All posts by Rachael Maddow

Politics

NORTH KOREA POISED TO STRIKE US

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In an emergency meeting early Friday morning, Mr. Kim was photographed signing an order directing rocket units on standby to strike the US and South Korean targets at any time. This was prompted after a nuclear-capable US B-2 stealth bomber was part of joint military drills with South Korea hours earlier. The photographs published by the state-run Rodong newspaper included one with a chart labeled “US mainland strike plan” with trajectories of missiles in the vicinity of Hawaii, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Mr. Kim as stating that: In the event of any “reckless” US provocation, North Korean forces should “mercilessly strike the US mainland … military bases in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea.”

Though North Korea has no proven ability strike the US mainland, Mr Kim said: “The time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists.”

Read More: The Telegraph

FYI, Justice

PROPOSITION 8 SUPREME COURT HEARING: LINE FORMING

The Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in the first of two cases on Tuesday. The line began at 4 p.m. on Thursday by paid line stander John Spears. The line formed a full 114 hours in advance, which is even earlier than the line for the Obamacare case, which started about 72 hours before the hearing.

The hearings of oral arguments this week will include California’s Proposition 8, which addresses gay marriage, on Tuesday and the Defense of Marriage Act on Wednesday. According to the Supreme Court Hearing List, Proposition 8 is to have about and hour for their arguments and the Defense of Marriage Act Jurisdiction will have 50 minutes and Merits will have an hour for their arguments.

Read More – Huffington Post: Supreme Court Gay Marriage Line Forms Even Earlier Than Obamacare Queue

Entertainment

MARK BURNETT: “THE BIBLE” MINI-SERIES

Mark Burnett has produced many things in his career including “Survivor”, “The Apprentice”, “Shark Tank”, and “The Voice”, but his upcoming project is in a whole different realm of reality TV. The History Channel will air the 10 hour mini-series he produced with his wife Roma Downey called “The Bible.” Downey also takes a starring role in the mini-series as Mary, the mother of Jesus

“The Bible” spans both the Old and New Testaments from Genesis to Revelations. The 5 part series will air starting this Sunday, March 3, with the episode entitled “In the Beginning” and conclude on Easter Sunday, March 31, with “Courage.” The stories will include Noah’s Ark, Abraham, Moses and the Exodus, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, King David and Bathsheba, and the stories of the life of Jesus, just to name a few.

Here is the extended trailer:

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IMDb “The Bible”
New Downey and Burnett Bible series to launch faith journeys

News

TB OUTBREAK IN LOS ANGELES


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Reports of an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in the downtown area of Los Angeles has even the police taking precautions. Over the weekend, LAPD officers in the skid row area were advised via email and roll calls to use masks to protect themselves from risk of being infected by the disease if a situation seems to warrant the preccaution.

Mabel Aragon, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Health Department (LACHD), gave a statement Friday that the federal agency, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is helping in the process of surveillance and statistic gathering as the LACHD is in the process of confirming the number and type of TB cases in LA County.

Scott Bryan, spokesman for the CDC, confirmed they have been asked by both state and local TB officials to assist with the investigation. They are planning on sending in a team in about 2 weeks to further help with containment of the disease.

According to the Los Angeles Times, there have been almost 80 cases of a unique strain of TB identified including 11 deaths. Of those, 60 of the cases were from homeless individuals from the skid row area of Los Angeles. The strain which is unique to Los Angeles can be treated with anti-TB medications for 6 – 9 months.

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Downtown L.A. TB outbreak: LAPD urges officers to wear masks

Science And Technology

BUG OR DRONE?

With the signing of a new law by President Obama this month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been directed to completely open US airspace to drones by September 30, 2015. There are many uses arguable for the use of drones, but most think of the unmanned planes we have seen in action against Al Qaeda when the term drone is mentioned.

The Air Force Research Laboratory made an animated video of the many uses of Micro Air Vehicles and how they may work in the field. After being released by a larger air vehicle, these bird or bug like surveillance drones can literally fly under the radar as well as enter places other drones cannot.

The video includes a section on “Remote Tag and Target” and “Precision Engagement.” The narration states, “Individual MAV’s may perform direct attack missions and can be equipped with incapacitating chemicals, combustable payloads, or even explosives for precision targeting capabilities.”

A picture of an existing MAV drone is now pictured as the main image on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base web site. Back on July 22, 2010, they also released a Fact Sheet entitled “MICRO AIR VEHICLE INTEGRATION & APPLICATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE.”

John Horgan of National Geographic has published an article called “Unmanned Flight: The Drones Come Home” in this month’s issue documenting the history of drones and their possible uses in the US.

Read More
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
MICRO AIR VEHICLE INTEGRATION & APPLICATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE
‘Bug-Sized’ Drones Are The Most Frightening Type Of Killer Robot Yet

Random Events, Free Will or Something Darker?

DORNER REMAINS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED

UPDATED February 15, 2013

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The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department confirmed the identity of the remains found in the burnt out cabin in the Big Bear Area. Because the remains were burned beyond recognition, dental records were used to identify the ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner. This comes just one day after Sheriff John McMahon made a statement that the manhunt for the fugitive had been called off.

In events that started on February 3, with the murder of an engaged couple, and escalating with a massive multi-state and multi-country search, which began on February 7 when Dorner tried to steal a boat in San Diego and shot at officers in Corona and Riverside killing Michael Crain. The trail lead up to Big Bear where his truck was found burned with a broken axle. That is where the trail went cold until February 12.

Tuesday afternoon Jim and Karen Reynolds went to their unoccupied apartment in Big Bear surprising Dorner who was hiding out there. Their apartment was directly across the street from the command outpost of those searching for him. According to Karen Reynolds, Dorner stated he would not kill them. He tied them up, put wash cloths in their mouths, and tied pillows over their heads. Dorner then stole their car, at which time the Reynolds’ broke free and contacted the authorities.

Dorner was then chased by California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel who identified the stolen car. The pursuit culminated with a shoot out between the two vehicles and one of the wardens exiting the car to fire 20 high powered rounds at Dorner as he continued past them.

During the pursuit, Dorner crashed the car he had stolen and carjacked Richard Heltebrake’s silver truck. According to Heltebrake, Dorner came out of the trees and stood in the road telling Heltebrake to get out, take his dog and walk up the road. As with the Reynolds’, Dorner said he did not want to harm Heltebrake.

A San Bernardino Sheriff patrol car with 2 deputies (found the truck parked in front of a cabin. The deputies were discussing how to proceed when they saw footprints in the snow leading up to one of the cabins. Dorner then ambushed the deputies from the cabin in question) and a shoot out ensued. (Other officers arrived on scene about the same time the shots were fired.) Detective Jeremiah MacKay and Officer Andrew Tachias were both shot, MacKay fatally. The cabin became the last place Dorner would be as he became trapped by officers surrounding the area.

At one point Dorner tried to escape, but was forced back into the cabin by surrounding officers. As night approached, a highly flammable “hot gas” was used to try to force Dorner out. The use of this incendiary device accidentally caught the cabin on fire. There was one shot heard from inside and then the sounds of other ammunition exploding as the fire grew. The cabin was allowed to burn out on its own with no other events reported.

Christopher Dorner’s remains were found after the scene was deemed to be safe to enter. His remains were transferred to the (Riverside County Coroner’s Office) for identification.

UPDATED 2/15/13- San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department’s John McMahon held a press conference today at 4:00pm PST. He stated that the Reynolds’ condominium was checked on Thursday night February 7th. The door was found locked and there was no answer. The Reynolds’ stated that the door had been left unlocked the last time they had left. Officers were instructed not to force entry if the door was locked, there was no answer, and there was not cause to suspect forced entry. The building was then tagged as searched.

Cold gas was used first to try to force Dorner out of the cabin. It was only after the failure of the attempts to coax him out of the cabin using multiple strategies that the more flammable device was used. It was also revealed that the sound of the single shot after the fire started had a different sound than the other shots Dorner had been firing.

Captain Kevin Lacey stated the coroner’s report’s cause of death was a single gun shot wound to the head. It seems to have been self inflicted. His remains were transferred to San Bernardino County Morgue upon completion of the autopsy.

Read More
Big Bear residents say Dorner bound, gagged them
Riverside Officer Wounded in Dorner Ambush Identified
Dorner manhunt: ‘Hot gas’ that burned cabin was last resort

News

LAPD OFFICER HUNTED IN BIG BEAR, CA; SUSPECT IN 3 MURDERS


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The man hunt continues for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner in Big Bear, CA today. He has been accused of three murders including that of a police officer in Riverside, CA and an engaged couple in Irvine, CA.

Last Sunday night, Monica Quan, an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, were found in the parking garage of an upscale condominium in Irvine shot to death. On
Monday morning, Christopher Joedan Dorner posted a manifesto on his Facebook page stating that he had murdered the couple. It also included at least 40 other people he threatened violence against. In San Diego, “police equipment” was found in a dumpster and was believed to be his.

Tuesday, military bases were put on alert when it was revealed that Dorner had used his military identification to check into a hotel on the San Diego Naval base days before. Dorner was considered a “person of interest as of Wednesday in the murders of the couple in Irvine. That night around 10:30, he tried to steal a boat from an 81 year old man in Southwestern Yacht Club, Point Loma with speculation he was going to flee to Mexico. The boat became inoperable when a rope became tangled around the propeller.

Early Thursday morning, an officer in Corona was grazed in the head with a bullet while protecting a family mentioned in the manifesto. A short time later, two Riverside offers were shot while on their regular patrol, one fatally. About the same time, Dorner’s badge and briefcase were found near Lindbergh Field in San Diego. The search was then expanded to include the entire state of California as well as Nevada.

By Thursday evening, a burned out truck that was found about 8:30 am in Big Bear, CA was identified as belonging to Dorner. A full scale search for the suspect was initiated including cars, houses and the forest areas surrounding the area. The search continued throughout the snow on Friday and resumed again today. The search will continue until either Dorner is found or officials are given a reason to stop, possibly a lead that takes them elsewhere.

Dorner’s mother’s house in La Palma, CA as well as his house in Las Vegas, NV have been searched in hopes that some other leads may be revealed.

Read More
Couple dead in shooting remembered as stars off the court and on
Ex-LAPD cop tried to steal boat, flee to Mexico, authorities say
Dorner manhunt: Officers opened fire on mother, daughter
Riverside officer shot, killed, honored at vigil
Big Bear visitors undeterred by ongoing Dorner manhunt
Manhunt manifesto

News

SOLOMON ISLANDS TSUNAMI, 4 DEAD


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Today a tsunami hit the Solomon Islands after a series of earthquakes shook the region in the last few days. The earthquake which set off the tsunami was rated at a magnitude of 8.0. Currently there are 4 people confirmed dead, but there are also unconfirmed reports of fishing boats being swept out to sea.

At least 100 homes were also destroyed. Most followed the advice of warnings and made it to higher ground in central Lata, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands before the waves hit.

Tsunami warning sirens also went off in New Zealand and Fiji which indicated a three foot rise in the levels of the ocean.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has now lifted the tsunami warning which was limited to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna.

There was also a lesser alert, a tsunami watch, issued for American Samoa, Australia, Guam, the Northern Marianas, New Zealand and eastern Indonesia.

Read More
USGS – M8.0 – 76km W of Lata, Solomon Islands

News

LONE STAR COLLEGE SHOOTING, 4 INJURED


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Two men had an altercation, included firing guns at each other, between the academic building and library at Lone Star College Harris Campus in Houston, Texas, according to its Chancellor, Richard Carpenter. The campus was locked down by police while the situation was assessed and the shooters were in custody. The surrounding Aldine School District’s 4 campuses were also secured during this time.

Texas is a concealed carry state, but Lone Star College is a gun-free zone with a policy which does not allow guns on campus. Even with this policy, witnesses stated that each man drew a pistol, one from his backpack and the other from a jacket.

According to the school spokesman Jed Young, students were caught in the crossfire of two shooters. Of the more than 10,000 students on campus today, 3 people were shot and one woman suffered a heart attack.

There are various reports accounting for the wounded,a maintenance worker who was shot in the leg and innocent victims included a student and a teacher. One of the shooters was reported to be among the injured. The two victims taken to Ben Taub Hospital were reported to have multiple gunshot wounds and were in “relatively serious conditions.” Both were taken into surgery.

The second shooter turned himself in at the hospital after being hunted by tracking dogs in the surrounding woods.

Read More at CNN or ABC News

Random Events, Free Will or Something Darker?

MASS PROTEST IN PARIS AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE

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Yesterday, thousands of protesters as a part of three marches, converged on the Champs de Mars in Paris, France, to show their opposition to the Marriage Equality Bill.  The bill would give the right of marriage and adoption to gay individuals. Extending the rights of same-sex couples was a part of Francois Hollande’s presidential election campaign. Police estimate the number of protesters was around 340,000 while the organizers, the Catholic Church and the right-wing opposition, estimate it was around 800,000.

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Random Events, Free Will or Something Darker?

SAND MANDALA AT UNIVERSITY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS


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The Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta sent 10 monks to create a Sand Mandala Project in the Rapaport Atriun at Blanton Museum of Art on Texas University, at Austin’s campus. This is to be the culminating event of the exhibit of  “Into the Sacred City: Tibetan Buddhist Deities from the Theos Bernard Collection.”

The display included eight rare Tibetan works, which have never been exhibited publicly before, from the University of California, Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA). There are five mandalas and three thangkas from the 15th to 20th centuries exploring the art and religion of Tibet.

Today marked the end to the exhibit as well as the work of the monks on the Sand Mandala Project as they performed the dissolution ceremony showing the impermanence of all that exists. Upon its conclusion, half of the sand was given out to those in attendance, followed by a procession to Waller Creek at about 3:30 pm where the other half of the sand mandala was dispersed in the water. The mandala was created for the healing of living beings and the environment.

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Random Events, Free Will or Something Darker?

ROBBERY AND RAPE AT WESTCHESTER NORDSTROM RACK, LA

January 12, 2013

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Thursday night, 3 armed men took 14 employees as hostages during a robbery at Nordstrom Rack at about 11 pm. Of those, 3 were forced to strip naked, one female worker was stabbed in the neck and another was sexually assaulted. The male suspects had fled the store before SWAT rescued the workers Friday morning. As of today, 5 suspects are in custody including 2 women that are being charged as accessories after the fact.

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Spirituality & Health

Bill O’Reilly Apologizes After Incorrectly Predicting SCOTUS Would Strike Down Mandate | Mediaite

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Back in March, Bill O’Reilly proclaimed that the Supreme Court would not uphold the individual mandate in President Obama‘s Affordable Care Act. If proven wrong, he said he would “apologize for being an idiot.” On Monday night, he did just that, conceding that he failed to take into account Chief Justice John Roberts‘ taxation argument.

Bill “I’m not really sorry, but I am a man of my word, so I apologize for not factoring in the John Roberts situation. Truthfully, I never in a million years would thought the chief justice would go beyond the scope of the commerce clause to date and into taxation. I may be an idiot for not considering that”. (Note: ignorance doesn’t make you an idiot, just ignorant to the real reason listed below, now don’t be stubborn)

The apology and ensuing media critique below, via Fox News:

Read: Bill Apologizes

The reality is Fox many times tries to “seed” the viewers with a direction.

Over and over again they convince the viewers, we’ve beat up Obama and health care is stopped, it is only Nancy Pelosi who puts her faith in the Dalai Lama and the sand mandola occult cerimoney being performed right on Capitol Hill, and guess what, Nancy is attributed for pulling that off single handed… well she actually had a little help from those dark friends that were evoked during the tibetan ritual.

(again, WHY DID NO ONE REPORT ON THE OCCULT ACTIVITY GOING ON DURING THE HEALTH CARE VOTE, RIGHT OUTSIDE THEIR WINDOW ON THEIR PROPERTY?)

Then once again, Bill says: don’t worry, don’t worry the Supreme court will strike it down… and once again, Nancy turns to her god, the Dalai Lama and the tibetan dark arts, and guess what? All the Fox viewers are caught completly off guard once again…

Why? because of the level of witchcraft being used. Glenn Beck was also warned he would be off Fox if he didn’t listen… he didn’t, he’s off Fox…

Anyone else tired of listening to Fox trying to stir it up once again but not willing to deal with the root of the problem?

Perhaps it’s time to stop putting all your faith in Fox as if they alone can save you?

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News

MUNRO: Obama ignores questions about controversial de facto amnesty decision 800,000 foreigners aged 15 to 30

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President Barack Obama declined to take any questions from reporters about his controversial and significant decision to offer a de facto amnesty to at least 800,000 foreigners aged 15 to 30.

The announcement of the decision comes at a time of record unemployment among low-skilled workers, Hispanics and African-Americans.

For example, less than 50 percent of younger African-Americans have full-time jobs, according to data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Unemployment among Hispanics, youth and African-Americans rose in May, according to the BLS.

Obama justified his immigration decision by saying it is supported by business lobbies.

The president has often used this no-questions strategy when making important or poll-boosting announcements. (VIDEO: Reporter explains his Rose Garden exchange with Obama)

He declined to answer TheDC’s shouted question about the impact of his new policy on American workers. He also failed to answer another reporter’s question.

Obama’s deputy, Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, followed the same strategy Friday during a morning telephone press-conference. She gave a short statement and then left the conference while two officials provided not-for-attribution answers to selected reporters’ questions.

The reporters selected to offer questions included established media outlets and Spanish-language outlets. The chosen outlets included the Los Angeles Times, CNN, National Journal, Univision, The New York Times and La Prensa.

The selected reporters did not ask about the controversial impact on American workers.

American citizenship is a highly valued status, because it provides Americans with legal protections worldwide and gives them access to the shared wealth and sympathy of other Americans. Millions of illegal immigrants have risked their lives to win the prize for themselves and their children.

Obama has been under increased pressure from Hispanic lobbies to provide access to citizenship for up to 10 million illegal immigrants, whose arrival will boost the clout of ethnic lobbies.

In general, Democratic politicians have favored easy immigration, despite the impact it has on American workers, who provided the party’s base up until the 1980s.

via MUNRO: Obama ignores questions about controversial de facto amnesty decision | The Daily Caller.