Warpy
Warpy's JournalIslam Karimov: Uzbekistan strongman's death confirmed
Source: BBC
he Uzbek government has confirmed the death of President Islam Karimov, six days after he was taken to hospital with a suspected brain haemorrhage.
One of Asia's most authoritarian leaders, Mr Karimov, 78, died after 27 years in power.
Mr Karimov has no clear successor. There is no legal political opposition and the media are tightly controlled.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37260375
This is going to be the next big mess. Karimov thought he'd live forever.
Earthquake strikes central Italy
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck central Italy, with reports saying some buildings had collapsed.
The quake hit at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 76 km (47 miles) southeast of the city of Perugia, at the very shallow depth of 10km (six miles), the USGS said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
However the USGS predicted these could be significant, based on data from previous quakes.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37171953
Simulated black hole experiment backs Hawking prediction
Prof Jeff Steinhauer simulated a black hole in a super-cooled state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate.
In the journal Nature Physics, he describes having observed the equivalent of a phenomenon called Hawking radiation - predicted to be released by black holes
"Classical" physics dictates that the gravity of a black holes is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. So Hawking's idea relies on quantum mechanics - the realm of physics which takes hold at very small scales.
These quantum effects allow black holes to radiate particles in a process which, over vast stretches of time, would ultimately cause the black hole to evaporate.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37088877
Full-on geek article at http://www.nature.com/articles/nphys3863.epdf?referrer_access_token=_Wtep-C07uNrQDWOpq2AmdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NCXzqnWChN_xeBarCrCpSclZLb2F1Ccbtl91ELxPv9svmF6uLLgQaRxwznk8nD4IszWAOhzxiMvBNK01Vj9xmTk-gs5fW-pAaRWxSrUxtInZffIEIkSx2OOBAfTOcrsJnCVZba9toxHG1p0LMhV5vt&tracking_referrer=www.bbc.com
In which Helen finds her voice again
Margaret, I watched that jackass in Cleveland and lost my voice. I saw a Presidential nominee paint a picture of an America I don’t know and have never known. I tried to respond but I couldn’t find the words. I watched his wife lie to a reporter saying that she had written every word of her speech. When she hadn’t, I watched the media say it wasn’t her fault. I tried to respond but couldn’t find the words. I listened to children who have known only life’s riches praise a father who had made his riches by cheating others. I tried to respond but I couldn’t find the words. I watched an audience shout down a Senator when he told them to vote their conscience. I tried to respond but I couldn’t find the words. I watched amazed as Trump got more popular rather than less and truly I couldn’t find the words. But last night, I watched a battle-worn President who had been unjustly treated and unfairly maligned rise above it all. I watched Barack Obama, my President, paint a different picture, a beautiful picture of hope, kindness, forgiveness and humility. And now I am going to respond because I have indeed found my words. Screw you, Mr. Trump. You better give your heart to Jesus because your butt is mine and I plan to kick your ass from the bottom floor to the top floor of Trump Tower and then down again. As I live and breathe, you will never be President. Never.
It gets better. https://margaretandhelen.com/
Germany blast: Syrian migrant 'behind Ansbach explosion'
failed asylum seeker from Syria killed himself and injured 12 other people after setting off a bomb near an open-air music festival in the German city of Ansbach, officials say.
Police said three of the injured were in a serious condition.
Mr Herrmann said the man was known to have attempted suicide twice before, adding: "We don't know if this man planned on suicide or if he had the intention of killing others."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36880758
Posted because more information is now known. He'd been turned away from a music festival by security. It seems security in Germany is working and probably saved many lives tonight.
Young, squeaky clean, and utterly without a clue
I found this little gem on BBC earlier today and thought it might be informative as to what we're up against in courting a lot of young GOP voters. It's just not going to happen. I'm absolutely convinced some people exit the birth canal at the age of 40.
These are the people who will line up at the polls to vote for Trump, despite their "misgivings."
I post this as an informative piece on just how delusional the GOP has become. It's utterly jaw dropping.
Panama Papers--Why No Americans?
This is a two part discussion that answers the question very obliquely, although we now know there were 441 American names/ companies in those papers. They also explain why prosecutions and changes in the law will happen slowly. Still, they do point out that one thing that has already happened in countries where this has gotten coverage is that the frayed social contract between the elites and working people has been further shredded:
&nohtml5=False
The Book of Mormon gets reviewed at Amazon
“Hello wardies!” one member of the Provo Young Single Adults 9th Ward group wrote. “Many people against the Church have, sadly, written negative comments about the Book. … The challenge for us is to go to the amazon website and write a positive rating and review. … I personally found that my love and testimony for the Book of Mormon has increased tremendously as I wrote down my testimony as a review, and I know it will be the case for you as well.” The post helpfully provided instructions for creating an Amazon account (and recommended that students just borrow their parents’ accounts if they didn’t want to start their own.) And it established a deadline: “Please accomplish this challenge by the end of the week (3/6). Thank you for serving the Lord!”
And lo! The glowing critical appraisals poured in. One five-star review currently on display raves: “This book is true. It has the ability to help you find peace and happiness in this life. It is another testament of Jesus Christ.” Another said: “Best thing that ever happened to me was when I first read this book. I felt like everything in my life finally made sense.”
But when news of the church’s missionary work reached Reddit, a great anger rose in the hearts of the people. And they scattered single stars on the page of the budding lit-world darling. They wrote:
A trite, misogynistic, racist collection of demonstrably false stories written by a convicted con artist and peddled as Gospel truth by a masonic country club of ancient white men who gleefully scam their ovine followers out of time, money, and critical thinking skills while infusing the Utah State Government and Congressional Delegation with hyper-religious special interest puppets whose utter lack of spiritual value might be forgivable were it not for its complete dearth of literary merit.
More at http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/03/21/byu_campus_leaders_asked_students_to_write_glowing_amazon_reviews_for_the.html
and of course at http://www.amazon.com/Book-Mormon-Another-Testament-Christ/dp/0385519478/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458576480&sr=1-4&keywords=book+of+mormon
File this one under "be careful what you ask for."
OK, so after 2 major fires and one fatality, they shut the DC Metro down for inspection today
Just look at what they found in 6 places, inspection only 80% complete:
WHEN POVERTY WAS A CRIME
This is long, but it's an even handed examination of the English workhouse system, its punitive as well as its progressive nature. S
It's exactly where the moralists want to take this country, poverty seen as a moral failure as well as contagious disease.
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Gender: Do not displayHometown: New Mexico
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