Where she eventually ends up is still in question, but Tropical Storm Debby is going to strike between Apalachicola and Cross City in Northern Florida Monday night, according to latest projections from Accuweather. This means there has been a major change in Debby’s track, at least from this weather service.
Day: June 24, 2012
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Bullying doesn’t just hurt kids: The video of Karen Klein crying on a bus proves that. But to what extent is freedom of speech hindered in crackdowns on teenagers’ cruel words? Some thoughts and fears
By now you have seen the video bullies on a bus saying horrible things to Karen Klein–she was a bus monitor as teenage kids were hurling insults at her about her weight and age, mocking her for crying at their words. She is a mother, a grandmother. A special fund was set up after the video went viral.. it started at $5,000 to send her on vacation and is now in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Clearly, sentiments are not on the teenage bullies’ side. The troubling video has been viewed by millions of people billions of times.But it opens up a whole new door of intrigue: We think of bullying just hurting kids. We fail to realize that often the subject of bullies and kids in general are adults. Sure, adults are paid to put up with a bit. Think back to high school.. I am sure you will regret some things done to teachers or officials in your school.However it seems to be taking on a new life of its own in the Twitter era. Facebook posts can be made hidden.. but damage can be done. The AP posted this unsettling snapshot of our time: Bullies and how they hurt teachers more in this new online era.The AP explain what Klein faced on the bus this way:Students poked the bus monitor with a textbook, called her a barrage of obscenities and threatened to urinate on her front door, among other callous insults. One student taunted: “You don’t have a family because they all killed themselves because they don’t want to be near you.”Klein’s oldest son killed himself 10 years ago.Eventually, she appears to break down in tears. A cellphone video of the incident posted on YouTube went viral.There is freedom of speech. I am often troubled by the attempt to slam ‘bullies’ with fines or penalties. To a degree freedom of speech can be hindered if a crackdown on bullies occurs. But on the flip side, what has gone missing in the mind of American kids? What went away that stopped them from the crudest and rudest of insults? What made their brain chemicals swirl to allow them to maim, insult, and sometimes even kill for fun?It is becoming commonplace to reach stories from international media (often about America) of kids calling in food orders, the delivery person showing up, and that person being killed–and the kids still eat the food while the corpse lay motionless in death.The kids are not alright. They seem to be getting less alright with every passing day, and every bus ride into the great bastion of hate and mental sickness: Modern American high school. -
Egypt’s new path: Mohammed Morsi
The AP calls the election of Islamist Mohammed Morsi the ‘freest’ election in Egypt’s history. At least one compelling story of a man beating his pregnant wife to death for not voting for Morsi lends argument as to the extent of how free the ‘freest’ could be.What is clear from the close election is this: The world will not readjust its policies on Egypt, taking into account the new majority backed by the Muslim Brotherhood. While Morsi won with just a little over half of the vote, he won. Massive crowds have already assembled in Cairo’s Tahrir Square chanting “Allahu Akbar!”What began as a strange odyssey of protest and violence 500 days ago with the ouster of Hosni Mubarak now continues with an election, dramatic results, and a new path for Egypt.Time will tell what path is the one the nation will take.. and what issues lurk along the way. -
Egypt has a new direction
Elections over: The Muslim Brotherhood-backed candidate Mohamed Morsi won Egypt’s presidential election, the Supreme Presidential Elections Commission announced Sunday.. The world now will watch as power shifts and events unfold. Untold ramifications for Egypt, the region, and the world. Don’t let analysts on TEE VEE fool you, in the end they don’t quite know either.
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Lawyer: State Pen Sandusky under suicide watch
The verdict was clear Friday night: The jury believed that former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky was guilty on charges that he both molested boys in locker rooms, his home, and groomed troubled youths to eventually be molested..Bail was revoked and he was immediately remanded to prison under Friday Night Lights in Bellefonte, PA. Now Sandusky’s attorney Karl Rominger told CNN that Jerry Sandusky is under suicide watch and it in protective custody.. Centre County Jail not making any comments on Sandusky’s mental state or his condition. -
Massive wildfires continue to grow in Colorado
Evacuations continue in Colorado as an already out of control wildfire rages with even more intensity. Gazette.com is offering a live blog to cover the latest. Photos of eerie fire pictures are posted. The dark knight sky is illuminated by bright orange and red colors .. the fire advances destroying homes and property without consideration to human life.According to officials quotes on the Gazette blog, the Waldo Canyon fire is at 0% containment.. this fire was formerly known as the Pyramid Mountain fire. New name, same battle. Same fire..Air Force grounds are being utilized as area for helicopters involved in firefighting operations.Here is a complete list of all the areas under evacuation orders. Among the orders: Manitou Springs, an entire town of 5,000. The fires are leading to 24/7 battles for already exhausted firefighters.Photo above credit AP(People watch as smoke billows from a wildfire west of Colorado Springs, Colo. on Saturday, June 23, 2012. The fire has grown to an estimated 600 acres and The Gazette reports authorities are evacuating the exclusive Cedar Heights neighborhood as well as the Garden of the Gods nature center. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller) -
Debby’s big spread: Will she do Dallas?
We have now the most storms named before July 4 since the 1800s.. Tropical Storm Debby is the latest system that received identification as a named storm — already gas wells are shutting down in the Gulf in precaution, and warnings of up to 10 inches in parts of the Gulf Coast are already being issued.The real question is how strong Debby gets circulating over heated waters.. the other question, judging from models of the system, is where she will decide to eventually go:
The big question now: Will Debby do Dallas, and what news editor would be the first to showcase that as a headline. -
George Knapp’s follow up to March program on strange disappearances from national parks = To do list: Stay awake late tonight
Turn off all the lights in the house, brew some tea, and listen to George Knapp interview David Paulides about strange disappearances on Coast to Coast AM..He was on in March for the same topic and the show was excellent. No doubt tonight will be as creepy.Paulides’ show in March with Knapp explored the world of people who vanish from national parks across the United States. Knapp’s four hours of odd stories and weird tales from places thought of as safe were a hit with listeners of the program–listeners who have longed for the type of show that Art Bell was famous for on a nightly basis.
Knapp promised Paulides would be back. And Premiere radio is most likely glad he is, since the Knapp program in March received lots of play online with fans of the program.Coast to Coast AM is heard on hundreds of stations nationwide and streamed online.Rarely has a George Noory program become such a fan favorite as the Knapp program with Paulides. Tonight promises to be part 2 of a great subject for things that go bump in the night.
