The Northstar Journal

Rusty Miller – Editor

Seattle, Washington

Tough spot for farmers: Adapting to change you can’t believe in

WAKE UP, DUDE

THIS IS NOT

“I’VE GOT A SECRET”

Hi again, from the shores of the Salish Sea Well, from the mail we’ve been getting on the subject, it looks like there’s no way of getting around commenting on that American who revealed classified information which the U.S. intelligence community admits has not threatened national security.

I don’t like people who do this. I carried a Top Secret clearance during part of my time in the American Navy. I read a lot of stuff that ~ had I been a ‘thinking man,’ instead of a trained communications person ~ would have made me wonder why it was classified in the first place.

Intelligence gathering is an investigative process designed to form a “picture,” if you will. Look at it like a jigsaw puzzle. Individually, no piece equals the whole. But each piece, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is essential for a complete puzzle.

That’s why people in the CIA, MI5 and other national intelligence agencies, get paid to read foreign newspapers, watch foreign television, listen to foreign radio and visit foreign websites and chatrooms.

There’s no way a single individual can assess the potential harm the secrets they leak could cause. And if there was extensive damage done, would it be in the best interests of national security to reveal that?

As far as I’m concerned, this was irresponsible grandstanding supported by others who appear to have even less understanding of the process than this Quixotic prat.

Perhaps it is because I have known too many brave individuals that I am skeptical of heroes. It is one thing to save the lives of eight people in the process of saving one’s own. It is something else again to risk one’s own life for the lives of 267, knowing one’s own will likely be forfeit.

That having been said, I would not punish this blabbermouth. I disagree with what he did but I do not doubt his sincerity. Besides, incarceration tends to produce martyrs faster than one small mouse can stampede a circus full of elephants.

Just don’t let this dude near any information ~ personal or private ~ you don’t want on the world wide web in 24 hours, in case his misguided patriotism comes out of remission again.

On the other hand, if there’s something you really want several billion people to know about by week’s end, tell this guy. Make sure he understands that what you’re sharing with him is vital to national security. If he acts like he doesn’t believe you, look relieved, do the stations of the cross and mutter, “Oy vey, Allah be praised.”

Like my infamous Uncle Seamus used to say, “If you can’t beat them and don’t want to join them, confuse the H out of them and walk away clean.”

Until next week, take care and Godspeed, then, eh? And thank you. I hope you like this week’s edition.

IN OTHER NEWS

In a landmark decision with profound implications, the U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled that human genes cannot be patented.

Well, here’s a recent discovery which certainly explains a lot. On average, men mature at the age of 43, some 11 years after women. By implication, it could also explain the attraction to older men. Women don’t want a husband they also have to raise.

Which are the world’s most competitive cities? The answer just might surprise you.

WORLD NEWS SHORTS

Afghanistan:	Afghan Insurgency Attacks Kabul Airport and Building in Capital Massive Blast Hits Supreme Court In Kabul
Argentina:	Argentina Falls From Its Throne as King of Beef
China:	China, U.S. Talks Yield Pledge for a New Model of Cooperation In China, More Signs of Slowing Growth China Sentences Brother-in-Law of Nobel Laureate to 11 Years on Fraud Charges China and U.S. team up to fight climate-changing HFCs Chinese Journalist Said to Be Detained in Beijing Behind Cry for Help From China Labor Camp China’s Great Uprooting: Moving 250 Million Into Cities
European Union:	European Commission To Confront U.S. On Phone Records
Germany:	More German Towns Evacuated As River Breaches Levee
Greece:	Greek State TV Closure Triggers Strikes
Iran:	Iran Moderate Wins Presidency By Large Margin
International:	NSA’s Cyber-Snooping Brings Tough Questions For U.S. Allies
Japan:	Japan Is a Model, Not a Cautionary Tale
Nepal:	Video: In Nepal, Exiled Each Month
Netherlands:	Dutch ‘Coffee Shop’ Owners On Trial For Selling Weed
Pakistan:	Multiple Attacks Shake New Pakistan Government
Russia:	Russia Says It Would Consider Asylum For Edward Snowden Thousands March Against Putin In Moscow Russia Promises Manned Launches from Its Own Soil in 2018
South America:	Invisible Fires Devastate the Amazon
United Kingdom:	Britain Says It Follows Law in Gathering Intelligence Video: An Exclusive for Britain’s Guardian
United States:	U.S. Helps Allies Trying to Battle Iranian Hackers U.S.-China Talks Yield Pledge for a New Model of Cooperation After Drought, Rains Plaguing Midwest Farms U.S. and China team up to fight climate-changing HFCs NSA Whistleblower Says He Acted To Protect ‘Basic Liberties’ Fourth of NYC Could Be Flood Zone By 2050s As Summer Temps Rise, Can We Stand The Heat? Water Levels Fall in Great Lakes, Taking a Toll on Shipping Police Agencies Are Assembling Records of DNA Census Benchmark for White Americans: More Deaths Than Births

CLIMATE CHANGE

U.S. and China team up to fight climate-changing HFCs

A Rare Step Forward on Climate Change

Fourth of NYC Could Be Flood Zone By 2050s

TURKISH PROTEST

Video: Turkey Turns to Taksim

Turkish Leader Agrees to Meet Protest Organizers

Turkish Police Push Into Square Near Park Protest

Turkish PM To Meet Taksim Protesters

Turkish Leader Orders an End to Protests in 24 Hours

Turkish Leader Offers Referendum on Park at Center of Protests

Turkish Protesters Say Talks Lead to a Tentative Agreement

Police Storm Turkish Park Occupied by Protesters

OH CANADA

The Trans Canada Highway in rural Ontario was closed for five hours last week after a truck loaded with fireworks struck a moose. Officials at Wildlife Canada say there has been a rash of such incidents across the country and suspect that the morbidly depressed among these creatures have found an easier way to end it than antler bashing with a large tree or a provincial Conservative.

Could the worst possibly be over? Construction Jobs Soar, Housing Starts Soar. Is The Bubble Back?

This is a disgrace to all of Canada and it needs to get fixed. Yesterday. WAREHOUSED: Nova Scotians With Intellectual Disabilities Face Housing Crisis

SHORTS

Confirmed: Canada Has NSA-Style Surveillance Program

Canada’s Unexpected New Economic Champion

Here Are The Canadians Listed In Offshore Tax Havens Leak

12 Highlights of Chris Hadfield’s High-Flying Career

Canada, Are You Ready For Poutine Pizza?

Canadian Manufacturing Posts Biggest Drop In Years

American Dream More Alive In Canada:

GOOD EXAMPLES

I admire actors and actresses who do more than play heroes on television or in films. I’ve long admired Robert Redford for using his celebrity and influence to make us all more aware of climate change and the need to do something about it. Now, “the Horse Whisperer” is doing more than that. He is urging President Obama to “show the courage of his climate convictions.”

U.S. joins world to take on challenge of food waste — The U.S. Food Waste Challenge is a great step toward a more economically, socially, and environmentally streamlined food system.

Princess Diana’s two sons continue to make us proud. Prince Harry Saved Soldier From A Homophobic Attack. And lest anyone think this Royal is just another tin soldier, check this out.

SHORTS

Chicago Tactics Put Major Dent in Killing Trend

Facebook Opens Arctic Circle Data Center

BAD EXAMPLES

Well, it looks like we’re still poisoning ourselves. Energy-related CO2 emissions rose to a record high in 2012.

Maybe this is why everybody in Washington, DC seems so reluctant to reduce greenhouse emissions. The U.S. government is the fourth biggest greenhouse gas polluter in the country

The Least Peaceful Country In The World Is…

EXPLORATION, HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

We announced last week that Canada’s “man in space,” astronaut Chris Hadfield was handing his wings in. Check out these 12 highlights of an illustrious and exemplary career “touching the face of God.”

As bicycles become increasingly the mode of personal transportation of choice, parking space could become a problem. A firm in Japan appears to have come upon one viable solution.

As a decades-long advocate of solar power, in all its applications, we are absolutely delighted to learn that the world’s largest solar sail is set to launch in November of 2014.

OUTER SPACE

Rover Opportunity Finds New Evidence That Ancient Mars Was Habitable

Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week – June 9, 2013

NASA Eyeing Nuclear Fusion Rockets for Future Space Exploration

Ancient Mars Had Component Key to Life, Meteorite Reveals

Weightless Flames: How Fires Burn in Space

Russia Promises Manned Launches from Its Own Soil in 2018

NASA Goes ‘Green’: Next Spacecraft to Be Reusable

CLOSER TO HOME

WATCH: Real-Life Invisibility ‘Cloak’ Makes Creatures Disappear

An Old Torah, a Thought-Controlled Helicopter and a Very, Very Old Primate

LOOK: 26 Scientists & Doctors Who Gave Their Names To Dread Diseases

NORTHSTAR WEEKLY READER QUIZ

This country is crawling with millionaires. Can you name it?

THE GREEN AGENDA

OR electric cars save about $2.78 an ‘eGallon’

Island in the sun: Why are our cities heating up faster than everywhere else?

The garden plot thickens: Taking guerrilla gardening to the next level

Organic farming sucks (up carbon)

NASA Goes ‘Green’: Next Spacecraft to Be Reusable

HEALTH

Here are ten foods you could eat for the rest of your life, living long and prospering.

Sometimes, just about the time you say that it can’t be done, you get interrupted by ~ yep ~ somebody doing it. Check this out, gang. A 91-year-old recently broke the bench press record by lifting 187.2 lbs/849.2 kg.

Here’s another reason to love trees and make sure you’re around a lot of them. The absence of them can kill you.

SHORTS

5 Ways to Handle Your Emotions

Why Sex Gets Better With Age

As Summer Temps Rise, Can We Stand The Heat?

Eat Healthy This Summer

Trees may be keeping you alive

LOOK: 26 Scientists & Doctors Who Gave Their Names To Dread Diseases

Yaz, Yasmin Birth Control Pills Suspected In 23 Deaths

ON THE CANCER FRONT

There’s a new treatment for melanoma (skin cancer) that uses the body’s own immune system.

LINKS

Trees may be keeping you alive

LIFESTYLE

How Lobster Got Fancy

Sobeys To Buy Safeway

Voice-Activated Technology Is Called Safety Risk for Drivers

Data Reveal a Rise in College Degrees Among Americans

Exhibit at Auschwitz-Birkenau Honors Children of Holocaust

Why Extroverts Like Parties and Introverts Avoid Crowds

Why Humans Are Bad at Multitasking

With bicycling on the rise, motorists get a new round of driver’s ed

BEST OF THE NET

WATCH: Dog Plays Hard To Get With Baby Duck

Video of divers encountering a humpback whale will remove all the stress from your day

David Gallo: WATCH: What We Don’t Know About Life At The Bottom Of The Ocean

PERENNIALS

NORTHSTAR ENDORSES

BACK COUNTRY GALLERY: BEST NATURE PHOTOS ON THE NET

BLACK SEA AGRO: AGRICULTURE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

HELP END WORLD HUNGER & POVERTY | HEIFER INTERNATIONAL® | HEIFER.ORG

THE SEADOC SOCIETY: PEOPLE & SCIENCE HEALING THE SEA

Directions to Bellevue City Hall

BLOGS WE FOLLOW

The Tomatoman Times – Sardonic, ironic, sometimes poignantly incisive, this is also one of the longest running human interest blogs on the Net and well worth the read.

Meade’s California Coast is moving commentary and photos by one of that state’s premier photojournalists. Short, poignant and memorable, it is a tribute to both the craft and the subject.

No Camels – Weekly Israeli Innovation News is like a blend of Popular Mechanics, Scientific American and the science pages of the New York Times and the Huffington Post. I totally geek out when I read these folks.

SEATTLE SCENES

All photos used in Seattle Scenes, unless otherwise noted, were taken by the editor. For a visual tour of the Northstar Gallery, please go here.

EAST KING COUNTY TOWN HALL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19: TRANSPORTATION AT A CROSSROADS: LEARN MORE, MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN.

NEWS, WEATHER & INFORMATION

HERE’S A CHANCE TO SAVE METRO AND VISIT ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWNS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

EAST KING COUNTY TOWN HALL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19: TRANSPORTATION AT A CROSSROADS: LEARN MORE, MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN

BellevueCity Hall, concourse and council chambers

450 110th Ave NE, Bellevue

5:30-6:30 p.m. – open house and comment period

6:30-8 p.m. – moderated panel discussion and questions

Plan your trip by bus

Join The Conversation On Twitter Using #Transfuture

Can’t Be There? Send Questions To The Speakers

Email community.relations@kingcounty.gov or tweet to @kcroads or @kcmetrobus.

Learn more about King County’s transportation future

THE FIRST URBAN FOOD FOREST IN AMERICA ~ WHICH JUST HAPPENS TO BE ON SEATTLE’S BEACON HILL (SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN) ~ IS NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC FORAGING. Produce free for the taking includes plums, apples, walnuts, berries, vegetables, and herbs. For more on this one, yep, please go here.

THE TODAY FILE: “Your guide to the latest news from Seattle and around the Northwest”

Here’s the 10 day forecast, courtesy of the good folks at our CBS affiliate, KIRO 7.

SEATTLE DIRECTORY

KOMO 4 News (ABC)

KIRO 7 (CBS)

KING 5 News (NBC)

Endangered deer gets its head stuck in a Doritos bag

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

I’m one of those schmaltz-enhanced people who happen to think that puppies of all breeds are cute. To a point and that point is usually a matter of numbers and invasiveness. When I see a pack of ten pre-adolescent Corgis marauding about the domain, committing domestic mayhem in the name of YouTube popularity, I am reminded of the wolf packs I watched as a kid and read about in stories by Jack London. These yapping, bouncing, insanely hyperactive little dudes and dudettes will, with very little encouragement, grow into snarling, lunging, murderously hyperactive canines with a full set of teeth and the human-fostered belief that wrestling control of the world from our species is both ordained and very cute. Excuse me? It is not cute. It is self-destructive and it could well precipitate our extinction. Sometimes, ten yapping, bouncing, insanely hyperactive little Corgi pups are all it takes to tip the evolutionary scale.

If you want to see absolute grace in motion, check out hunting cheetahs rely more on agility than speed

This is what your supermarket would look like if all the bees died off: Whole Foods did a little experiment and pulled all produce pollinated by bees.

SHORTS

English Flying Reptiles Had Brazilian Relatives

U.S. To Tighten Chimp Protection

RELATED LINKS:

And then there were the ants that apparently learned how to ring a doorbell. Repeatedly.

YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

AVAILABLE FROM NORTHSTAR

WRATH OF THE TESTAMENT

an exciting seagoing saga of war and rebellion

For a preview, go here

For the kindle book, ($3.99) at amazon.com

NORTHSTAR MEDIA SERVICES

Got a problem or a project involving the English language? Want a professional writer and editor who is also a neighbor? Would you like reasonable rates and a flexible payment plan for such things as manuscript editing or an ad campaign? Need a classified ad that produces results? How long has it been since you updated your resume? We’re all online and by Paypal now, so while we are located in Seattle, we welcome international clients. Check out our list of services at
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and then email us at minstrel312@aol.com or give us a call at 206-478-9254.

A FINAL WORLD

If you’re reading this on our blogsite and would like the graphically enhanced edition delivered to you by email, please so inform us at minstrel312@aol.com

Until next week, then, take care, stay well and Godspeed. Rusty

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged national intelligence agencies, Northstar Journal, Salish Sea | Leave a comment

A CAMERA ON EVERY CORNER, YET, WE ARE STILL DYING

Posted on June 8, 2013 by minstrel312

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL

Proudly serving North America and the International Community since 2007

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Volume 6, No. 23

Published by

Seattle, Washington

It’s hard to sea, but the globe is still warming

A CAMERA ON EVERY CORNER, YET, WE ARE STILL DYING

Hi again, from the shores of the Salish Sea Well, it would seem that the American public is a little upset to learn the extent to which domestic terrorism laws have been used to further the “Big Brother” theme which began long before either President Obama or his Republican predecessor.

Now, thanks to orbiting cameras, those on public buildings and private homes across the land, on signal lights, street signs and other innocuous, less visible sites, and even in the nature around us (eagle cams, for instance), there’s not a square meter on this planet which cannot be Googled up 24/7.

This didn’t just appear out of nowhere. And it did not sneak up on us. It’s not part of some multi-generational conspiracy or a Pinky and the Brain type plot to take over the world.

We asked for it. We wanted to deter crime so we put our public places under surveillance. So now criminals wear better disguises and execute A Team type operations. So that worked real good, didn’t it?

We wanted advance warning before another Pearl Harbor, 9/11 or Oklahoma City. So, in the name of national defense, we gave the government the authority to put groups who might do this under covert surveillance, in the process denying those who were not charged with a crime, their Constitutional right to privacy.

There was a time in this country when neighbors knew one another and looked out for each other. There was a time in this country when the beat cop was the first line of defense because those he was charged to protect trusted him and depended on him.

There was a time in this country when America did not interfere in the domestic lives of people in other countries to the extent that those people felt compelled to come to this country and kill several thousand of us in a single day.

And there was also a time in this country when teenagers didn’t engage in peer bloodbaths nor single individuals, the slaughter of an innocent public.

All these cameras have not worked all that well, have they? And all this surveillance, what has it really accomplished? Does that possibly suggest that we need to go back to treating one another with more kindness and concern and stop depending on a camera on every corner to protect us from each other?

Until next week, take care and Godspeed, then, eh? And thank you. I hope you like this week’s edition.

IN OTHER NEWS

What city has the largest influx of commuters? I’m absolutely certain the answer will surprise you.

Even though it would seem the obvious thing to do, we are aware that government agencies are often not entirely guided by the sense God gave a Mayfly. We believe, however, that in this case, they were. National weather forecasters won’t be furloughed after all

Well, this is not going to come as good news to the Amazon Rain Forest, a region already devastated by perhaps the most pernicious creature in the history of life on this planet. Ecuador Oil Spill Pollutes Amazon Tributary

WORLD NEWS SHORTS

Afghanistan:	Soldier Accused of Killing Afghan Civilians to Testify Afghanistan Gets Its First Female Pilot In 3 Decades
Australia:	“God’s bathtub,” a lake totally untouched by climate change
China:	China Is Reaping Biggest Benefits of Iraq Oil Boom China Poultry Farm Fire Death Toll Tops 100 Elite in China Molded in Part by Tiananmen In China, an Empire Built by Aping Apple Europe Tariff on Chinese Solar Panels Less Than Expected Chinese President Makes Bridge-Building Trip to Mexico U.S.-China Meeting’s Aim: Personal Diplomacy China Seen In Push To Gain Technology Insights China’s Next Manned Spaceflight Enters Final Prep Phase
European Union:	Record Floods Hit Central Europe, Killing At Least 8 Europe Continues Wrestling With Online Privacy Rules
France:	Skinheads Beat French Far-Left Activist Brain-Dead 8 Skinheads Questioned In Brutal Death Of French Activist
Germany:	Severe Flooding Cripples Germany German Troops Sent In To Help Flood-Hit Cities
India:	American Woman Gang-Raped In India Indian Police Arrest 3 In Gang Rape Of American Woman
International:	Japan and other nations say no to U.S. wheat, worried about GMOs
Japan:	Abe’s New Steps in Japan Draw Less Enthusiasm Food Fears Persist in Japan
Latvia:	Latvia Steps Toward a Tarnished Prize, the Euro
Nigeria:	In Nigeria, ‘Killing People Without Asking Who They Are’
Pakistan:	Pakistan’s PM Calls For U.S. To End Drone Attacks
Russia:	Delegates Visit Moscow for Insight on Boston Attack Putin: Russian ‘Game-Changer’ Missiles Not In Syria YetCat Caught Smuggling Cell Phones Into Russian Prison Dozens Hurt In Moscow Subway Fire
South Korea:	South and North Korea Pave Way for Direct Talks
Tunisia:	Tunisia Puts Topless Activists On Trial
Turkey:	Turkish PM To Return To Country Amid Protests
United Kingdom:	A Suspect Food Warning in Britain Spreads an Alarm Eight Bronze Age Boats Go On Display in UK
United States:	A Fight Over Water, and to Save a Way of Life Oklahoma Campus, Ravaged by a Tornado, Draws Attention to Storm Shelters Oklahoma Death Toll Rises To 20 Two Months Later, Arkansans Still Hurting From ExxonMobil Spill U.S.-China Meeting’s Aim: Personal Diplomacy Link to Marathon Bombing Rattles City Known for Its Tolerance U.S. Added 175,000 Jobs in May; Unemployment Rises to 7.6% Many Rival Nations Surge Past the U.S. in Adding New Jobs Gulf oil wells have been leaking since 2004 hurricane Tropical Storm Andrea Races Up The East Coast

CLIMATE CHANGE SHORTS

How to tell your 8-year-old about climate change

Warming oceans are killing baby puffins

Video: Climbing Sequoias for Climate Change

Scientists have found “God’s bathtub,” a lake totally untouched by climate change

Sweltering Summers More Deadly For Poor, Minorities

OBAMA SURVEILLANCE SHORTS

U.S. Secretly Collecting Logs of Business Calls

Verizon Case Offers Glimpse of Vast N.S.A. Surveillance

Electronic Surveillance Under Bush & Obama

Obama Defends Surveillance Programs as Legal and Limited

Administration Says Mining of Data Is Crucial to Fight Terror

SYRIAN WAR SHORTS

Hezbollah and Rebels of Syria in Border Fight

Syrian Rebels Meet Setbacks on a New Front

Syrian Army Deals Major Blow To Rebels

Major Blow To Syrian Rebels

Al Qaeda Leader Calls On Sunnis To Fight In Syria

TURKISH PROTEST SHORTS

Turkey Rocked By Protests

Protests in Turkey Reveal a Larger Fight Over Identity

Violence Flares On 4th Day Of Anti-Government Demonstrations in Turkey

Brutal Police Crackdown Against Protesters Continues In Turkey

LOOK: Turks Lock Lips To Protest Public Kissing Law

Fresh Clashes Erupt In Turkey Despite Apology

Turkish PM To Return To Country Amid Protests

Turkish Leader Says Razing of Istanbul Park Will Proceed

OH CANADA

Despite their proximity and several centuries of peaceful co-existence, the Dominion of Canada and the United States of America are two separate and distinct nations. Check out just some of the differences between the two.

What’s next for Canada’s favourite man in space? What’s Next for Astronaut Chris Hadfield?

Check Out These People You Probably Didn’t Know Are Canadian

GOOD EXAMPLES

This is one of the reasons Michelle Obama is a hero(ine) of ours. The woman has chutzpah. The First Lady Refuses to Let a Heckler Go Unscolded

If Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s new mayor pulls this off, it will be one of the most stunning urban decline reversals of my life time. Pittsburgh’s next mayor sees a green future for the “smoky city” Bill Peduto says the Steel City is poised for a sustainable revival, thanks to a new generation of Pittsburghers who are pushing for change.

If you think you’re too old for anything you want to do, you might want to take a page from the life of a 102-year-old base jumper.

SHORTS

17-year-old sets out to save the planet, makes the rest of us feel really lame

Breaking the grass ceiling: On U.S. farms, women are taking the reins

Solution Journalism – Something Northstar Has Been Practising For 37 Years

3 Global Cities That Are Doing Bike Shares Right (And One’s in Texas!)

Meet Seattle’s ‘Godfather of Recycling’

BAD EXAMPLES

The American military high command still doesn’t seem to get it yet. Joint Chiefs’ Answers on Sex Crimes Dismay Senators

Well, we found the irony in this one a rich mother lode. I.R.S. Spent $4.1 Million on Conference, Audit Finds

Well, this certainly is not going to enhance the eco-friendly reputation of the rich and foolish. Facebook cofounder Sean Parker illegally destroys redwoods for fantasy Game of Thrones wedding

EXPLORATION, HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Israeli Company Builds Giant Battery To Improve Power Grids When it comes to power grids, a major issue is the differences in consumption in different times. The solution could come in the form of giant batteries, storing energy during off-peak hours – and releasing them when necessary. To continue reading, click here.

Scientists have discovered a lake that apparently has not been influenced by any kind of climate change in over 7,000 years. Naturally it’s in the wilds of a place that’s still pretty wild to begin with, Australia. Why they are calling it “God’s bathtub” is beyond me. I’ve always thought ~ judging by all the rain in the world ? ~ that the Divine One was probably a fine-minute shower type person.

Sometimes I think that if our species was better at remembering stuff, archaeology would probably be pretty much a spectator sport. I mean, I think it’s cool that ancient Roman concrete could teach modern builders something. But if it was that good, why did we forget it in the first place?

OUTER SPACE SHORTS

Rover Ignores ‘Rat,’ Gears Up For Epic Drive

Mars Water? Curiosity Rover Finds Pebbles On Red Planet’s Surface Likely Shaped by Ancient Running Water

Mock Mars Mission Will Test Stresses of Red Planet Living

Nuking Dangerous Asteroids Might be the Best Protection, Expert Says

How Radiation in Space Poses a Threat to Human Exploration

CLOSER TO HOME SHORTS

Humans’ Spear Use Dates Back 90,000 Years, Bone Study Suggests

Treasure in Great Pyramid Awaits Discovery

On the Road in Mobileye’s Self-Driving Car

Science Experiment for Kids: Seeing Your DNA

This is what an ice-free Antarctica looks like

Incredible Technology: How to Explore Antarctica

NORTHSTAR WEEKLY READER QUIZ

Well, this week, let’s see how much we know about world history.

THE GREEN AGENDA

Meet Seattle’s ‘Godfather of Recycling’

China’s plastic-bag ban turns five years old

This tiny house uses mushrooms as insulation

Video: Climbing Sequoias for Climate Change

Better than Cyber Utopia: How the Internet Helped Us Create the Sharing Economy

How Two Plant Geeks Grew a Permaculture Oasis in an Ordinary Backyard by Abby

Bike-part vending machines can rescue you from an unexpected breakdown

HEALTH

Well, it appears that coffee and tea have been a part of our culture for so long now that caffeine withdrawal is a legit mental disorder now

OrCam Will Help The Visually Impaired Read Anywhere For many people, the simple task of reading a street sign or a restaurant menu is impossible due to visual impairment. Israeli startup OrCam is using sophisticated artificial intelligence to give these people a solution. To continue reading, click here.

Well, these ought to help out those of us who never have the time to fix a four course meal. Two Minute, Nine Second Recipes. Really.

SHORTS

Research: Doctors Should Be Trained To Talk About Death

Vegetarians live longer, researchers find

How This Woman Changed Her Habits And Lost 90 Pounds

Researchers Report Shocking New Finding About Food Addiction

The Key To Keeping Your Memory In Tip-Top Shape?

9 Farmers Markets Every Food Lover Should Visit

ON THE CANCER FRONT

Researchers Find Reason For Infertility In Cancer Patients And Discover Remedy Researchers at the Center for Fertility Preservation of the Sheba Medical Center in Israel have recently discovered the reason behind high rates of infertility in female cancer patients and have already begun testing a possible treatment. To continue reading, click here.

LIFESTYLE

Micro Apartments New Trend In U.S.

If Our Gadgets Could Measure Our Emotions

5 Business Tips For The Aspiring Designer

Baby Names Reveal Parents’ Political Ideology

In U.S., News of Surveillance Effort Is Met With Some Concern but Little Surprise

Better than Cyber Utopia: How the Internet Helped Us Create the Sharing Economy

BEST OF THIS WEEK’S NET MEDIA

Video: In Performance: Cinderella – The New York Times invited Tony nominees to perform scenes on location. Here, Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes sing a cinematic interpretation of a song from “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.”

WATCH: Awe-Inspiring Video Of First U.S. Spacewalk

WOW: 25 Iconic Spacewalk Snapshots

WATCH: Tornado Touches Down In Ontario

PERENNIALS

NORTHSTAR ENDORSEMENTS

BACK COUNTRY GALLERY: BEST NATURE PHOTOS ON THE NET

BLACK SEA AGRO: AGRICULTURE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

HELP END WORLD HUNGER & POVERTY | HEIFER INTERNATIONAL® | HEIFER.ORG

THE SEADOC SOCIETY: PEOPLE & SCIENCE HEALING THE SEA

Meet Seattle’s ‘Godfather of Recycling’

OTHER BLOGGERS WE FOLLOW

The Tomatoman Times – Sardonic, ironic, sometimes poignantly incisive, this is also one of the longest running human interest blogs on the Net and well worth the read.

Meade’s California Coast is moving commentary and photos by one of that state’s premier photojournalists. Short, poignant and memorable, it is a tribute to both the craft and the subject.

SEATTLE SCENES

All photos used in Seattle Scenes, unless otherwise noted, were taken by the editor. For a visual tour of the Northstar Gallery, please go here.

Lady canoeists on Lake Washington, a familiar scene in Seattle in the summer

NEWS, WEATHER & INFORMATION

Summers in Seattle can be among the most pleasurable in the world. We dry out, for the most part. It warms up enough for fresh and saltwater sports. Mayor Schwinn wears shorts when he pedals his bike to work. And every neighborhood in King County has its annual street fair. For a more complete look at this to do in Seattle during the summer, yep, please go here.

Well, our neighbor city of Redmond, across Lake Washington from us, has earned a rather dubious distinction. Check it out here.

THE TODAY FILE: “Your guide to the latest news from Seattle and around the Northwest”

Here’s the 10 day forecast, courtesy of the good folks at our CBS affiliate, KIRO 7.

SEATTLE DIRECTORY

KOMO 4 News (ABC)

KIRO 7 (CBS)

KING 5 News (NBC)

Huge Extinct Lizard Named After ’70s Rock Star

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

This short video appropriately entitled Maya, the Deer Whisperer, Befriends a Fawn moved me beyond words. To know that such untarnished kindness can coexist in a world of such violence also flat out flipping amazes me.

‘Blind As A Bat’ Is Surprisingly Inaccurate, As Researchers Determine The Mammals’ 3D Vision Studies on the way the brain navigates on a plain have so far focused on two dimensions. Now researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Israel set out to get a better understanding of how the brain processes 3D environments – using fruit bats. To continue reading, click here.

When I was there in 1970, restaurants along the Bangkok waterfront routinely threw their garbage out back of the establishment, where it was devoured by rats, dogs and starving children. Therefore, this story of a dog saving a newborn baby tossed in a garbage heap does not surprise me, as moving as it is.

SHORTS

Arctic Bacteria Discovered Breeding At Record –15 C

Frankensalmon could breed with trout, produce frankentrout | Grist

ANIMAL PROTECTION NEWS LETTERS WE READ & SUPPORT

Here’s the latest from our friends at the SeaDoc Society, the Pacific Northwest’s premier marine mammal preservation and protection group.

RELATED LINKS:

YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

I knew when we ran that short about curing hunger by more of us eating bugs that I was probably going to regret it. However, having made one of the stupider editorial decisions of my life, I’m bound to follow up. Those of you insectivores whose lives are so busy that you don’t have time to cook your favorite cockroach casserole will be delighted to know there is now an energy bar made from some of your favorite culinary carapace life forms.

AVAILABLE FROM NORTHSTAR

WRATH OF THE TESTAMENT

an exciting seagoing saga of war and rebellion

NORTHSTAR MEDIA SERVICES

A FINAL WORLD

If you’re reading this on our blogsite and would like the graphically enhanced edition delivered to you by email, please so inform us at minstrel312@aol.com

Until next week, then, take care and Godspeed. Rusty

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

YET ANOTHER INCIDENT OF ABUSE OF WOMEN WHO SERVE

Posted on June 2, 2013 by minstrel312

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL

Proudly serving North America and the International Community since 2007

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Volume 6, No. 22

Published by

Seattle, Washington

Climate change adaptation: So simple, a caveman could do it

338243-us-military-women-now-to-engage-in-direct-frontline-combat-and-history

YET ANOTHER INCIDENT OF ABUSE OF WOMEN WHO SERVE

Hi again, from the shores of the Salish Sea Well, in view of what has been happening in Oklahoma and some elsewhere in the world, we should probably be praising the efforts of all those involved in the recovery and justifiably recognizing the courage of those caught in the path of these chimeric and unpredictable manifestations of Mother Nature’s extreme agitation with us.

Instead, we’ve read about another example of a much broader spectrum of Americana, the women who serve, fight and die for this nation. Even if I did not have someone close to me who served with distinction in Operation Desert Storm and who also happens to be female, I would still be outraged.

Since I am a veteran of the same branch of service, the fact that this latest incident occurred at Annapolis, the American naval academy, thrills me even less, if that is indeed flipping possible.

And I am truly puzzled and I think considerably ashamed of a nation which can allow this to happen to those who are prepared, do and have made the ultimate sacrifice.

There are times when I am very proud to be also an American. I’m sorry this is not one of them.

Until next week, take care and Godspeed, then, eh? And thank you. I hope you like this week’s edition.

IN OTHER NEWS

What’s the healthiest city in America? The answer probably will not surprise you.

In the wake of other killer wind destruction this year, this cannot come as good news. Hurricane Season Could Be Exceptionally Bad This Year. On the other hand, since we can’t stop it, it might be an excellent opportunity to find out how well the lessons we think we’ve learned from this really serve us. In any event, our prayers are certainly with you folks in the Alley and elsewhere.

Well, it looks like the U.S. and China are meeting to decide what to do about the latter nation’s hacking of online destinations in the former country. I think progress is being made when two giants who killed thousands of each other over two wars are able to negotiate a solution to a problem rather than battering themselves bloody trying to win one.

WORLD NEWS SHORTS

Afghanistan:	Suicide Bombers Attack a Red Cross Compound in Eastern Afghanistan
China:	Chinese President to Seek New ‘Power Relationship’ in Talks With Obama
European Union:	Unemployment Hits Record High in Euro Zone
Germany:	German Railways To Deploy Drones To Stop Graffiti
Indonesia:	Plague of Corruption Rises Anew in Indonesia
International:	Counterterrorism Questions Loom After Boston, London, Paris Attacks
Myanmar:	Enraged Buddhists Burn Mosque And Muslim Orphanage In Myanmar
Pakistan:	Pakistan Faces Struggle to Keep Its Lights On Pakistani Taliban’s No. 2 Reportedly Killed In Drone Strike
Russia:	Economist Flees as Russia Aims Past Protesters In Russia, Living the High Life; in America, a Wanted Man
Tunisia:	Tunisians Protest Outside FEMEN Activist’s Trial
United Kingdom:	UK Police Arrest 10th Suspect In London Soldier SlayingWave of Grief and Political Reverberations Grip Britain After Soldier’s Killing Cloning Contest Seeks Worthiest UK Dog
United States:	Home Prices Rise, Putting Country in Buying Mood Soldier To Admit To Afghan Massacre Living with fire: Survival and stubbornness in California wildfire country Japan and other nations say no to U.S. wheat, worried about GMOs Moore Tornado Debris Would Make Mile-High Pile

CLIMATE CHANGE SHORTS

Polar Region’s Ecosystem Is HOW Old?

Other Worlds Eyed For Clues About Our Climate Future

As Glaciers Melt, Alpine Mountains Lose Their Glue, Threatening Swiss Village

Where greenhouse gases come from, in one graph

Frogs Fading? Amphibian Census May Guide Recovery Leaps

Ice going, humanity: Arctic melting at alarming rates

SYRIAN WAR SHORTS

European Nations End Weapons Embargo, Creating Path to Arming Syrian Rebels

Assad: Russian Missiles Have Arrived

Syrian Troops Attack Rescue Convoy In Key Town

OH CANADA

In the midst of a world in chaos, Canadians can come up with some of the most absurd things to worry about and this has to top this week’s list. What Gives With Money’s ‘Maple Syrup’ Smell?

Where does Canada rank on the “better life index”? The answer just might surprise you.

What’s apparently the most boring city in Canada? It’s not the one I was born in, lol.

SHORTS

Landmark Canadian Study Wants To Follow You And Your Baby

Ambulance Chopper Crash Kills 4 People In Ontario

Canadian Economy Hits The Gas Pedal

GOOD EXAMPLES

Well, the glass ceiling’s really been shattered in France. Check this out and then stand up with me and cheer, big time. Paris To Have First Female Mayor In City’s 2,000-Year History

Despite the totally reprehensible behavior of such fossil fuel giants as British Petroleum, it means even more to us that a powerhouse of the uranium enrichment industry is “seeking an exit”

When human beings come together like this, we all have reason to stand up and cheer. Preventing an Elephant Eden from Becoming Paradise Lost

SHORTS

Roam the World and Keep the Cellphone on a Budget

How a Radical Group of American Nuns Shook Up the Vatican to Better the World

A World without Landfills? It’s Closer than You Think

States And Groups Meet Over Future Of Drought-Plagued River

Plotting a revolution: Inside the mind of a budding guerrilla gardener

BAD EXAMPLES

A 14-year old boy who videotaped himself having sex with a girl a year older and then posting said video on the Net is being charged as an adult with child pornography. We applaud the Crown’s decision in this regard.

The American military is turning out to be just about the most dangerous place on the planet for women. Add this to the legacy of sexual exploitation that seems to be receiving so much silent support. Naval Academy Is Shaken by Student’s Report of Rape by Athletes

Well, it’s dubious comfort to know that greed respects no national boundaries. I’m not, however, real proud of the flag this one flies under. Canadian Bank CEOs Among Most Overpaid: Bloomberg

EXPLORATION, HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Well, here’s a page from JurassicPark. Ice Age Organisms Can Grow & Reproduce, Scientists Say

We reported last year about the American military’s super secret space plane and where it happens to be at the moment. For the last five months, it has been orbiting the earth. We have, of course, absolutely no idea what it was doing but we assume it was not sightseeing. For a cool photo and more information, yep, go here.

There’s a man out there who wants us to live forever as consciousness in an avatar. He’s getting a lot closer to realizing that vision than most of us would believe.

OUTER SPACE SHORTS

3D Printing Could Aid Deep-Space Exploration, NASA Chief Says The technology could make spaceflight cheaper and more efficient, Charles Bolden said.

Surprise! Moon Craters May Hold Ancient Asteroid Pieces Twenty-five percent of the moon’s craters may retain remnants of the asteroids that created them, suggesting that scientists will have to work a little harder to figure out what the moon is made of. And at least we’ve established it is not made out of green cheese.

World’s 1st Crowdfunded Space Telescope

The commercial space firm Planetary Resources aims to launch a crowdfunded space telescope that would be at the service of citizen scientists.

International Astronaut Crew Arrives at Space Station in Record Time

CLOSER TO HOME SHORTS

At High Speed, on the Road to a Driverless Future

Seafloor ‘Breathing’ Could Help Forecast Big Earthquakes

Oldest Known Torah Scroll Found In Plain Sight

NORTHSTAR WEEKLY READER QUIZ

Well, in view of what has happened in Oklahoma, it’s probably a good idea for all of us to see what we know about tornadoes.

THE GREEN AGENDA

After a sunny launch, NYC’s bikeshare hits a few bumps

Where greenhouse gases come from, in one graph

States And Groups Meet Over Future Of Drought-Plagued River

Frogs Fading? Amphibian Census May Guide Recovery Leaps

Plotting a revolution: Inside the mind of a budding guerrilla gardener

How Two Plant Geeks Grew a Permaculture Oasis in an Ordinary Backyard

A New Deal for Appalachia’s Forests: Growing Biofuels?

HEALTH

We happen to have these in the neighborhood but until I talked to our mechanic person who is also a self-taught expert on edible plants, that they were so incredibly beneficial. Let’s here it then for blueberries and thank you, George.

This has got to come as good news to the largest age segment of the human population. Researchers Identify Protein That May Be Key In Alzheimer’s Treatment

Here’s something that just could help the economies of tropical countries. Check out the benefits of coconut oil: 15 unusual uses for this natural wonder

SHORTS

Is Stress Making You Sick?

Trans Fat Food: 9 Of The Worst Foods That Cause High Cholesterol

Exercise Early to Get Better Sleep

ON THE CANCER FRONT

Some 5,000 Americans a day are diagnosed with cancer and it has become the second major cause of death in this country. Early detection remains the best defense so please check out these five indications that you are at high risk for this disease. Do it now. We didn’t and I’ve been flying without a wingmate for about 12 years now.

LINKS

Computer Network Piecing Together a Jigsaw of Jewish Lore

LIFESTYLE

5 Surprising Facts About Breadwinner Moms

Joblessness Shortens Lifespan of Least Educated White Women, Research Says

Don’t Be Nice Be Kind

BEST OF THIS WEEK’S NET MEDIA

You’re Looking at Planet Earth Spectacular images every day.

Mesmerizing animation shows a full day of Earth’s weather patterns

Spellbinding Star Trails Dazzle Over India’s Devasthal Peak

Plague of Corruption Rises Anew in Indonesia

Slide Show: Into India’s Himalayas

PERENNIALS

NORTHSTAR ENDORSEMENTS

BACK COUNTRY GALLERY: BEST NATURE PHOTOS ON THE NET

BLACK SEA AGRO: AGRICULTURE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

HELP END WORLD HUNGER & POVERTY | HEIFER INTERNATIONAL® | HEIFER.ORG

THE SEADOC SOCIETY: PEOPLE & SCIENCE HEALING THE SEA

THE TODAY FILE: “Your guide to the latest news from Seattle and around the Northwest”

OTHER BLOGGERS WE FOLLOW

The Tomatoman Times – Sardonic, ironic, sometimes poignantly incisive, this is also one of the longest running human interest blogs on the Net and well worth the read.

Meade’s California Coast is moving commentary and photos by one of that state’s premier photojournalists. Short, poignant and memorable, it is a tribute to both the craft and the subject.

SEATTLE SCENES

All photos used in Seattle Scenes, unless otherwise noted, were taken by the editor. For a visual tour of the Northstar Gallery, please go here.

Mt. Rainer, with the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium in the right foreground.

NEWS, WEATHER & INFORMATION

Amazon’s new headquarters

Well, here’s something we can look forward to, more weird architecture courtesy of a corporate giant. It’s going to be right up there with an Experimental Music Project museum that looks like something Frank Lloyd Wright might have designed after a weekend with Alice through the looking glass and, of course, that Jetson Age phallic symbol with the restaurant at the top that rotates while you’re trying to eat your soup.

Here’s the 10 day forecast, courtesy of the good folks at our CBS affiliate, KIRO 7.

SEATTLE DIRECTORY

KOMO 4 News (ABC)

KIRO 7 (CBS)

KING 5 News (NBC)

Mosquito Myths: Misconceptions About The Insects And Their Diseases

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

Tiny, adorable “dwarf” foxes rescued from extinction Island foxes managed to make “one of the fastest recoveries of any endangered species ever,” Treehugger says. Here’s how they did it.

It never ceases to amaze me how much our species has to learn from the others with whom we share this planet. Case in point? WATCH: Dolphins And Birds Working Together

This one is probably being made into a movie even as we speak, and deservedly so. Justin Hulme Rangel, 13-Year-Old Boy Scout, Finds Cat Buried In Tornado Rubble

SHORTS

New Feathered Dino May Be World’s First Bird

Champ: America’s Loch Ness Monster

RELATED LINKS:

YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

Okay, even for us and you guys, this is a little weird. Check out this North Carolina couple who are flying to Hawaii for a dolphin-assisted birth.

A FINAL WORLD

The Northstar Journal is one hundred percent supported by readers like you. If you enjoyed this edition and would like to contribute ~ however modestly ~ to the next, BLOG – please go here and with our thanks.

If you’re reading this on our blogsite and would like the graphically enhanced edition delivered to you by email, please so inform us at minstrel312@aol.com

Until next week, then, take care and Godspeed. Rusty

WRATH OF THE TESTAMENT

an exciting seagoing saga of war and rebellion

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Northstar Journal, Salish Sea | Leave a comment

A MEMORIAL DAY REFLECTION: WAR, THE ULTIMATE INSANITY

Posted on May 26, 2013 by minstrel312

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL

Proudly serving North America and the International Community since 2007

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Volume 6, No. 21

Published by

Seattle, Washington

Climate Change Impact On Tornadoes ‘Damn Difficult Thing To Predict’

A MEMORIAL DAY REFLECTION: WAR, THE ULTIMATE INSANITY

Hi again, from the shores of the Salish Sea This Monday, American celebrates Memorial Day, a holiday consecrated to those who have died in defense of this nation.

I have very ambivalent feelings about commemorations such as these. Like most of us, I admire valour and a courageous lifestyle. I’m a combat veteran of one war and have people close to me who have served in those subsequent.

Annual celebrations don’t begin to cover the loss. And I worry that as long as war is glamourized or sanctioned in any form, it will not stop.

The immutable fact is that war is the ultimate insanity. Those engaged in it have but one objective, to kill more of them than they kill of you.

There are no “rules of engagement”. There are no combatants, noncombatants, civilians or all the other euphemisms we’ve tried to use to hide the grisly reality of this homicidal nonsense from ourselves.

War is about pain and misery and death and suffering. There is no way to make people who have not experienced it, feel what it is like.

In America, that’s not a large number. But it is a significant number in Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Russia, Sweden and all of the other of Shannon’s twinkling lights.

I admit that after all these years, I don’t know much about stopping war. To me, war is a single act of violence committed by one of us against another of us. And magnified some considerably.

But for as much as I do not know about how to stop war, I do know about what it takes to build a strong family and a strong community. And I know how to do it non-violently. This magazine reaches an amazing number of you who know this stuff too so I’m in good and honourable company.

Do I believe peace is worth dying for? Dying for something is easy so the relevant question is, “Do I believe that the pursuit of peace is worth living for?”

Yes, I do.

Until next week, take care and Godspeed, then, eh? And thank you. I hope you like this week’s edition.

IN OTHER NEWS

NOAA has published its prediction of the 2013 American Hurricane Season. Please remember, we are only the messenger.

Well, here’s something we found very ironic. It seems that the longer many immigrants live in America, the worse their health becomes. Seems to me that ought to suggest something to all these bigots in a blanket clamouring for Orwellian measures to crack down on undocumented aliens. Stop persecuting them. Just let them live in America. Apparently that’s punishment enough.

We welcome back to earth some intrepid cosmonauts after a month in orbit. Mice, lizards and crayfish were among those whose reaction to weightlessness and other conditions in space were tested. We’re sad to report that less than half the original rodents made it back but apparently everyone else survived.

WORLD NEWS SHORTS

Afghanistan:	Effort to Strengthen an Afghan Law on Women May Backfire Taliban Attack U.N. Affiliate’s Compound in Kabul, Testing Afghan Security Forces
Australia:	Ancient African Coins Could Rewrite Australia’s History
Brazil:	Public Rapes Outrage Brazil, Testing Ideas of Image and Class
Chile:	Strong Earthquake Hits Off Coast Of Chile
China:	Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets China’s Brutal One-Child Policy Rice Tainted With Cadmium Is Discovered in Southern China China Space Program Ramping Up Capabilities, Pentagon Says Hackers Find China Is Land of Opportunity Beijing Plans to Reduce the State’s Role in the Economy
Croatia:	Bees Being Trained to Hunt Land Mines
International:	U.S. and Europe Prepare to Settle Chinese Solar Panel Cases
Iran:	Report: Iran Executes Men Convicted Of Spying For U.S., Israel
Iraq:	Bomb Blasts Claim More Lives In Iraq
Ireland:	True Cause of Potato Famine Discovered After 168 Years
Israel:	Israel, Syria Exchange Fire Over Border
Japan:	So Far, the Battery Charger Is Working in Japan Japan’s New Optimism Has Name: Abenomics
Malaysia:	Meet the Rainforest-Dwelling Malaysian Farmers Fighting to Keep their Land above Water
Myanmar:	China Tries to Improve Image in a Changing Myanmar In Myanmar Outpost, a Fading Orwellian Link
Pakistan:	Pakistan, Rusting in Its Tracks Gunmen Kill Prominent Female Politician In Pakistan
Russia:	Russia Expels Former American Embassy Official Polling Group in Russia Says It May Close
Sweden:	4th Night Of Violence In Sweden
United Kingdom:	British Study Raises Warning on Scottish Banks British Village Residents Protest Plan for Shale Gas Drilling
United States:	Sky High and Going Up Fast: Luxury Towers Take New York Wells Dry, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust Nation’s biggest uranium mine planned in New Mexico Obama, in a Shift, to Limit Targets of Drone Strikes Brood II Cicadas Now Bugging New Yorkers Additional Embassy Guards Will Come With a Steep Price

CLIMATE CHANGE SHORTS

Can we blame climate change for the tornado that took out Moore, Okla.?

Manhattan to see more killer heat waves

Ten US Cities Expected To Get Hit Hardest By Climate Change

Spared by climate change: The 10 best cities to ride out hot times

For a Future that Won’t Destroy Life on Earth, Look to the Global Indigenous Uprising

LONDON ATTACK SHORTS

Man Reportedly Beheaded In Brutal Assault In London Neighborhood

Alleged London Attacker British Citizen Of Nigerian Origin

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Bloody-Handed Man Defends Woolwich Murder

‘Barbaric Attack’ in London Prompts Meeting on Terror

Call for Calm After 3 New Arrests in British Soldier’s Death

NORTH KOREAN SHORTS

North Korea Reportedly Launches Short-Range Missiles

North Korea Fires Sixth Missile Into Sea

NKorea Sends Special Envoy To China

China Bluntly Tells North Korea to Enter Nuclear Talks

SYRIAN WAR SHORTS

Assad Suggests Peace Talks Would Fail Because West Wants to Prolong War

Hezbollah Aids Syrian Military in a Key Battle

Hezbollah’s Role in Syria War Shakes the Lebanese

TORNADO SHORTS

WATCH: Tornadoes Rip Through Central U.S.

OKLAHOMA HORROR

Oklahoma Tornado Aftermath: Trail Of Destruction In Moore

LOOK: Oklahoma Tornado Seen From Space

Can We Protect Against the Next Moore Tornado?

BUSTED: 7 Dangerous Myths About Tornado Safety

Remembering The Victims Of The Tornado

OH CANADA

When I grew up, it was all about the acquisition of adult privileges without having to accept adult responsibility for them. This protracted Recession of 2007 has changed that dramatically for this newest generation of Canadians. To see what they are facing, please go here.

Following the United States and the European Union, Canada is initiating an investigation into Google’s anti-competitive practices.

Those living in Central Canada had a “What did we do to make God mad at us?” day last week. Yep, 5.2 on the Richter. For more, please go here.

GOOD EXAMPLES

Courage doesn’t come much better than this and it is a reminder that every Briton is capable of holding that thin red line. Brave Woman Stood Down London Attackers

When I lived in Southern California, it was still a smog capital. So I’m delighted to read this story, L.A. on a green streak: New mayor pledges allegiance to smart growth, bikes

What’s the most popular country in the world? The answer just might surprise you.

SHORTS

“Miracle garden” brings life, and food, to the urban wasteland

Georgia Professors Teach Undocumented Students—for Free

80-Year-Old Scales Everest

BAD EXAMPLES

We’ve been reporting regularly it seems on sexual abuse in the American armed forces. Here’s the latest. Women Were Secretly Filmed at West Point, the Army Says One would think by now that the Pentagon would have found a way screen these perverts out.

A CHANCE TO HELP

Help protect Alaska in general and Bristol Bay, in particular, from the environmental impacts of what would be the largest mine in North America. This is from our good folks at the World Wildlife Fund and it is not an appeal for membership or donations. It is an opportunity to join thousands of others, including those of us here at the House of Northstar, in signing a petition to the American federal government. We know from past experiences that these do, in fact, often make a difference. For more information, please go here.

EXPLORATION, HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

One of the cool things about 21^st Century exploration is that it is as devoted to the frontiers of inner space as it is passionate about going where no human being has ever gone before. Check out the world’s smallest droplets created in world’s largest atom smasher.

It looks like our favorite Mars rover is back on the job. To see what Curiosity is up to now, please go here.

Here’s something I found really interesting considering the plans to colonize Mars. It also pretty much convinces me that if there’s actually really intelligent life in the solar system, it’s probably buried deep. WOW: Asteroids Hit Mars HOW MANY Times Each Year?

OUTER SPACE SHORTS

Asteroid Capture: NASA Plans to Drag Space Rock Into Lunar Orbit

WATCH: Giant Space Rock Headed Our Way

NASA Chief Ends Speculation About Manned Moon Missions

CLOSER TO HOME SHORTS

Mysterious Particles Detected At Icy Observatory

Drones May Revolutionize Farming, Experts Say

DNA Study Solves Mystery Of Mysterious Mixed-Race People

How Evolution May Help Build Better Robots

This solar panel printer can make 33 feet of solar cells per minute

NORTHSTAR WEEKLY READER QUIZ

Okay, gang. Here are ten descriptions of places from around the world. Let’s see how many you can identify.

THE GREEN AGENDA

More than 100,000 electric vehicles now on the roads in U.S.

Could a Chinese carbon cap pave the way for a global climate deal?

L.A. on a green streak: New mayor pledges allegiance to smart growth, bikes

Don’t Let the Apocalypse Get You Down

HEALTH

One of the elements of human tragedy that has been depicted probably even on cave walls is dying of a broken heart. That’s been largely a figurative allusion. It turns out it is often also literal. It is medically possible to die of a broken heart.

Have you noticed people lately moving away from you on a crowded bus or deliberately sitting down wind of you? Check out four Common Body Odors You Can Avoid

With so many of us working longer hours or taking on second jobs to help makes end meet should really check out these eight energy boosters which do not engage the stimulant/relaxant syndrome.

SHORTS

Slim Down with Healthier Snack Habits

Are Nightmares Ruining Your Sleep?

The Secret to Better Sleep

Is Your City Aging You?

ON THE CANCER FRONT

More and more, cancer fighters are learning how to harness the power of the human mind. When Shannon came out of remission, we visualized what life would be like when she got well. It was not, ultimately, enough to save her life. But it did extend it some and it was quality time she had. So yep, for more on this one, please go here.

LINKS

The 20 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

LIFESTYLE

Prague’s “love subway” will let single people find romance while they commute

Boy Scouts End Longtime Ban on Openly Gay Youths

BEST OF THIS WEEK’S NET MEDIA

Helicopters Bring Viewers Vivid Images of Tornado

Curious kitten gets big surprise from lizard

PERENNIALS

NORTHSTAR ENDORSEMENTS

BACK COUNTRY GALLERY: BEST NATURE PHOTOS ON THE NET

BLACK SEA AGRO: AGRICULTURE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

HELP END WORLD HUNGER & POVERTY | HEIFER INTERNATIONAL® | HEIFER.ORG

THE SEADOC SOCIETY: PEOPLE & SCIENCE HEALING THE SEA

THE TODAY FILE: “Your guide to the latest news from Seattle and around the Northwest”

OTHER BLOGGERS WE FOLLOW

The Tomatoman Times – Sardonic, ironic, sometimes poignantly incisive, this is also one of the longest running human interest blogs on the Net and well worth the read.

Meade’s California Coast is moving commentary and photos by one of that state’s premier photojournalists. Short, poignant and memorable, it is a tribute to both the craft and the subject.

SEATTLE SCENES

All photos used in Seattle Scenes, unless otherwise noted, were taken by the editor. For a visual tour of the Northstar Gallery, please go here.

Seattle looks like the best place in America to ride out climate change. See following story.

NEWS, WEATHER & INFORMATION

It looks like the best city in America to ride out climate change happens to be this one. For nine other cities besides Seattle that will be impacted the least or are the best prepared, yep, please go here.

Here’s the 10 day forecast, courtesy of the good folks at our CBS affiliate, KIRO 7.

SEATTLE DIRECTORY

KOMO 4 News (ABC)

KIRO 7 (CBS)

KING 5 News (NBC)

Bees Being Trained For Life-Saving Duty

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

One of the great loves of my life once made me sleep on the couch for a week after she came back from a business trip and found me and the cat playing with three raccoons who had come into the flat through Sasha’s door to hang out. I wonder what S. would have done to me had it been a band of baboons?

Last Thursday, May 23, was World Turtle Day. And of course, we did not get that memo either. Sigh.

SHORTS

Salamander’s Regrowth Secret Revealed

Never Before Seen Images of Pandas In The Wild

RELATED LINKS:

YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

Okay, this is weird, even for us and you guys. A couple in the UK were having trouble with their Internet and television connection so they called their cable company. The tech on the scene opened the box and found a nest of snakes in it. These are a protected species in the UK so the tech fixed the connection problems and closed the box without disturbing the snakes. The couple is perfectly happy with the way things worked out too.

A FINAL WORLD

If you’re reading this on our blogsite and would like the graphically enhanced edition delivered to you by email, please so inform us at minstrel312@aol.com

Until next week, then, take care and Godspeed. Rusty

WRATH OF THE TESTAMENT

an exciting seagoing saga of war and rebellion

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged day reflection, Northstar Journal | Leave a comment

863 DAYS FROM THE MURDER TO THE FINAL DISPOSITION

Posted on May 19, 2013 by minstrel312

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL

Proudly serving North America and the International Community since 2007

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Volume 6, No. 20

Published by

Seattle, Washington

Ask Umbra: How would you spend $50 million for the planet?

863 DAYS FROM THE MURDER TO THE FINAL DISPOSITION

Hi again, from the shores of the Salish Sea Well, last week, a jury delivered the death penalty to a convicted rapist who brutally strangled a female guard at the facility in which he was serving a life sentence.

It was something like 863 days from the murder to the final disposition. In interviews with family members, I saw real decent people hardening to hate. They are apparently not going to be truly at peace until the execution is carried out.

In the American judicial appeals process, that can take a long time, particularly when it becomes a jousting contest between the state and defense counsel. There’s one thing I’ve learned personally about hate. The longer you carry it, the heavier it becomes. As Shakespeare knew so well, it can drive you insane.

A truly sociopathic killer is usually also a sadist. He or she chooses a victim who has lots of people who love them. That way, when just the one person is killed, the collateral damage is extensive. That even goes to making the taxpayers victims, as well. The judicial process is not only long, it’s expensive.

The angst factor needs to be put on the scales. In cases as clear as this, there needs to be a quicker, more expedient and financially appropriate solution. The sooner the execution is performed, the sooner the healing can begin.

In cases like this, Lady Justice needs to be as compassionate to the victims as she is fair to the guilty.

IN OTHER NEWS

Which are the richest countries in the world? The answer just might surprise you.

Well, here’s one I have a hunch is going to generate some mail. Women who watch more TV have fewer babies

WORLD NEWS SHORTS

Afghanistan:	Afghan Commandos Step Up Their Combat Role Attack On NATO Convoy Kills 15, Including 2 U.S. Service Members
Bangladesh:	1,127 Global Retailers Join Safety Plan for Bangladesh As Firms Line Up on Factories, Wal-Mart Plans Solo Effort
China:	Chinese Creating New Auto Niche Within Detroit After a Journalist’s Prodding, China Investigates a Top Official ‘A Long Ride Toward a New China’
Cyprus:	Cyprus Gets First Installment of Bailout Funds
Denmark:	Danish Teen Makes Incredible Viking Find
European Union:	LOOK: What Europe Is Doing For Its Poorest European Leaders Grapple With Youth Unemployment Eurozone Recession Now Longest In Currency’s History
France:	French Lawmakers Loosen Labor Rules in a Victory for the President In Poor Margins of Paris, New Recipe for Success Is Local
Germany:	Germany Accuses Man of Being Somali Pirates’ Accountant
Greece:	Amid Economic Crisis, Greek Doctors Volunteer For Uninsured Patients
India:	The World’s Largest Democracy Has 3,000 Child Soldiers
Indonesia:	Slide Show: Training for Mass Production
International:	Mandela Fades Amid Battles Over Who Will Claim Legacy
Israel:	Israel Has Highest Poverty Rate In Developed World
Japan:	Japan’s Economy Growing at 3.5% Annualized Rate As Japan Courts Growth, Europe Keeps Up Its Love Affair With Austerity
Mexico:	Mexico Readies Shelters As Volcano Spews Ash
Nigeria:	Nigeria’s President Gives Military More Power in Struggle Against Militants
Pakistan:	Pakistan’s Once And Future Ruler
Russia:	Russia Detains U.S. Diplomat It Says Is C.I.A. Agent Despite Focus on Spectacle, Russia Hints Spy Case Won’t Disrupt U.S. Ties
South Korea:	SKorea’s Bizarre Spy Scandal
United Kingdom:	Fat Burning Power Plant Coming To London UK Publishes Slave Owner Database
United States:	San Diego Mayor Building Economic Bridges to Tijuana Cyberattacks on the Rise Against U.S. Corporations Phone Records of Journalists Seized by U.S. U.S. Budget Deficit Shrinks Far Faster Than Expected Coal plants could be linked to thousands of North Carolina suicides I.R.S. Chief Out After Protest Over Scrutiny of Groups The Real I.R.S. Scandal Baffling Rise in Suicides Plagues U.S. Military A 70-degree weather swing had South Dakotans change from parkas to bikinis in one day Climate-related disasters cost American taxpayers $96 billion last year How Many Hurricanes Will 2013 Season Bring? Deadly storms in Texas produce grapefruit-sized hail A Black Mound of Canadian Oil Waste Is Rising Over Detroit

CLIMATE CHANGE SHORTS

Climate Change To Dramatically Shrink Animal Habitats

Mount Everest’s Ice Is Melting

America’s first climate refugees

97 out of 100 climate scientists agree: Humans are responsible for warming

North Pole wanders, thanks to climate change

NORTH KOREAN SHORTS

NKorea Replaces Defense Minister In Power Move

NKorea: Detained American Starts Life At ‘Special Prison’

SYRIAN WAR SHORTS

A Focus on Syria for Obama and Cameron

An Atrocity in Syria, With No Victim Too Small

Death Toll In Syria Likely As High As 120,000

Pressure of War Is Causing Syria to Break Apart

Russia Sends More Advanced Missiles to Aid Assad in Syria

FROM YOU GUYS

My son when growing up often asked me “Why there was no “kids” day?” So I always tried to make a special day for just him…and still do. He is one of the unfortunate ones who was born in December, December 9 which is like two weeks before Christmas. As a kid growing up when it came time for birthday parties, it was always in a lot of cases…for his friends, that no one cold really afford anything extra as money was being used for Christmas gifts. I would never put my Christmas decorations up till after his birthday to try and make sure that his “day” was special…not a part of the Christmas season.. Those born in December and those born I think really close to Christmas or before or after as well, I am sure always feel short-changed.

Rebecca from Virginia

From our cousins Down Under, The Village restaurant in Potts Point, New South Wales, want you to know that last week, they switched to their Winter menu. For more information on this one, please go here. Our thanks to Jamie and Elspeth in Sydney for this one.

OH CANADA

Canada’s Man In Space, Chris Hadfield, is headed home after a five-month stint on the ISS. Chris sent some stunning photos back to earth from the Space Station and used the social media to education millions of us. See also His Next Big Mission

If a nation’s stature can be measured by the growth of the number of millionaires in its population, Canada is a loon about the size of a 747.

The US Senate says no to border fees.

SHORTS

Polls Spectacularly Wrong As Clark Crushes Dix

Canada Celebrates Star Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s Return to Earth

Raise Rates Now Or Risk Economic Crisis, Canada Told

Canadians Trimming Food Budgets In Face Of Higher Prices, RBC Says

Forty Years of Changing Attitudes in Metro Vancouver

GOOD EXAMPLES

WATCH: For Mother’s Day, This Son Bought His Mother A House

Want To Feel Good About Humanity? Read This

WATCH: Student Fearlessly Rescues Man On Train Tracks

SHORTS

Eleven European Nations Pass “Robin Hood” Tax

Determined kids in small California town push for plastic bag ban

In Poor Margins of Paris, New Recipe for Success Is Local

New York City’s water: Brought to you by Mother Nature

Minnesota Legalizes Same Sex Marriage

BAD EXAMPLES

Here’s something “We, the People” need to change very quickly. Phone Records of Journalists Seized by U.S.

The bad news is that the Internal Revenue Service has apparently been haunted by the Spirit of Edgar J. Hoover Past. The good news is that President Obama is not exactly ecstatic about it.

The U.S. military appears to be baffled by the rise in suicides among those of its soldiers who return time after time after time for extended tours of duty in combat zones. If the military is at a loss to explain this, it might just point to an intelligence deficiency starting in the Pentagon. In Vietnam, we called that “brass poisoning”. It’s most notable symptom is that it robs its victim of the sense God gave a Mayfly.

BAD EXAMPLES SPECIAL: PAT ROBERTSON

This one really deserves a special mention. American televangelist and morning news and commentary co-host Pat Robertson is living proof that if you run your mouth long enough ~ however well-intentioned ~ you’re going to say something that makes even God wince.

This having been said, I like Rev. Robertson even when I don’t agree with him, which, quite frankly, is more than occasionally, I admire his sincerity and he’s never given me any reason to believe he doesn’t have the best interests of all of us at heart.

My jaw dropped when I heard Mr. Robertson tell a woman that the problem with her marriage was that she was ugly. I didn’t see the show but I understood the point he was trying to make. Sometimes, spouses let themselves go and become really unattractive to their mate. So it’s like, that’s something you can do something about so take control.

This idea that a woman’s housekeeping could be a reason for her husband’s infidelity seems a little odd at first. But I lived with this crazy elderly couple during the Recession who used the disgust factor as one of the weapons with which they lashed out at one another daily. So I couldn’t totally rule that out.

And this idea that “a man is a man” and that all of us wander is not the dumbest thing Rev. Robertson has ever said. The Good Lord gifted Pat with a mouth big enough for both feet and a curious passion for the taste of his own toes.

But Mr. Robertson is nothing if not consistent so I interpreted that as just advice to all of us to just make sure we’re keeping a clean house, taking pride in our personal experience, etc. so that if they wander anyway, we totally know it’s not our fault.

I can live with that, however occasionally clumsily phrased.

Rusty

BAD EXAMPLE SHORTS

Mayan Pyramid BULLDOZED For Rocks

New Jersey Hospital Has Highest Billing Rates in the Nation

Crowd Led by Priests Attacks Gay Rights Marchers in Georgia

EXPLORATION, HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

New DNA evidence strongly suggests that the Minoans of Crete came from Europe, not from North Africa, as heretofore believed.

Where is the oldest water on earth? The answer just might surprise you.

Well, apparently last March a Big Rock From Space (BRIS) the size of a small boulder (88 lbs or 40 kg) crashed into the moon at 56,000 mph (90,000 kph) and produced a crater 65 feet (20 meters) wide. The resulting explosion was ten times brighter than any previous recorded. And this is a place we want to colonize, right?

OUTER SPACE SHORTS

‘Einstein’s Planet’ Discovered

‘Pumpkin’ Moonship for Private Manned Lunar Landings Passes Key Review

Legendary Apollo Astronaut Joins Moon Flight Firm

Off-World Driving Record Broken

The Top 10 Star Trek Technologies

CLOSER TO HOME SHORTS

Earth’s Core Not What Scientists Thought, New Studies Show

Diane Weber Bederman: First Nations and the Jews: A Common History

Viking History: Facts & Myths | LiveScience

Stunning Byzantine Mosaic Uncovered in Israel

Eternal Flame At Chestnut Ridge Park In Western New York Fed By New Gas Source

NORTHSTAR WEEKLY READER QUIZ

Okay, gang. Here’s a chance to see if you know as much about American history as a California fifth grader.

THE GREEN AGENDA

It’s Not All About CO2: A Plan To Help Reduce Short-Term Climate Pollutants

Geoengineering Research: Never Or Now?

This Ain’t The Onion: Wall Street Journal Urges “More Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide”

Determined Kids In Small California Town Push For Plastic Bag Ban

Nature’s CEO: Mark Tercek Says Conservation Is Good For Business

New York City’s Water: Brought To You By Mother Nature

Utilities Vs. Rooftop Solar: What The Fight Is About

These Cartoon Bears Care More About The Environment Than You Do

America’s First Climate Refugees

This App Helps You Avoid Supporting Monsanto And Other Terrible Companies

A Black Mound Of Canadian Oil Waste Is Rising Over Detroit

HEALTH

What is your body mass index (BMI) and why is that important? It’s a way to calculate if you’re over or underweight. Use the calculator to see where you are and if you’re cool, annoy people who aren’t as “BMI correct” as you are. I ran mine again this morning and it’s 21.5, right where it should be. Since it’s in feet and inches, here’s a metric converter for those who need it.

Sorry, Jared, Subway food can be just as bad for you as McDonald’s

Kosher salt: Don’t stress about sodium intake (unless you’re an average American)

SHORTS

9 Benefits Of Goji Berry Smoothies

15 Foods That Do And Don’t Expire

10 Ways For Men To Lose ‘Baby Weight’

ON THE CANCER FRONT

As Shannon taught me so well, the best way to love (and help) someone battling cancer is to understand what they are going through. We therefore recommend this moving article on how leukemia restricts the life of a person of 22.

BUSTED: Four Big Myths About Female Attractiveness

LIFESTYLE

Financial Success In Adulthood Tied To Key Skills At Age Seven

Kids these days just don’t care about cars

Is THIS How You Get Gender Equality?

5 Writers’ Well-Loved Getaways

Minnesota Legalizes Same Sex Marriage

BEST OF THIS WEEK’S NET MEDIA

Lightning Hits Grand Canyon

WOW: What NYC Would Look Like On Other Planets

Ducklings’ Flying Attempt Is Insanely Adorable

WATCH: Sleeping Baby Tiger!

WATCH: Eagle Steals Fish

Here’s more from our favourite Canadian in Space. It’s the human species first music video in space.

PERENNIALS

NORTHSTAR ENDORSEMENTS

BACK COUNTRY GALLERY: BEST NATURE PHOTOS ON THE NET

BLACK SEA AGRO: AGRICULTURE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

HELP END WORLD HUNGER & POVERTY | HEIFER INTERNATIONAL® | HEIFER.ORG

THE SEADOC SOCIETY: PEOPLE & SCIENCE HEALING THE SEA

» Read the Council’s hearing wrap-up

SEATTLE SCENES

All photos used in Seattle Scenes, unless otherwise noted, were taken by the editor. For a visual tour of the Northstar Gallery, please go here.

Pinehurst Pocket Park is typical of the myriad of these neighborhood evergreen oases. Its semi-secluded nature makes it popular with picnickers and the romantically inclined alike.

NEWS, WEATHER & INFORMATION

Hundreds Speak Out For Metro

Hundreds of people have submitted messages or testimony to the County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee about potential Metro Transit service cuts, with an overwhelming majority calling for new funding to preserve bus service.

The committee has received more than 1,300 comments, either online or from the 350+ people who attended a public hearing last night. Bus riders and representatives of business, education, labor and community organizations spoke at the hearing.

» Visit the Metro Matters blog to see photos and find out what people had to say

» Read the Seattle Times article

» Submit your comments

For the sixth straight year, Seattle has been named the bike-friendliest city in America.

Last week, Seattle observed another annual ritual, the arrival from Alaska of the first Copper River salmon. The new arrivals are going for about $60 US a pound.

THE TODAY FILE: “Your guide to the latest news from Seattle and around the Northwest”

Here’s the 10 day forecast, courtesy of the good folks at our CBS affiliate, KIRO 7.

SEATTLE DIRECTORY

KOMO 4 News (ABC)

KIRO 7 (CBS)

KING 5 News (NBC)

Gray whale spotted south of the equator for the first time ever

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

It’s been a long time since we’ve published a story as moving as this one about a father introducing his son to bears in their natural environment.

Okay, this is weird, even for us and you guys. We’ve been talking about those cicadas on the American East Coast? Here’s what it might look like to these inch and a half little dudes who can’t hurt man nor beast, as they emerge into life for the first time.

And then there were these two bald eagles in Minnesota who, locked in mortal combat about something, managed to survive a crash on a runway of an airport in Duluth. Aesop, with all due respect, where are you? I need you now.

SHORTS

Kangaroo Attacks Australian Politician

Ape, Monkey Split Revealed

Dog Saves Canada Man In Bear Attack

Elephant Gets Ultimate Revenge On Poacher

Wildlife Bandits: How Criminology Can Fight Poaching

MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS WE TOTALLY LOVE

Here’s this month’s Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s monthly newsletter.

Here’s this month’s World Wildlife Fund’s monthly newsletter

RELATED LINKS:

YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

And then there was the recent United Nations report that says that one cure for world hunger is for all of us to start eating bugs. With all due respect to the French and to seafood crustacean lovers the planet over, aren’t we sort of already doing that?

A FINAL WORLD

The Northstar Journal is one hundred percent supported by readers like you. If you enjoyed this edition and would like to contribute ~ however modestly ~ to the next, please go here and with our thanks. If you’re reading this on our blogsite and would like the graphically enhanced edition delivered to you by email, please so inform us at minstrel312@aol.com Until next week, cheers, then, eh? And stay well. Rusty

WRATH OF THE TESTAMENT

an exciting seagoing saga of war and rebellion

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Northstar Journal, richest countries in the world, rusty miller, Salish Sea | Leave a comment

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Posted on May 12, 2013 by minstrel312

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL

Proudly serving North America and the International Community since 2007

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Volume 6, No. 19

Published by

Seattle, Washington

Boston Bombing Inquiry Looks Closely at Russia Trip

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Hi again, from the shores of the Salish Sea Well, in most of our known world, motherhood and moms are being celebrated today. To me, that is totally cool because it is absolutely appropriate. Even if your personal female caregiver was an evil step-parent, the plain fact is that without mothers, most of us wouldn’t be here.

I’ve often wondered, though, why there’s no Kids Day. Ever since the young people in my own life were like these pint-sized living units, I’ve realized that children are our greatest “natural resource.”

I think kids are more highly evolved than adults. They are idealistic and unencumbered with cynicism. They are innovators because they haven’t learned what is acceptable and what is not. They question authority which makes no sense to them because their survival instincts have not been dulled. And perhaps most marvelously of all, they keep pushing the envelope. They are bad listeners sometimes because while adults are trying to tell them why something cannot be done, they are, of course, are too busy doing it.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a story in which all of these traits of childhood come together more than in this excellently crafted story of a Canadian teenager who has discovered anti-aging properties in tree pulp.

Her name is Janelle Tam. To meet her, please go here.

IN OTHER NEWS

New genetic evidence strongly suggests that all Europeans had a common ancestor as recently as a thousand years ago. The techniques which lead to this discovery have not been applied yet to other continents but genetic researchers believe the results will be the same. Apparently we’re a lot closer family than we thought, which makes some of the inappropriate things we say and do to one another make even less sense to me.

If you’re pregnant and you don’t want your unborn child to have cravings for unhealthy food, lay off it yourself. A new study has found that junk food addiction starts in the womb.

We’ve reported several times in the last 18 months or so about sexual abuse in the military. Now, apparently, President Obama and his administration have decided enough is flipping enough. See also America’s Military Injustice

WORLD NEWS SHORTS

Bangladesh:	Last Hope in Ruins: Bangladesh’s Race to Save Shaheena Rescue Workers Free Woman Trapped For 17 Days In Bangladesh Rubble 17 Days in Darkness, a Cry of ‘Save Me,’ and Joy
China:	U.S. Directly Blames China’s Military for Cyber Attacks China Dips a Toe Into Middle East Peace Chinese Filmmaker Is Investigated by Family Planning Officials China Officials Seek Career Shortcut With Feng Shui Poison Attack Revives Fury in China Over ’95 Case Social Media in China Fuel Citizen Response to Quake
European Union:	West Fertilizer Showed A ‘Lack Of Responsibility’ Before Deadly Blast
France:	SARS-Like Virus In France A French Jet Maker Is Approaching a Crossroad
Germany:	Germans Boo Nazi Scenes in an Opera by Wagner Recovery in Germany Is Faster Than Elsewhere
Greece:	60 Per Cent Youth Unemployment
International:	A Homemade Style of Terror: Jihadists Push New Tactics In Hours, Thieves Took $45 Million in A.T.M. Scheme Heat-Trapping Gas Passes Milestone, Raising Fears
Japan:	Postcard From Japan: Talking Zen, Abenomics, Social Networking and the Constitution With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Paraguay:	A Lost Tribe in Paraguay
Russia:	On Putin’s Anniversary, Human Rights In Russia At Dangerous Low Kerry Aims To Sway Russia Against Syrian Regime PHOTOS: Russia’s WWII Heroes
United Kingdom:	British Tabloid’s Web Site Makes Foray Into America
United Nations:	UN Investigator: North Korean Prison Camps Inquiry Won’t Be Deterred
United States:	West Fertilizer Showed A ‘Lack Of Responsibility’ Before Deadly BlastF.C.C. Advances Plan for Faster In-Flight Wi-Fi After Plant Explosion, Texas Remains Wary of Regulation Citrus Disease With No Cure Is Ravaging Florida’s Groves E.M.T. at Fertilizer Plant Blast Faces Charge of Possessing Bomb Parts Texas Launching Criminal Probe Into Deadly Plant Explosion Sebastopol Becomes Second California City To Require Solar Panels On New Construction

BOSTON BOMBING SHORTS

Suspect in Boston Bombing Talked Jihad in Russia

CLEVELAND KIDNAPPING SHORTS

Three Women, Missing for Years, Found in Cleveland

Cleveland Man Charged With Rape and Kidnapping

On Facebook, Cleveland Kidnapping Suspect Hid Secret Under ‘LOL’

3 Long-Missing Women Found Alive In Ohio; 3 Brothers Arrested

Sexually Abused Kidnap Victims Kept In ‘Ropes And Chains’: Police

Before Escape, Fleeting Clues to Long Ordeal

Alleged Ohio Kidnapper Appears In Court

Accused Kidnapper’s Ex-Relatives: He’s A ‘Monster’

CLIMATE CHANGE SHORTS

Ocean Acidification Threatens Arctic Ecosystem, Study Shows

Startling Images Of A Changing Earth

What Makes An Ecosystem Endangered?

Greenland’s Ice Loss May Slow, But Coasts Still At Risk

Weird Wintry Weather And The Climate-Change Link

Where Did All The Tornadoes Go?

California Gov. Jerry Brown blames climate change for early wildfires

Hawaii could be hit by more hurricanes as climate changes

Even in the best-case scenario, climate change will kick our asses

NORTH KOREAN SHORTS

Intelligence on North Korea, and Its New Leader, Remains Elusive

U.S. Officials: North Korea Moved Missiles Away From Launch Site

North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Matter Of When, Not If

SYRIAN WAR SHORTS

Syria Blames Israel for Fiery Attack in Damascus

White House Holds Firm on Cautious Path in Syria Crisis

Syria Blames Israel for Fiery Attack in Damascus

A Lost Generation: Young Syrian Refugees Struggle to Survive

Kerry Aims To Sway Russia Against Syrian Regime

Russia Reportedly To Sell Sophisticated Missiles To Syria

Details Emerge About Syrian Electronic Army’s Recent Exploits

OH CANADA

Well, apparently yet another terrorist plot against Canadians has been foiled and this one was ambitious. Check out VIA Terror Suspects Planned To Kill Thousands With Bacteria: Police

As a people, I’ve noticed that we Canadians sometimes exhibit considerably more courage than good sense. Canadians Eagerly Sign Up For Mars ‘Suicide Mission’ would appear to be yet another example.

Why is Joe Beef Canada’s favourite restaurant?

GOOD EXAMPLES

Two international drug companies have slashed their price of cancer vaccines so that thousands of girls in the world’s poorest countries can afford protection.

Last week, the Kennedy Library honored one of the most courageous women in America, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Representative Gifford was the target of an apparent assassination attempt in 2011 and was severely injured in the attack.

Amy Hood just became the first of her gender to serve as Microsoft’s chief financial officer.

SHORTS

Why Sharing News About Solutions is a Revolutionary Act

Marriage Equality Victories Show How Change Happens, One Step at a Time

Worker-Owned Window Factory Opens for Business

The Bright Side of the Money Crisis

What Seattle’s Bike To School Revolution Looks Like

Tasty, and Subversive, Too

BAD EXAMPLES

Love and Madness in the Jungle

A brilliant American financier and his wife build a mansion in the jungles of Costa Rica, set up a wildlife preserve, and slowly, steadily lose their minds. Soon, one of them is dead. Ned Zeman investigates a mystery in the rainforest.

Farmworkers Fired For Leaving Fields During Wildfire

This next one ~ headlined Hospital Bill Shocker: U.S. Releases Thousands Of Records Showing Huge, Wildly Differing Prices ~ is dismaying but not totally surprising. Preparing or auditing even a small hospital’s budget brings into play such exotic factors as the fluctuating price of certain drugs; the availability of generics; things that can and do sometimes swing from year to year. As noble as the Hippocratic Oath is, it also does not forbid medical care providers from basing their fees on what their patients can afford to pay. That’s why you don’t usually see the wealthy in wheel chair races in the hall with the lower middle class.

EXPLORATION, HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

It’s predicted that in as little as 20 years, there will be robots as smart as people. In another few years, these cybernetic creatures will have surpassed their creators. For a glimpse of what life might be like for us then, yep, please go here.

Our European and Asian ancestors make have spoken a common language as recently as 15,000 years ago, new research indicates.

If you’re wondering what those cicadas ~ those loud chirping insects that look like crickets ~ emerging from the ground by the billions in the American East sound like, yep, go here.

OUTER SPACE SHORTS

Rosette Nebula Blooms In Stargazer Photo

Sun Unleashes Spectacular Solar Eruption (Photos)

Jupiter Still Has Water from 1994 Comet Crash

‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse of May 2013: Photos and Maps

CLOSER TO HOME SHORTS

Hundreds Of Mysterious Orbs Found Under Ancient Temple

In Pursuit of an Underwater Menagerie

Stunning Astronomical Alignment Found at Peru Pyramid

Plague Helped Bring Down Roman Empire, Graveyard Suggests

NORTHSTAR WEEKLY READER QUIZ

Okay, gang. Here’s a chance to see how much you and those you hang out with know about the weather.

THE GREEN AGENDA

10 Things In Your Fridge You Should Never Throw Away

Beyond the pale ale: A guide to sustainable beer

Sebastopol Becomes Second California City To Require Solar Panels On New Construction

HEALTH

14 Veggies You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

LOOK: The 10 Most Selective Medical Schools

4 Bedtime Habits That May Be Sabotaging Your Sex Life

Communities self-insure for cooperative healthcare

ON THE CANCER FRONT

Two international drug companies have slashed their price of cancer vaccines so that thousands of girls in the world’s poorest countries can afford protection.

How Social Networks Drive Black Unemployment

LIFESTYLE

Where are the hottest men allegedly found? The answers just might surprise you.

It’s lunchtime: let’s dance

Check out the wisdom, and pleasure, of getting children interested in cooking early on.

Check out most popular baby names for 2012

BEST OF THIS WEEK’S NET MEDIA

Best Science Photos of the Week

Watch Live: One More Falcon Egg Left To Hatch

Dog Rides Sheep In The Best Photo You Might See All Day

AOL On – Amazing Video: Pod of Killer Whales Jump Alongside Boat

PERENNIALS

NORTHSTAR ENDORSEMENTS

BACK COUNTRY GALLERY: BEST NATURE PHOTOS ON THE NET

BLACK SEA AGRO: AGRICULTURE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

HELP END WORLD HUNGER & POVERTY | HEIFER INTERNATIONAL® | HEIFER.ORG

THE SEADOC SOCIETY: PEOPLE & SCIENCE HEALING THE SEA

What Seattle’s bike to school revolution looks like

SEATTLE SCENES

All photos used in Seattle Scenes, unless otherwise noted, were taken by the editor. For a visual tour of the Northstar Gallery, please go here.

Some of the homes on this birdhouse tree are almost as old as the flora itself.

NEWS & WEATHER

Washington is the best state in America for bicycling. North Dakota is the worst. To see where your state ranks, please go here.

What’s Going On In Seattle?

THE TODAY FILE: “Your guideto the latest news from Seattle and around the Northwest”

Here’s the 10 day weather forecast, courtesy of the good folks at our CBS affiliate, KIRO 7.

SEATTLE DIRECTORY

Komo 4 News (ABC)

King 5 News (NBC)

Check out this live blog of cute animals to look at.

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

During the course of our own evolution as a species, we’ve precipitated the extinction of a myriad of other life forms. We seem, however, to have turned that attitude around. Should we now just stay out of it or should we attempt to correct the mistakes we’ve made? For a most absorbing consideration, please go here Predator and Prey, a Delicate Dance .

Here’s an infographic that purports to give us eight million reasons why sharks should be more afraid of humans than humans are of them. We have it on as yet dubious authority that this particular infographic was produced in Australia, where human beings along the Great Barrier Reef occasionally sacrifice one of their number to the sharks for the right to share the water. So I’d be real skeptical of this one, gang.

SHORTS

Cicadas To Emerge In Massive Swarms After 17 Years Underground

How Plants ‘Talk’ To Each Other

A Drone’s-Eye View of Nature

MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS WE TOTALLY LOVE

Here’s this month’s Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s monthly newsletter.

RELATED LINKS:

And then there was the submerged ghost town that suddenly came up for air.

YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

A FINAL WORD

WRATH OF THE TESTAMENT

An exciting seagoing saga of war and rebellion

For the kindle book, ($3.99) at amazon.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

AUSTRALIA IS NOT A NORMAL PLACE TO LIVE

Posted on May 5, 2013 by minstrel312

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL

Proudly serving North America and the International Community since 2007

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Volume 6, No. 18

Published by

Seattle, Washington