Paul Krugman: Infrastructure Build or Privatization Scam? (NY Times Blog)
You should immediately ask three questions about all of this. First, why involve private investors at all? It's not as if the federal government is having any trouble raising money - in fact, a large part of the justification for infrastructure investment is precisely that the government can borrow so cheaply. Why do we need private equity at all?
John Cheese: How Self Destruction Ate Me Alive For 30 Years (Cracked)
But sometime in the middle of that decade, I found myself sleeping on the floor of an abandoned trailer. I was fully dressed, including in a winter coat, wrapped in sleeping bags and old blankets my friend had snuck out of his parents' house. On the ground beside me was a stolen package of bologna, half a loaf of bread, and an empty 12-pack of Milwaukee's Best. I remember drinking the beer fast because I was afraid it would freeze and explode, and that seemed really wasteful and irresponsible to me.
Vic Shuttee: Punk Rocker, Journalist, Comedian Henry Rollins on Speaking Truth to Power (Houston Press)
In these uncertain times, it can be hard to truly speak your mind. Henry Rollins has no such problems. The writer-journalist-comedian-musician is bringing his act to the House of Blues for what he calls bluntly "a talking show," deadpanning that all he can promise is that he'll be "onstage, talking, likely at a high rate for speed for a fair amount of time."
Luna 2 (E-1A series) or Lunik 2 was the second of the Soviet Union's Luna programme spacecraft launched to the Moon. It was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, and the first man-made object to land on another celestial body. On September 14, 1959, it successfully impacted east of Mare Imbrium near the craters Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus.
Source
Alan J was first and correct with:
The Soviet Union's Luna 2.
Deborah responded:
Was it the Soviet Union's Luna 2? That's what I'm seeing, anyway.
Blocked a couple Twitter users who called me a Liberal Bigot. No way am I bigoted.
Another rainy day, with dense fog to boot. So seasonal and very necessary.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, said:
Luna 2 from Russia
DJ Useo replied:
I remember this! It's Luna-2, the 2nd Russian space probe. I was completely enchanted with space travel once.
I had the GI Joe space capsule with parachute. What fun for a developing mind.
MAM wrote:
Luna 2 ~ Soviet Union's Luna programme spacecraft launched to the Moon, September 14, 1959.
Joe S answered:
It was a camera. In 1939 an amateur photographer caught Clark Kent in a phone booth stripping off his "civilian" clothes and snapped a picture. Clark, as Superman, grabbed the camera and heaved it into the air and landed on the moon. Thirty years later the camera was discovered by Neil Armstrong during his "Moon Walk." The camera was left on the moon and the discovery was covered up by the government.
Randall took the day off.
mj took the day off.
Dale of Spectacular Diamond Springs, Norcali took the day off.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
The failed comedians posing as weather forecasters said it would start raining about 4pm.
Oh well, they were only off by 7 hours - it started around 9am.
OTOH, beats the crap outta the half-foot of snow dear old Dad is dealing with back in PA.
Tonight, Monday:
CBS opens the night with a FRESH'Kevin Can Wait', followed by a FRESH'Man With A Plan', then a FRESH'2 Broke Girls', followed by a FRESH'The Gawd-Awful Odd Couple', then a FRESH'Scorpion'.
Scheduled on a FRESHStephen Colbert are Michael Weatherly, Carrie Fisher, and the Pretenders.
Scheduled on a FRESHJames Corden, OBE, are Anna Kendrick, Billy Eichner, and Kurt Braunohler.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'The Voice', followed by a FRESH'Timeless'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Jason Sudeikis, Kristin Chenoweth, and DNCE.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are Kathy Griffin, Dev Patel, and Jose Andres.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 9/27/16) are Lisa King, the Thermals, and Vlad Yudin.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Dancing With The Stars', followed by a FRESH'Conviction'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Shia LaBeouf, Anna Camp, and Green Day.
The CW offers a FRESH'Supergirl', followed by a FRESH'Jane The Virgin'.
Faux has a FRESH'Gotham', followed by a FRESH'Lucifer'.
MY has 'TMZ (Not So) Live', followed by a FRESH'Harry'.
A&E has 3 hours of old 'The First 48', followed by a FRESH'The First 48: Revenge Kills'.
AMC offers the movie 'GoodFellas', followed by the movie 'Pearl Harbor'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] PLANET EARTH: THE BLUE PLANET - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 6-Coral Seas
[7:00AM] PLANET EARTH: THE BLUE PLANET - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 7-Tidal Seas
[8:00AM] PLANET EARTH: THE BLUE PLANET - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 8-Coasts
[9:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 12-Army of Ghosts
[10:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 13-Doomsday
[11:00AM] DOCTOR WHO: THE RUNAWAY BRIDE
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 7 - EPISODE 25-All Good Things... (Part 1)
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 7 - EPISODE 26-All Good Things... (Part 2)
[2:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 16-Birthright (Part 1)
[3:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 17-Birthright (Part 2)
[4:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 19-Lessons
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 20-The Chase
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 21-Frame of Mind
[7:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 22-Suspicions
[8:00PM] PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF (2010)
[10:30PM] PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF (2010)
[1:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 16-Birthright (Part 1)
[2:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 17-Birthright (Part 2)
[3:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 20-The Chase
[4:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 21-Frame of Mind
[5:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 22-Suspicions (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'OC Social', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of OC', then a FRESH'Vanderpump Rules', and 'Real Housewives Of OC'.
Comedy Central has 'Futurama', another 'Futurama' and 3 hours of old 'South Park'.
On a RERUNThe Daily Show (from 11/9/16) is John Stanton.
On a RERUN@Midnight (from 11/15/16) are Flula Borg, Sara Schaefer, Randy and Liedtke.
FX has the movie 'Sex Tape', followed by the movie 'This Is 40'.
History has 'American Pickers', another 'American Pickers', followed by a FRESH'American Pickers', then a FRESH'Pawn Stars', followed by a FRESH'Pawn Stars: Pumped Up'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] THE FOOT FIST WAY
[8:00AM] WEIRD SCIENCE
[10:00AM] SCARY MOVIE 2
[12:00PM] ACCEPTED
[2:00PM] WEIRD SCIENCE
[4:00PM] SCARY MOVIE 2
[6:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Eric's Drunken Tattoo
[6:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Canadian Road Trip
[7:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Backstage Pass
[7:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-The Promise Ring
[8:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-It's a Wonderful Life
[8:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Eric's Depression
[9:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Pinciotti vs. Forman
[9:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Hyde Gets the Girl
[10:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Bye-Bye Basement
[10:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-The Relapse
[11:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Eric's Drunken Tattoo
[11:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Canadian Road Trip
[12:00AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Backstage Pass
[12:30AM] THAT '70S SHOW-The Promise Ring
[1:00AM] THAT '70S SHOW-It's a Wonderful Life
[1:30AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Eric's Depression
[2:00AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Pinciotti vs. Forman
[2:30AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Hyde Gets the Girl
[3:00AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Bye-Bye Basement
[3:30AM] THAT '70S SHOW-The Relapse
[4:00AM] SCARY MOVIE 2 (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] M*A*S*H-Dear Dad ... Again
[6:30AM] M*A*S*H-The Longjohn Flap
[7:00AM] M*A*S*H-The Army-Navy Game
[7:30AM] M*A*S*H-Sticky Wicket
[8:00AM] M*A*S*H-Major Fred C. Dobbs
[8:30AM] M*A*S*H-Ceasefire
[9:00AM] M*A*S*H-Showtime
[9:30AM] M*A*S*H-Divided We Stand
[10:00AM] M*A*S*H-5 O'Clock Charlie
[10:30AM] M*A*S*H-Radar's Report
[11:00AM] M*A*S*H-For the Good of the Outfit
[11:30AM] M*A*S*H-Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde
[12:00PM] M*A*S*H-Kim
[12:30PM] M*A*S*H-L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)
[1:00PM] M*A*S*H-The Trial of Henry Blake
[1:30PM] Alien Resurrection
[4:00PM] Aliens
[7:00PM] Cliffhanger
[9:00PM] Turner & Hooch
[11:30PM] Uncle Buck
[1:45AM] A Nightmare on Elm Street
[3:45AM] A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
[5:44AM] All in the Family-Archie and the FBI (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'The Legend Of Hercules', followed by the movie 'Resident Evil: Afterlife', then the movie 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse'.
Li Zijun of China performs during the exhibition show at the Audi Cup of China ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Beijing, China, Nov. 20, 2016.
Photo by Wu Hong
Discovered in Ingmar Bergman's archive, a previously unknown manuscript about sexual and social revolution in the 1960s is to be turned into a movie, nearly a decade after the Swedish director's death.
"Sixty-four minutes with Rebecka," written by the legendary filmmaker when he was aged 51, was found in 2002 when Bergman donated his work to an institute in his name, shelved among thousands of letters, completed screenplays and photographs.
"Finding an unknown but finished Ingmar Bergman screenplay would be the equivalent of finding a manuscript by Hemingway or if not Shakespeare," Jan Holmberg, head of the Ingmar Berman Foundation, told AFP.
Bergman, who was an introverted and conservative filmmaker, portrays the era's frenetic sexual and social revolution in the script, which was originally meant to be a movie collaboration between Bergman, Federico Fellini and Akira Kurosawa, a trio of directing giants.
Fellini had contacted Bergman in 1962 to ask if the Swedish director would be interested in filming a joint movie series with Kurosawa, who years later dropped out for unknown reasons, according to Holmberg.
A young boy looks at a turtle swimming inside its enclosure at the Siam Ocean World aquarium in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 20, 2016. The aquarium is one of the largest in Southeast Asia and host to over 30,000 marine creatures. The 10,000 square meters large aquarium offers visitors the opportunity to walk through a 270 degree underwater tunnel, the chance to swim with sharks, or look at marine life from a glass-bottom boat
Photo by Diego Azubel
The island nation of Kiribati has established a large shark sanctuary that will help ensure the creatures are protected across much of the central Pacific.
Vice President Kourabi Nenem said at the sanctuary's launch on Friday that the nation was committed to protecting sharks from exploitation and overfishing.
Kiribati has banned commercial shark fishing in the sanctuary, which is about the size of India.
Palau established the first shark sanctuary in the region in 2009, and has been followed by the Marshall Islands, French Polynesia and other nations.
Sea ice levels in both the Arctic and the Antarctic have hit record lows, NASA climate scientists report.
The northern record, while bleak, isn't all that surprising - Arctic sea ice has been on a consistent decline for years. But until recently, Antarctic sea ice was actually expanding. Climate change skeptics have often pointed to ice gain in the Southern Hemisphere, which hit record highs between 2012 and 2014, but now that trend appears to be reversing.
"[It] certainly puts the kibosh on everyone saying that Antarctica's ice is just going up and up," Walt Meier, a research scientist with the Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, told CNN.
Scientists previously attributed Antarctic ice gains to natural fluctuation in the atmosphere. Simply put, weather at the poles can be erratic - that's why researchers are hesitant to say that recent southern ice loss is reflective of a trend. But while it's too early to say for sure, new lows could indicate a longer pattern of melting in the region.
The timing of northern lows has also concerned researchers. It is currently "polar night" in the Arctic, which means much of the region receives no sunlight at all. During the time between October and November, ice over the Arctic Ocean thickens and grows as a result of sub-zero temperatures. But these months have been unusually hot this year, preventing much of that freeze.
People wear gas masks next to the pipeline route during a protest against the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in St. Anthony, North Dakota, U.S. November 11, 2016.
Photo by Stephanie Keith
Rutgers University is confronting its historical ties to slavery.
The New Jersey school founded in 1766 has compiled research that sheds new light on its beginnings, including an untold story of a slave who helped build the university's iconic Old Queens administration building.
The detailed report released Friday is published in the book "Scarlet and Black." It shows how intertwined slavery is with the early history of Rutgers, a common theme among America's colonial colleges.
The book combines previously documented history with some new details to paint a vivid picture of the university's relationship with slavery, a history school officials say was largely unacknowledged by Rutgers until this year. It also examines the displacement of Native Americans who once occupied land later transferred to Rutgers.
The book notes that Rutgers' namesake, Henry Rutgers, and its first president owned slaves. Some early university trustees also owned slaves and were among the most ardent anti-abolitionists in the mid-Atlantic region.
When Donald Trump (R-Grifter) is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States in Washington on Friday, Jan. 20, his family, including his wife, Melania Trump, and their young son, Barron, will undoubtedly be by his side. But come that Monday, it appears they won't be staying with him in the White House.
The New York Post and TMZ.com report that the 46-year-old future first lady and the couple's 10-year-old son will not make the move to the nation's capital and will instead remain at Trump Tower in New York City to allow Barron to continue attending private school on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
According to the Post, Melania "will travel to the White House as needed" and "her primary focus is on Barron." The two may make the move to Washington after the end of the school year, the paper added, but currently "no plans are in place."
Asked about the Post's report outside his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., Trump said both Melania and Barron would be joining him in the White House "very soon - after he's finished with school."
Buddhist monks circle around the Boudhanath Stupa during the last day of its purification ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, Nov. 20, 2016.
Photo by Niranjan Shrestha
The Catholic Church in Rwanda apologized on Sunday for the church's role in the 1994 genocide, saying it regretted the actions of those who participated in the massacres.
"We apologize for all the wrongs the church committed. We apologize on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed. We regret that church members violated (their) oath of allegiance to God's commandments," said the statement by the Conference of Catholic Bishops, which was read out in parishes across the country.
The statement acknowledged that church members planned, aided and executed the genocide, in which over 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists.
In the years since the genocide - which was sparked by a contentious plane crash that killed the then-president, a Hutu - the local church had resisted efforts by the government and groups of survivors to acknowledge the church's complicity in mass murder, saying those church officials who committed crimes acted individually.
Many of the victims died at the hands of priests, clergymen and nuns, according to some accounts by survivors, and the Rwandan government says many died in the churches where they had sought refuge.
The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit against the federal government to void drilling permits for oil and natural gas wells on tribal land that the tribe alleges cause earthquakes in northern Oklahoma.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Tulsa on Friday, a day after Pawnee residents filed a separate lawsuit in state court against 27 companies they allege operate wastewater injection wells although they know the method causes earthquakes, the Tulsa World reported (http://bit.ly/2eQX5dj ).
The federal lawsuit claims drilling permits and leases on tribal-owned lands held in trust have been improperly approved by the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake on Sept. 3 was centered about nine miles northwest of Pawnee. The earthquake damaged structures in Pawnee, including many of the Pawnee Nation's administrative buildings, the lawsuit alleges. It also prompted the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to order 37 injection wells near the quake epicenter to temporarily shut down.
The approval of the challenged oil and gas drilling permits has occurred despite an October 2015 tribal ban on new wells in Payne and Pawnee counties, the lawsuit states.
A Pakistani devotee dances to celebrate the three-day annual festival to pay tribute to the famous saint Al-Sheikh Ali Bin Usman Al-Hajveri known as Data Ganjbaksh at outside his shrine in Lahore, Pakistan, Nov. 20, 2016. Thousands of people traveled from all over Pakistan to attend the celebrations.
Photo by K.M. Chaudary
It's a confounding mystery of World War II: What happened to the 136 missing sailors from the explosion and sinking of the USS Turner?
After all, the ship did not go down in battle or even in the open sea, but while anchored near New York Harbor in 1944, so close to the city that shockwaves from the onboard munitions blasts shattered windows in some buildings.
Now, newly discovered documents show that the remains of four of the missing sailors were indeed found and buried not long after the disaster in separate graves for unknowns in a Long Island veterans cemetery.
And the researcher who found the documents suspects many more remains could have been found and buried along with them in those same simple gravesites, marked only with the words "Unknown U.S. Sailor" and "January 3, 1944," the day the destroyer sank.
"Just don't throw them in the ground and forget about them," said military historian Ted Darcy, who is turning over his findings to the Pentagon. "These guys have been neglected by our government. It's not fair, especially to their families."
Harry Potter spinoff "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" cast a spell over audiences in its debut, summoning $75 million according to studio estimates Sunday and unseating "Doctor Strange" from the top spot.
Indeed, it was a strong weekend for all-ages films overall in the lead-up to the holiday, with "Doctor Strange" placing second with $17.7 million and "Trolls" close behind in third with $17.5 million. The sci-fi mindbender "Arrival" took fourth with $11.8 million, while the themed comedy "Almost Christmas" rounded out the top five with $7 million.
Ang Lee's ambitious wartime drama "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" tanked in its expansion from four to 1,176 theaters with a mere $930,000. The film cost a reported $40 million to produce and has netted only $1.1 million total, hindered by negative reviews of its revolutionary high frame rate. Last year, Sony had a similarly inauspicious start for "The Walk," which was also touted as a must-see technological achievement.
Other more modestly budgeted films also struggled, including the R-rated high school comedy "The Edge of Seventeen," which earned $4.8 million, and the fact-based boxing drama "Bleed for This," which took in $2.4 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1."Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," $75 million ($143.3 million international).
2."Doctor Strange," $17.7 million ($26 million international).
3."Trolls," $17.5 million ($11.4 million international).
4."Arrival," $11.8 million ($6.5 million international).
5."Almost Christmas," $7 million.
6."Hacksaw Ridge," $6.8 million ($2.5 million international).
7."The Edge of Seventeen," $4.8 million.
8."Bleed for This," $2.4 million.
9."The Accountant," $2.1 million ($3.2 million international).
10."Shut In," $1.6 million.
Siberian tigers catch a cock at the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, China on Nov. 16, 2016.
Photo by Wang Jianwei
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has returned to semi-retired status.
