Let Girls Learn,” an initiative by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that is spending $231.6 million for education programs in Nigeria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Jordan, and Guatemala."

Dem FCC Commissioner Makes Big Net Neutrality Admission Days After Senior Official Told TheBlaze Something Very Different | TheBlaze.com

Dem FCC Commissioner Makes Big Net Neutrality Admission Days After Senior Official Told TheBlaze Something Very Different | TheBlaze.com:

"Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday that the agency could choose to regulate internet rates under the net neutrality rules it passed February 26, but that claim stands in stark contrast with what one FCC senior official told TheBlaze just last week."


History for March 21

History for March 21 - On-This-Day.com
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 - Composer, Timothy Dalton 1944 - Actor , Eddie Money 1949 - Singer 



Gary Oldman 1958 - Actor, Rosie O'Donnell 1962 - Comedian, actress , Matthew Broderick 1962 - Actor ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off"


1788 - Almost the entire city of New Orleans, LA, was destroyed by fire. 856 buildings were destroyed. 


1871 - Journalist Henry M Stanley began his famous expedition to Africa. 


1910 - The U.S. Senate granted ex-President Teddy Roosevelt a yearly pension of $10,000. 


1965 - More than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began a march from Selma to Montgomery, AL


1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced to the U.S. Olympic Team that they would not participate in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow as a boycott against Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. 


1980 - On the TV show "Dallas", J.R. Ewing was shot. 


1982 - The United States, U.K. and other Western countries condemned the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. 


1994 - Dudley Moore was arrested for hitting his girlfriend. 


1994 - Wayne Gretzky tied Gordie Howe's NHL record of 801 goals. 

Friday, March 20, 2015

Iranian Military Leader Endorses Plan to Attack US with Nuclear EMP

Iranian Military Leader Endorses Plan to Attack US with Nuclear EMP:

"This startling new information flies in the face of Iran’s supposed support for a peaceful nuclear resolution and only confirms what Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Congress about.

“Iranian military documents describe such a scenario — including a recently translated Iranian military textbook that endorses nuclear EMP attack against the United States,” said Dr. Peter Vincent, Executive Director of the task force on National and Homeland Security."

Obama Plots Revenge Against Israel - The Rush Limbaugh Show

Obama Plots Revenge Against Israel - The Rush Limbaugh Show:

"RUSH:  And it looks like that's exactly what's happening.  Obama is pledging to remove sanctions.  Get this.  Obama is suggesting that he's going to remove sanctions from Iran and put them on Israel.  I have it right here in my Stack of Stuff, that the administration is considering sanctions on Israel.  Here's Major Garrett this morning on CBS This Morning.  He had a report about Obama's plans for helping the Palestinians now that Netanyahu has said they're not gonna get their own state since he won reelection."

Cruise lines stop Tunisia visits after museum attack

My Way News - Cruise lines stop Tunisia visits after museum attack:
"ROME (AP) — Two cruise lines suspended visits to Tunisia on Thursday after 17 passengers from their ships were killed in the museum attack, delivering an immediate economic blow to the North African country.
Passengers of Mediterranean cruise lines Costa Crociere and MSC Cruises were visiting the National Bardo Museum when gunmen stormed it Wednesday.
MSC said 12 of its guests were killed — three French, three Japanese, two Spanish, two Colombian, one British and one Belgian.
Costa said five of its passengers were killed — four Italians and a Russian.
In addition, MSC reported 13 passengers injured, while Costa reported eight injured.
On Thursday morning, both the MSC Splendida and Costa's Fascinosa ship left Tunisia with their remaining passengers, bound for Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, respectively.
Costa said it would pay to fly passengers home if they didn't want to continue with the cruise.
MSC said it was suspending Tunisian ports of call for the rest of the 2015 summer season, with its ships docking instead in Malta, Palma de Mallorca, Sardinia or Corfu, Greece.
MSC chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said the company hoped to return to Tunisia, but that for now tourists view it as a "no-go zone.""

Watch Marco Rubio’s Fiery Takedown of Obama’s Israel Policy: ‘This Is Outrageous, It Is Irresponsible, It Is Dangerous’

Watch Marco Rubio’s Fiery Takedown of Obama’s Israel Policy: ‘This Is Outrageous, It Is Irresponsible, It Is Dangerous’ | TheBlaze.com:
"Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday launched a 15-minute rebuke of President Barack Obama’s repeated decisions to give Israel the cold shoulder, and said Obama is making an “historic mistake” by turning his back on the United States’ strongest ally in the Middle East.
Rubio started his blistering attack on the Senate floor by chastising Obama for failing to offer his congratulations to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his election victory this week."



Obama Signs Green Executive Order That the White House Says Is Like Taking 5.5 Million Cars Off the Road | TheBlaze.com

Obama Signs Green Executive Order That the White House Says Is Like Taking 5.5 Million Cars Off the Road | TheBlaze.com:

"President Barack Obama signed an executive order Thursday to slash the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions, which the White House said is the equivalent to taking 5.5 million cars off the road.

Specifically, the order aims to cut federal agencies’ emissions 40 percent from 2008 levels over the next decade. It will also increase the level of electricity from renewable energy by 30 percent — a likely boon for solar, wind and other alternative energy industries the Obama administration has subsidized over the last six years."

Thieves Break Into Federal Agents' Cars in Corktown

Thieves Break Into Federal Agents' Cars in Corktown  –  Deadline Detroit:
Detroit's popular Corktown business district continues to have problems with car thefts and break-ins.
The latest: Two unmarked cars belonging to federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security were broken into Wednesday night at Corktown as agents were dining at the new Batch Brewery at 1400 Porter St., Mara MacDonald of WDIV reports. 
Laptops and other equipment were taken, sources tell the station.
The Department Homeland Security ordered the vehicles towed and taken to a location where investigators will look for evidence, MacDonald adds.
Deadline Detroit recently reported that four cars were stolen on a Saturday night in Corktown. 
Related content at Deadline:

Yes. The democrats and unions that did this are evil crooks-----Teachers union lobbyist sues to force sweetheart retirement deal for one day of substitute teaching

Teachers union lobbyist sues to force sweetheart retirement deal for one day of substitute teaching - EAGnews.org:
"SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A former teachers union lobbyist is suing Illinois’ state retirement board in an attempt to force a special pension deal he received for serving one day as a substitute teacher.
Retired Illinois Federation of Teachers lobbyist David Piccioli, 65, wants the state’s Teachers Retirement System to honor a sweetheart deal he received through special legislation in 2007 that allowed him to apply his time as a lobbyist toward a teacher’s pension, the Chicago Tribune reports.
That law, signed by then Gov. Rod Blagojevich, allowed Piccioli and another union lobbyist, Steven Preckwinkle, to apply their time with the union toward a pension with the Teachers Retirement System after serving only one day as substitute teachers in Springfield."

OMG!! Take my money!!!----'Your life is in jeopardy,' Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says as Proposal 1 backers stress road safety

'Your life is in jeopardy,' Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says as Proposal 1 backers stress road safety | MLive.com:
"LANSING, MI -- The "Safe Roads Yes" ballot committee kicked off its ground campaign for Proposal 1 on Thursday with a series of events featuring bipartisan support, business leaders and badges.
Gov. Rick Snyder joined Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Washtenaw County Sheriff John Clayton, Brad Williams of the Detroit Regional Chamber and others for a morning press conference at a fire station in Dearborn.
Snyder, holding chunks of a broken road and bridge, reinforced the public safety message that the "Safe Roads Yes" campaign is emphasizing ahead of the May 5 vote.
"Can you imagine one of these coming through your windshield?" the governor said, going on to state that 14 percent of the bridges in Metro Detroit have plywood installed beneath them to catch falling concrete. "Your life is in jeopardy...."

The Four Words Charles Krauthammer Used to Characterize Action Hillary Clinton Took With Her Emails | Video | TheBlaze.com

The Four Words Charles Krauthammer Used to Characterize Action Hillary Clinton Took With Her Emails | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"The veteran political pundit then offered a reason as to why he thinks she took such actions.

“It was to prevent the Republicans or really the government, the Freedom of Information Act, the public from looking at her emails, which is required by State Department regulation, a departing official, I’ll read you, must ensure that all record material that they possess is incorporated in the department’s official files,” he said. “And if you don’t, if you willfully remove or destroy the records, the penalty can be fines, imprisonment, or both.”

Yep. They're too broke to fix our roads-------Norton Shores awarded $60,000 MDOT grant for Henry Street sidewalk project

Norton Shores awarded $60,000 MDOT grant for Henry Street sidewalk project | MLive.com
"NORTON SHORES, MI - A popular stretch in Norton Shores used by Mona Shores High School students and other pedestrians will be enhanced next spring thanks to a state grant.
City Administrator Mark Meyers shared with council members this month that the Michigan Department of Transportation is awarding Norton Shores a $60,000 grant from its Safety Fund program so the city can build a sidewalk on Henry Street between Seminole and Forest Park roads..."

Few Blacks on Front Line in Detroit Recovery, Researcher Finds

Few Blacks on Front Line in Detroit Recovery, Researcher Finds  –  Deadline Detroit
Too few blacks seem to be on the front lines in Detroit's recovery, Detroit News editorial writer Nolan Finley notes in a column.
Finley cites Alex B. Hill, a community researcher with Wayne State University, "Detroit: Black Problems, White Solutions," an Oct. 16 blog post that incorporates his research into the racial makeup of the city's leading revival organizations. (Deadline reported on the research Oct., 17.)
"Detroit's revitalization is made up of a majority of white people," Hill writes.
Hill notes that participation by blacks in key groups was far lower than the city's 83 percent African-American population.
Finley notes some of Hill's examples:
  • At Challenge Detroit, which recruits fellows to provide brain power to support existing projects in the city, just 23 percent of the 91 fellows were African-American, while 69 percent were white.
  • Detroit Revitalization Fellow, which has a similar mission, does slightly better, with 34 percent of its 50 fellows African-American and 64 percent white.
  • Only 19 percent of the executives at Detroit-focused foundations are black.

A fearful future---New Fears Make Cybersecurity Compelling to Investors

New Fears Make Cybersecurity Compelling to Investors | MIT Technology Review:
"Venture capitalists poured a record $2.3 billion into cybersecurity companies in 2014, a year marked by frequent reports of hacks on high-profile companies.
Yearly investment in cybersecurity startups been on the rise for several years now, and is up 156 percent since 2011, according to CB Insights.
The trend will likely continue, as 75 percent of CIOs surveyed by Piper Jaffray said they would increase spending on security in 2015."

You do realize, the tapes/video will never be available to help you. Don't you?------Secret Service may have erased surveillance tapes

Secret Service may have erased surveillance tapes - CNN.com:
"Washington (CNN)Secret Service Director Joe Clancy told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that the Secret Service may have erased surveillance video of agents driving a car through an active bomb threat investigation at the White House.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told CNN that on Tuesday, Clancy showed him and other lawmakers two videos, one of which didn't show much of the action.
"We inquired if there were additional tapes and angles and the director informed us that there may not be because it's their policy to erase them 72 hours after they record, which is just unfathomable," Chaffetz said. "I can't think of any good reason to do that."
"This is not your local 7-11. This is the White House," he said...

Watch: Senate Dem says GOP is making Loretta Lynch ‘sit in the back of the bus’ by delaying her vote | TheBlaze.com

Watch: Senate Dem says GOP is making Loretta Lynch ‘sit in the back of the bus’ by delaying her vote | TheBlaze.com:

"A Senate Democratic leader seemed to imply on Wednesday that Republicans are delaying a confirmation vote on Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch because she’s black.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) noted that Lynch is the first black woman to be nominated as attorney general, but said she is being “asked to sit in the back of the bus,” a reference to the Jim Crow laws that forced segregation between blacks and whites decades ago."