Recommended Reading
from Bruce
CAMERON JOSEPH: Why A Menendez Conviction Would Be A Nightmare For Senate Democrats (TPM)
Jury selection concluded Wednesday in the corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), only the 12th sitting senator in U.S. history to face indictment. If he's found guilty and forced to leave office before the end of the year that likely would hand Republicans his Senate seat until the 2018 elections, giving them a crucial extra vote as they try to salvage what they can of their and President Trump's agenda and possibly resurrect their efforts to repeal Obamacare.
Suzanne Moore: Are Brexit negotiations a cunning EU strategy - to bore us into submission? (The Guardian)
'Taking back control' now resembles some sweaty negotiators, not waving but drowning in a sea of legalese.
Nosheen Iqbal: The Met's Notting Hill carnival crackdown is an embarrassing grab for headlines (The Guardian)
The police force admitted it didn't know if any of the 300 people arrested were planning to attend the celebration.
Eddie Deezen: The Beatles' Movie Yellow Submarine (Neatorama)
After it's completion, the Beatles were given a private screening of Yellow Submarine and were surprised and delighted with the results. They loved the movie and even agreed to personally film a one-minute cameo to be shown at the tail end of the film. John and Paul were both to later regret not having more to do with Yellow Submarine.
The 100 greatest comedies of all time (BBC)
BBC Culture polled 253 film critics from 52 countries to determine the funniest films ever made.
Andrew Tobias: Get Sharp
Hey, listen: you know I periodically plug BrainHQ - "Brain Training That Works." There are three reasons for this: (1) I want you to get your money's worth from this page, and the basic exercises are free. (2) I want you to be happy, healthy - and to avoid dementia. (A 10-year study of 2,800 subjects found that those who did just 14.5 hours in total with these exercises had a 48% reduced incidence of dementia. Imagine the likely reduction for someone who did an hour a month every year instead of just the first!) (3) If you convert from the basic free exercises to the monthly subscription, I will get rich because I own a small piece.
Paula Cocozza: Health warning: why the sexy nurse stereotype is no laughing matter (The Guardian)
The refusal of an NHS trust to accept charity money because it was raised by men dressed as nurses has highlighted the sexual stereotyping of the profession. How serious a problem is it - and does it encourage harassment in the workplace?
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Annoying Drivers
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
First, the Arts Council's letter (saying they all quit) spelled out RESIST with the first letter of each paragraph. Now, the science envoy has resigned--the paragraphs of his resignation spell out IMPEACH!
How long before "GO F*** YOURSELF"?
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
RICK 'THE DICK' GOES LIMP!
DONALD WHO?
"EVERYBODY MUST GET STONED."
ISN'T MEXICO PAYING?
THERESA MAY. THERESA MAY NOT.
GOING, GOING, GONE!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The power was off nearly 12 hours instead of 8, so really running late. Ack.
Watched By Millions More Than Trump
Obama
Former US President Barack Obama's speeches were watched by millions more than Donald Trump's (R-Pendejo), viewing figures have revealed.
Roughly 30.6 million people tuned in to watch the former real estate mogul as he was inaugurated as the 45th US president.
Nearly 28 million Americans watched Mr Trump's Afghanistan speech on Monday, 32 per cent fewer viewers than Mr Obama's in 2009.
Mr Trump regularly claimed during his election campaign that his events brought in the highest network ratings.
The largest demographic to watch his Afghanistan speech - 17 million people - was those aged 55 and older. Conversely, just two million people between 18 and 34 tuned in.
Obama
Lawyer Gets Settlement
Rebecca Musarra
A lawyer arrested for not answering questions during a traffic stop for suspected speeding in New Jersey will receive $30,000 under a settlement with the state, court records show.
NJ Advance Media reported Wednesday that the settlement for Rebecca Musarra was reached in July.
"I thought it was quite ironic that they had just arrested me and told me I had the right to do the same thing they just arrested me for," she said in an interview.
The video shows the troopers repeatedly asking Musarra if she knows why she is being stopped. When she doesn't respond, a trooper tells her, "OK, you're going to be placed under arrest if you don't answer my questions."
When she told them she didn't have to answer their questions, they told her to get out of the car and handcuffed her.
Rebecca Musarra
Tablet Rewrites History Of Maths
Babylonia
A 3,700-year-old clay tablet has proven that the Babylonians developed trigonometry 1,500 years before the Greeks and were using a sophisticated method of mathematics which could change how we calculate today.
The tablet, known as Plimpton 332, was discovered in the early 1900s in Southern Iraq by the American archaeologist and diplomat Edgar Banks, who was the inspiration for Indiana Jones.
The true meaning of the tablet has eluded experts until now but new research by the University of New South Wales, Australia, has shown it is the world's oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, which was probably used by ancient architects to construct temples, palaces and canals.
However unlike today's trigonometry, Babylonian mathematics used a base 60, or sexagesimal system, rather than the 10 which is used today. Because 60 is far easier to divide by three, experts studying the tablet, found that the calculations are far more accurate.
"Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles," said Dr Daniel Mansfield of the School of Mathematics and Statistics in the UNSW Faculty of Science.
Babylonia
2014 Segment
The Colbert Report
Christopher Cantwell, the white supremacist featured in a widely viewed Vice News documentary on the Charlottesville white nationalist rally earlier this month, was also featured in a 2014 episode of The Colbert Report as a "difference maker" for his role in a group that frequently harassed parking meter attendants.
Cantwell was arrested Wednesday over his role in the Charlottesville demonstrations. Campus police at the University of Virginia had sought him for three felony charges: two counts of illegal use of tear gas and one count of malicious bodily injury with a "caustic substance," explosive, or fire.
Cantwell was propelled into infamy by the Vice documentary, in which he offered racist critiques of black and Jewish people, confirmed that his movement was violent, and defended the killing of Heather Heyer - the 32-year-old woman who was fatally struck by a driver identified as a white supremacist - as "justified."
In his Colbert Report appearance, however, Cantwell's antics were related less to the white nationalist cause, and more to a supposed libertarian notion that parking meter attendants were symptomatic of "government overreach." The popular Colbert segment "Difference Makers" often featured various individuals or groups defending what they believed to be self-righteous causes, while being mocked all the while by Stephen Colbert's deadpan narration.
The Colbert Report
Downplays Campaign Promise
White House
In the wake of Donald Trump's (R-Crooked) threat to shut down the government if Congress fails to provide funding to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, the White House sought to downplay his campaign promise that Mexico would pay for it.
During a rally in Phoenix Tuesday, Trump said, "Believe me, if we have to close down our government, we're building that wall," in reference to the spending bill Congress will have to pass in September to avoid a government shutdown.
"The president's committed to making sure this gets done," Sanders said. "We know that the wall and other security measures at the border work, we've seen that take place over the last decade and we're committed to making sure the American people are protected. And we're going to continue to push forward and make sure that the wall gets built."
Sanders later insisted Trump wasn't "abandoning" his pledge that Mexico pay for the wall.
In a leaked transcript of his call with Mexican President Enrique Peņa Nieto from the first days of his administration, Trump cajoled his counterpart not to say publicly that Mexico would not pay for the wall.
White House
Defends Its Legal Marijuana Program
Colorado
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and Attorney General Cynthia Coffman (R) mounted a vigorous defense of their state's legalized and regulated marijuana program Thursday, replying to a critical letter from Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R-Evil Elf) that was directed at states that have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes.
Hickenlooper and Coffman, in a response letter dated Thursday, tell Sessions that their state's numerous marijuana laws and regulations are "effective." They said the regulations work smoothly to prevent diversion of the drug outside of the state, block marijuana use by minors and protect the public's safety and health. The pair also encourage the federal government to work with the state to "fortify" the robust program that it has already built.
Colorado is now the fourth state of that group to respond ? and forcefully defend marijuana legalization ? to Sessions criticisms.
Eight states have legalized recreational marijuana. National support for marijuana legalization has risen dramatically in recent years, reaching historic highs
Colorado
Cancels Kushner Meeting
Egypt
Egypt called off a scheduled meeting between its foreign minister and top U.S. presidential adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday after the United States decided to withhold millions of dollars in aid.
But President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would meet the U.S. delegation led by Kushner later in the day as scheduled, Sisi's office said.
Two U.S. sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that Washington had decided to deny Egypt $95.7 million in aid and to delay a further $195 million because of its failure to make progress on respecting human rights and democratic norms.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry had been scheduled to meet the U.S. delegation led by Kushner, a son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump (R-Buffoon) and a close adviser, on Wednesday in Cairo to discuss the Middle East.
But the meeting was canceled immediately after the ministry released its statement, a copy of Shoukry's schedule sent out to journalists showed.
Egypt
Unloads In Typo-Riddled Twitter Rant
T-rump
Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) fired off a series of tweets on Thursday morning, attacking Republican leaders in Congress, defending the wildly shifting tones in his recent speeches and retweeting a crude photo collage of him "eclipsing" former President Barack Obama in a typo-riddled tirade.
Trump began by accusing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan of not following his advice on debt-ceiling negotiations.
According to the New York Times, Trump "berated" McConnell during an Aug. 9 phone call "that quickly devolved into a profane shouting match."
The president also criticized the media's scrutiny of the shifting tone of his back-to-back-to-back speeches, misspelling the words "there" and "too."
"The Fake News is now complaining about my different types of back to back speeches. Well, their was Afghanistan (somber), the big Rally (enthusiastic, dynamic and fun) and the American Legion - V.A. (respectful and strong)," Trump tweeted. "To bad the Dems have no one who can change tones!"
T-rump
Chinese Laborers
Peru
Archaeologists exploring Peru's pre-Colombian past recently unearthed a glimpse of a less prominent chapter in the Andean country's history - the remains of 16 Chinese laborers from around the turn of the last century.
The bodies, thought to be those of indentured workers brought to Peru to replace slave labor, were found buried at the top of an adobe pyramid first used by the ancient Ichma people, Roxana Gomez, the lead archaeologist of the site, said on Thursday.
Peru was one of the biggest destinations for Chinese labor in Latin America in the 20th century, a market that thrived after slavery was abolished in the country in 1854.
The Chinese found at the Bellavista pyramid in Lima were buried in the late 1800s and early 1900s and had likely picked cotton at a nearby plantation in "very difficult" conditions, said Gomez.
Chinese laborers in the 20th century were generally not allowed to be buried at Lima's Catholic cemeteries, forcing them to improvise burial sites, according to Peru's Culture Ministry.
Peru
In Memory
Jay Thomas
Jay Thomas, a radio talk show host and actor with recurring roles on the sitcoms "Murphy Brown" and "Cheers," has died, his publicist said. Thomas was 69.
Thomas' best-known roles were as Eddie LeBec, the former-hockey-player husband of barmaid Carla on "Cheers," and tabloid-talk-show host Jerry Gold on "Murphy Brown," for which he won two Emmys.
Thomas, who in recent years hosted a SiriusXM Radio talk show, was a reliably worthy guest. His annual Christmastime appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman" became a tradition that included a contest to knock a meatball off a Christmas tree erected onstage.
The custom began one night in 1998 when New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde was a guest. He and Letterman picked up footballs and began tossing them at the oddly decorated tree, aiming for the meatball.
Impatiently watching their failures from the wings was Thomas, former quarterback at tiny Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. He ran on stage, picked up a football and, in one throw, accomplished what the NFL quarterback couldn't in several. Thomas was invited back annually for the duration of Letterman's "Late Show" run to try to repeat his feat.
With each appearance he also retold a tale of his time as a radio DJ in the South when he and a friend gave a ride to Clayton Moore, star of TV's "Lone Ranger." Letterman hailed it as the "best story I've ever heard."
Thomas called his annual "Late Show" ritual "the craziest thing I have ever been a part of" in an interview a few years ago with The Associated Press.
Born John Thomas Terrell in Kermit, Texas, he began his radio career as a sports announcer for high school football and college basketball while attending schools including Gulf Coast College and Jacksonville University to earn bachelor's and master's degrees, according to his online biography.
He worked as a radio disc jockey and station program manager in so many Southern cities that "I had a career like a Piedmont Airlines schedule," he joked in an AP interview.
His radio experience led to stand-up comedy gigs and eventually acting on stage and TV. In 1979, he was cast on the hit sitcom "Mork & Mindy" in the supporting role of delicatessen owner Remo DaVinci.
He starred for three seasons in the sitcom "Love & War" as a sports writer romancing the woman who owned his favorite sports bar. Thomas also made many guest appearances on comedy and drama series, most recently on "Ray Donovan," ''NCIS: New Orleans" and "Bones."
His films roles include "Mr. Holland's Opus" and second and third "Santa Clause" films.
Thomas' survivors include his wife, Sally, and sons J.T. Harding and Jacob and Samuel Thomas.
Jay Thomas
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