OUR CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
May 20, 2018 Volume 10 Number 37

Reader Supported:  All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

INSIDE: Our Congratulations To The Duke And Duchess Of Sussex; The Past Week’s World Headlines At A Glance; From Olya – Arguing The Case For Consciousness; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

Hi again, gang, from the shores of The Salish Sea:

It has been an interesting week and a mixed bag, has it not?  First of all, we’d like to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their recent nuptials.  We’ve followed the Royals on the BBC for years and admire the English, as a people, a great deal.

And yes, we watched the wedding on television.  I’m a traditionalist when it comes to things like this and I’ve also been a proponent of human rights all my adult life.  Therefore, I found the sermon by the black American cleric a bit over the top.  I sensed that he was using the occasion to address that theme rather than to bless the union of a black American woman to a white British man and what that has come to mean now to the world.  In listening to Scott Simon on All Things Considered after the wedding, I know I am not alone in this context.

It has been interesting watching President Trump this week.  I’ve figured out a couple of things that have reduced my stress level a great deal and since we reach 22 nations now, these insights are probably worth passing along.

Some leaders are a reflection of the people of the nation they serve.  Some represent a loud but powerful and often noisy minority.  Hopefully, where Donald Trump falls is understood.

Perhaps other nations have become too dependent on the American federal government.  Our governor, for instance, is establishing Washington State ties with other countries.  The private commercial sectors need, as well, to do that and, if necessary, to broker through neutral nations, as the international economic community has done since at least the First World War.

And since I live for, among other things besides an occasional hug from my cousin Olya, stellar moments in the human experience, this headline leaped right into my lap.   A 69-Year-Old Double Amputee Has Just Climbed Mount Everest

Now, granted he’s a Sherpa, which is what God created by bringing the best parts of a human being and a mountain goat together and also that the prosthetics he was wearing are a fast improvement over their predecessors, this is still, to be, an outstanding accomplishment.

It is, as well, further proof that age is a number convenient for government use but that as far as defining a human being, it does not.  In the final analysis, in a social matrix resembling a vast honeycomb, behavior is what matters most and who we are is how we treat one another.

Once that’s been established, the victories and defeats, the pride and the shame, the glory and the grief belong to all of us.  None of us is immune but each of us has control and each of us is responsible.

That’s it for this week, gang.  Take care, stay well and God Bless.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here.

That’s it for this week, folks.  Take care, stay well and God Bless.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here

THE PAST WEEK’S WORLD HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

FROM OLYA

ARGUING THE CASE FOR CONSCIOUSNESS

I recently had an interesting discussion on social media and found fascinating another proof of how paradoxically the human mind works.. We basically cannot perceive something that is not in our experience.

It was quite difficult to try to explain the term ‘consciousness’ to a person who never studied the subject. So you would receive an almost angry feedback – “what do you mean ‘conscious’ – I am awake so I am conscious. How do you measure the level of consciousness? With caliper ruler?”, would be an argument.

Of course I can understand a person who thinks that “All around are an incomprehensible combination of particles or waves that are pretty random”. Maybe it is, so  what further can be discussed in general when the world sets and world views are quite different like we are talking on different things on different languages.

Interesting enough, I found part of the answer in this Netflix film,  Innsaei:The Power of Intuition , The film explained quite easily that our right brain thinking that is responsible for intuition, enlightenment, creativity is less comprehensive to us than the left brain thinking i.e. logic.

According to the film, when we put too much emphasis on logic, we are unable to find solutions requiring a more holistic approach.

As one of my favorite Einstein quotes “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”.

You cannot explain Soul in words as it is beyond senses but does it mean it does not exist then?

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine.  Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management.  For comments, please go here.

RUSTY’S INFAMOUS UNCLE SEAMUS

When you adopt the behavior of the oppressor, you become the oppressor and remain so until you are once again the victim.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

How We Can Overcome Our Mistrust Of Robots In Homes And Workplaces

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

This is good news.  Wind And Solar Power Are Growing. Grid Managers Need To Get Ready

This is certainly well worth the read.  How To Save The Human Race

Another ancestor?  Homo Naledi Had A Small Brain – But Packed A Big Punch

Earth

Maps: 100 Years Of Nat Geo Maps

We Can Now See How Humans Have Altered Earth’s Water Resources

Hawaii’s Volcano Kilauea Spews Out ‘Ballistic Blocks’

Outer Space

NASA Live: Orbital ATK Antares Rocket Launch To Space Station Monday, May 21, at 4:39 a.m. EDT

Fly Over A Mars Crater

TESS Planet-Hunter Snaps 1st Test Image, Swings By Moon

Technology

Microsoft’s New Xbox Controller Is Designed For People With Limited Mobility

Watch: How Self-Driving Cars Could Ease Commutes

Listen: Solar Farms Are Both Bountiful And Controversial

PRAISE

China’s Xi Urges End To Waste And Irrational Consumption In Eco Push – Xinhua

Saudi Arabia Releases 1,000 Ethiopian Prisoners

CENSURE

Bumble Bee Ceo Charged With Fixing Canned Tuna Prices

No Company Should Be Able To Have That Power’

Student With ‘Crushing’ Debt Angry After For-Profit College Investigation Scaled Back

Naomi Musenga Death: Emergency Operator Blames Pressure After Mocking Caller

TRAVEL

Moscow’s Best Courtyard Bars

This Massive Cruise Ship Just Became The Biggest Ever To Cross The Panama Canal

Can I Smoke In Public In Russia?

THE GREEN BEAT  

Women Built These Tiny Houses To Block A Pipeline—And Reclaim Nomadic Traditions

Why Trans Mountain’s Oil Spill Liability Is Problematic

The US Policy That Enabled The Fracking Industry’s $280 Billion Loss

A Modern Day Lesson For Big Oil On First Nation Rights

HEALTH

Burning Health Questions? Email TIME

Should You Ditch Your Smartphone For A ‘Dumb’ Phone?

4 Meditation Tips That Actually Work

Here’s Another Reason To Avoid Taking Unnecessary Antibiotics

6 Ways To Make Your Coffee Even Better

Should You Stop Wearing Sunscreen To Get More Vitamin D?

Body Clock Linked To Mood Disorders:  It Is A Warning To Urban Societies Becoming Less In Tune With Nature.

Trans Fats Should Be Eliminated From Food In 5 Years, WHO Says

13 Ways Being A Night Owl Could Hurt Your Health

What Happens When We Are Concussed?

Why You Eat More When You’re In Company

Alyssa Milano: How I Came To Terms With My Anxiety Disorder

First Drug To Prevent Chronic Migraines Approved In U.S.

COMMUNITY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

Beyond Fasting: What We Can All Learn From Ramadan

The Real History Behind Book Burning And Fahrenheit 451

How Meghan Markle Is Giving The Royal Family The Shake-Up It Needs

Households In Beijing Offered Prizes For Sorting Their Own Rubbish

The Sadness Of Living Without Sex

Chili’s Is The Latest Place To Be Hit With A Data Breach. Here’s What You Should Know

Will US Chain’s ‘Chinese Food For Americans’ Be A Hit In China?

How Music Reflects The Economy

BEST OF THE NET

Incredible Flying Fish Escape Dorado Only To Be Faced With A Larger Predator

You Can’t Walk On These Cloud Streets

Here’s What The Hawaii Volcano Eruption Looks Like From Space

MASHA AND THE BEAR

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ:  This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine.  There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively.

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of links to mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS, including Olya’s novel “Rocket Man” and mine, “Wrath of the USS Testament”.  The ‘shelves’ also offer films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.  Now, here’s the really cool part.  Load up your cart and instead of getting your plastic out, just drop in the jar on your way out whatever it’s worth to you.  You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

Even if you don’t love these magnificent creatures as much as we do, this will move you.  The Whale Who Dines Alone

If this doesn’t move you to tears, you need to ask the Wizard of Oz for a heart.  A Dog That Transformed A 104-Year-Old’s Life

As tragic as this was for all concerned, it is worth passing along for the lessons learned.  No, the creature in question did not survive.  One Killed, One Injured In Mountain Lion Attack Near North Bend

FOLKS WE FOLLOW

The May 2017 Nest Watch newsletter is now online and it’s beautiful.  Their lead article is especially captivating.  Make Way For Ducklings and check it out here.

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

How A Sleepy Farming Hamlet Became China’s Lingerie Capital 

Robot Stands In For US Student At Graduation

Bicycling As A Woman In Afghanistan

ABOUT US:  The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world.  We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard.  If you would like to help us help them, please go here.  No contribution too large or too small.  If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com  Thank you and see you next week.  RM/OB

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LEST THE WORLD FORGET: VE DAY

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
May 13, 2018 Volume 10 Number 36

Reader Supported:  All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

INSIDE: Lest The World Forget; News In Review; From The Shores Of The Salish Sea – I Love Waffles; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

Hi Rusty:

VE Day, which stands for Victory In Europe Day, is a major holiday on the European continent.  It falls on May 8^th in places like the UK and France, but because of the time zone difference, a day later in my part of the world including Ukraine.  It commemorates the German surrender which ended World War II in Europe.

While it is historically more straightforward for example for the United Kingdom when all nations united in a struggle against Hitler (famous Churchill speech: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender”).  However, for some countries of Europe struggle was more dubious.

Divide et Impera, is the Roman principle which contends that the best way to maintain power is to stir up hostility within the factions of the whole.  Efficient use of this technique allows small forces to manage those who together have greater power (would have great power if they could unite).

Such a technique requires a lot of skill and political sophistication, as well as a good understanding of political science, history and psychology. Hitler as an evil genius of his times, was so good in this strategy that no wonder his populist ideas were successful in his times.

If we look at the tragedy of Yugoslavia, where part of the people believed and collaborated with Germans, while others were part were royalists, part Communist, or had religious background for hostility with each other:

“The violent struggles that occurred in Yugoslavia between 1941 and 1945 resulted in over 1.7 million dead. Of these, one million were caused by Yugoslav killing Yugoslav, whether it was Croat Ustase against Jews, Muslims, Serbs, Chetniks and Partisans; or Partisans against Chetniks and Ustase; or Chetniks against Ustase, Muslims, and Partisans”. That is a good historical article on it.

But in the aftermath, the country was primarily liberated by its own Partisans forces in the head with Tito so that allowed them to talk on rivals with Soviet Union and West as they managed to obtain own victory.

In a way, the same tragedy happened in Ukraine where part of Ukrainians were mislead believing that Germans came to help them to find their independence. Hitler propaganda worked perfectly using the local aspirations.

On the 8th of May, we have Memorial and Reconciliation Day to pay tribute to all the victims of the war. While the 9th of May here is more of celebrations of the Victory since Soviet times. A lot of grievances are associated with the Soviet regime but seems like it is how history works to balance these by remembering the struggles to overcome much worse. So people deserve to celebrate a victory their grandparents obtained. Here it’s called “the celebrations with tears on the eyes” as it was sung in a song “Victory Day” of 1975. It’s been one of the most tragic and joyful date in a calendar for 73 years.

On the 9th of May evening I spent on my usual train journey through Ukraine. The blue eyed young guy who seemed quite intelligent unexpectedly put “How to become a sniper” guidance on the table. Unfortunately Divide Et Impera principle is still working 2018 years after Christ’s the Sermon on the Mount.

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine.  Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management.  For comments, please go here.

FROM THE SHORES OF THE SALISH SEA 

I LOVE WAFFLES

Hi again, gang.  Waffles are among my favorite food groups.  I am a fan with absolutely no shame.  I like them with everything but the kitchen sink.  I seriously doubt that in the History of Waffledom, they have been prepared in a way I have not tried.  Furthermore, I wish to go on record stating that if there are no waffles in Heaven, there better be some in Hell or Satan’s gonna be really sorry.

That having been said, there is a word in American that sounds like one of my favorite foods but is actually descriptive of behavior for which I have a great deal of contempt, impatience, disgust, frustration and pity.  I hate it when friends do it.  I absolutely do not trust associates who do it.  I will not vote for elected officials who do it.  And I totally abhor it when it becomes the preferred modus operandi of the leader of the mightiest nation in the Free World.

The word is “waffling”.

The specific instance of it I’m remembering now is the Iran Nuclear Agreement.  Trump justifies his decisions in these regards as an exercise of executive privilege aka the right to change his mind.  That’s well enough until one does it so often that they litter the landscape with broken promises.  Apparently it’s common practice in the commercial sector and has been in the political arena.  Adolph Hitler was a master at it.

I hope the people of the world realize that most Americans are not like Donald Trump.  They don’t approve of this behavior anymore than any decent human being among us would sanction it.  And they are not powerless against it because they have learned one historical lesson very, very well.

If you don’t like it, don’t emulate it.

That’s it for this week, gang.  Take care, stay well and God Bless.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here.

That’s it for this week, folks.  Take care, stay well and God Bless.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here

 THE PAST WEEK’S HEADLINE NEWS AT A GLANCE 

RUSTY’S INFAMOUS UNCLE SEAMUS

Sometimes there is a very good reason why some roads are less traveled.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Women Offer Up Words Of Wisdom As New Parents Prepare For Motherhood

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

To me, this is just a lit-tle spooky.  The Ocado Robot Swarms That Pack Your Shopping

So is this, considering the proximity of three volcanoes, including a recently active one, Mount Saint Helens.  Hawaii’s Volcano Could Hurl Boulders the Size of Refrigerators Miles Into the Air

This, I think, is worth serious consideration.  Are Outdated Notions Of “Industrial Areas” Hiding A Giant Housing Opportunity?

Earth

Snowball Earth Due To Plate Tectonics?

Here’s Why Volcanos Are So Dangerous

North Pole Gets A Heat Wave

Outer Space

SpaceX Flies ‘Lessons Learned’ Rocket

New Science From Jupiter

Could Trump’s ‘Space Force’ Become A Reality?

Technology

How A ‘Bionic’ Vest Is Boosting Human Abilities At A Ford Plant

Drones Enter Florida County Mosquito Battle

Artificial Intelligence Takes Scientists Inside Living Human Cells

PRAISE

Green Plate Special Serves Food Justice Education To Youth

Gina Haspel Says She Won’t Restart Torture Program If She’s Confirmed As CIA Director

Zimbabwe Women’s Anti-Poaching Group Protecting Elephants

Melania Trump Unveils ‘Be Best’ Campaign For Children

Starbucks Says Bathrooms Will Be Open To Everyone After Controversial Arrest Of 2 Black Men

The High School Where Learning To Farm Is A Graduation Requirement 

How Artists And Neighbors Turned A Bomb Site Into A Medicine Garden 

The Poor People’s Campaign Aims To Finish What MLK Started

CENSURE

Places Most Affected By Trump’s Iran Deal Decision

The Trump Administration Wants To Cancel $7 Billion From A Children’s Health Insurance Program

Record $120m Fine For Nuisance Robocalls

Eric Schneiderman, New York Attorney General, Quits Amid Assault Reports

Kids Still Living In Shantytowns Is The Real Shame Of Seattle

TRAVEL

Science! “Seattle Song” (Official Music Video) – Youtube

‘Vacation Constipation’ Is Real—Here’s How To Keep It From Ruining Your Next Trip

Big-Spending Chinese Tourists Return To South Korea

THE GREEN BEAT  

The BC Pipeline Project You’ve Never Heard Of—And Why It May Succeed

Your Caribbean Vacation Leaves A Big Carbon Footprint

Kinder Morgan Shareholders Hear From Pipeline Opponents

The BC Pipeline Project You’ve Never Heard Of—And Why It May Succeed

Scott Pruitt Wants To Freeze Fuel Economy Standards. Here’s What That Would Do

Agroecology Is Becoming A Global Movement. But Where Does The U.S. Fit In?

HEALTH

Can CBD Products Improve Your Fitness Results?

On Ebola, WHO Preps For The Worst

Burning Health Questions? Email TIME Magazine’s Health Page

Depression Has Spiked By 33% In The Last Five Years

7 Skin Cancer Risk Factors (Besides Your Last Sunburn)

6 Healthy Habits That Work Best If You Do Them At Night

What Is Intuitive Eating? Here’s What You Should Know About This Anti-Diet

How Social Media Is Hurting Your Memory

Secrets Of ‘High-Potential’ Personality

The Millennials Sick Of Long Hours

COMMUNITY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

How To Cope With Mother’s Day If You’re Childless

Happy Bike Month!

For Young Professionals, Rural Towns Are Doing What Cities Can’t

What Really Helps The Unemployed Find Full-Time Jobs

How Regular People Are Doing Housing Differently These Days

Tiny Houses Alone Can’t Solve The Housing Crisis. But Here’s What Can

These Are The Most Popular Baby Names

How To Check If You’re Entitled To $1,200 For Receiving This Spam Call

How To Cope When You’re Being Bullied At Work

Views: Cities As Selection Environments

America’s Buses Need Your Love More Than Ever

BEST OF THE NET

Fly Over A Mars Crater

Mom Always Liked My Brother Best – Smothers Brothers on Ed Sullivan Show

Red Tide: Electric Blue Waves Wash California Shore 

 MASHA AND THE BEAR

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ:  This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine.  There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively.

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of links to mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS, including Olya’s novel “Rocket Man” and mine, “Wrath of the USS Testament”.  The ‘shelves’ also offer films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.  Now, here’s the really cool part.  Load up your cart and instead of getting your plastic out, just drop in the jar on your way out whatever it’s worth to you.  You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

Along America’s Gulf (of Mexico) Coast and throughout the Caribbean, you folks need to watch out for these neighbors.  It’s Nesting Season For Sea Turtles

This looks like fun.  The Female Bird Song Project

In Australia, Whale-Watching Season Starts Early As Population Grows

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

Meet The Man Who Could Become The World’s Oldest Leader

Boy Wakes Up Just Before His Life Support Was To End

Doctors Grew A Soldier A New Ear — On Her Forearm

ABOUT US:  The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world.  We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard.  If you would like to help us help them, please go here.  No contribution too large or too small.  If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com  Thank you and see you next week.  RM/OB

 

ENCHANTMENT OF AN ENGLISH VILLAGE

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
May 6, 2018 Volume 10 Number 35

Reader Supported:  All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

INSIDE: The Enchantment Of An English Village; News In Review; From The Shores of The Salish Sea – Potlatch As Protest; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

Photo by Olya Bereza

THE ENCHANTMENT OF AN ENGLISH VILLAGE

Hi Rusty:

This time I just want to share one of my travel diary observations about enchantment of English village.

I have been lucky to see quite a few little places from South to Midlands and always found English villages beautiful.  Everything about them is marvelous, starting from magical narrow roads to neat cottages and evergreen scenery.

It seems that it can be almost be called an art, the olden ways of building the cottages with local materials best suited for a purpose, whether it was mud and sand, straw or reeds, timber, stone or bricks.  Modern words “recycling” and “ecological” would definitely have meant a lot for sensible English people of olden days even if they didn’t use these words before.

I really enjoyed the little picturesque village in Gloucestershire called Lower Slaughter, whose 16-17 century architecture attracts many tourists.  As you see from the pictures attached it is very cute and peaceful.   Except of the red bricks of the old mill, all the cottages are made from local stone.  However, in Essenx and Kent, where stone is rare, they built half timbered cottages with famous herring-bone work of bricks or tiles.

With some effort I could finally distinguish different types of architecture like Elizabethan Jacobean style.  But I think I enjoy most Tudor cottages with their half timbers made of black oak, with wattle and daub walls painted white.

In every old village, one can find a pub (with nice cider), a majestic manor-house and farm houses nearby and, of course, a church.  I remember a church in Cornwall dated back to about the 13^th Century with a date of construction in Roman numerals. That feels almost like touching history.

Not even saying how much of atmosphere is contributed by plants. All these magnolias, holly bushes, roses, honeysuckle, amazing ivy and clematis on the walls add additional romance to the scenery.

Sometimes it unfortunately seemed that modern architectures just lost something on the way to nowadays glass and metal construction. Maybe it’s a more humane and totally reasonable way of the previous generations that creates that feel of calm and serenity.

Oh well. Just about to read “The Charm of English Village” by P.H. Ditchfield

That’s it for this week, Mishka.  Cheers, my cousin.  Olya

Photo by Olya Bereza

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine.  Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management.  For comments, please go here.

THE PAST WEEK’S HEADLINE NEWS AT A GLANCE

FROM THE SHORES OF THE SALISH SEA

POTLATCH AS PROTEST

Hi again, gang.  Well, it’s been an interesting week and a mixed bag at our house.  We want to start by thanking one of you for a most generous “donation to the cause,” as it were.  As most of you know, we don’t do this to become famous or wealthy and for the last ten years, we’ve successfully evaded both.  That having been said, it’s still nice to be paid in coin of the realm occasionally.  Karen, thank you very much.  If anyone else would like to emulate her example, please go here.

On the American national level, we are profoundly impressed by the reaction of the two men arrested at a  Philadelphia Starbucks for sitting without ordering anything. We also praise the coffee giant for its approach and urge skeptics of the sensitivity training to withhold judgment until it has been given a reasonable time to take root.  Prejudice is lethal and too often fatal.  It is not, however, incurable.

In response to an email asking if there is any individual, cause or event which would induce me to leave the relative comfort of my humble abode to march or rally in protest or in support, no, there is not.  I prefer picnics, barbecues, dances, block parties, bingo games, outdoor concerts, potlatches, yard sales and other social events for that.

In my experience, changes motivated by anger or fear usually don’t last.  If you can enjoy the company or, as we put it in my house, “the society” of proponents in your own community, you can learn what it’s really all about on the visceral or emotional level, rather than the exclusively idealistic.  Sometimes change is a lot like shopping for shoes.  It’s best to try them on first before buying them.  These venues provide that opportunity to a greater extent than massing in the streets and disrupting the lives of the very people one needs on their side.

That’s it for this week, gang.  Take care, stay well and God Bless.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here.

RUSTY’S INFAMOUS UNCLE SEAMUS

Some people considered him anti-social because he didn’t talk about what he was doing.  Truth is, he was one of the most congenial men in Kildare, when he wasn’t busy doing what he was too busy to talk about.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

U.N. Advocate: Why Protecting Education Would Prevent Terrorism

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

This pulls up just short of being totally awesome.  This Spacecraft Will Give Mars Its First Health Checkup In 4.5 Billion Years

On NPR’s All Things Considered, we heard about a man who moved to this place to escape wildfires in California.  Yep, he’s among the evacuees.  Earthquakes, Lava Fissures Could Last For Months On Hawaii – USGS

Good luck and Godspeed.  And say hi to our favorite Rover when you get there.  Insight Mars Is On Its Way

Earth

MH370 Search Uncovered Shipwrecks From 19th Century

Ample Warning For Supervolcanos?

UK-US Initiative To Study Mighty Thwaites Glacier

Outer Space

The Insight Mission: Beneath The Surface Of Mars

Final Culinary Challenge – NASA Hunch

Crew Packs Dragon With Science While Continuing More Space Research – Space Station

What Does It Take To Keep The Station Stocked With Supplies? – Space Station

New Shepard Has Successful 8th Test Flight

Technology

The Future Is Taking Off: Three Exciting Aerospace Innovations From Singapore 

Cities Don’t Know What To Do About Hackers

Drones Used To Disrupt FBI Hostage Case

PRAISE

The 2 Black Men Arrested At Starbucks Are Focused On A ‘Positive’ Future

Tire Company Named America’s Best Employer, Beating Google And Facebook

CENSURE

The FBI Is In Crisis. It’s Worse Than You Think

Russian Institute Downgrades Nurses To ‘Cleaners’ To Avoid Pay Raises

Fake Five-Star Reviews Being Bought And Sold Online

Why Does The US Still Have ‘Debtors’ Prisons’?

Boeing Discharge To Duwamish River Violates Toxin Standards

TRAVEL

The Towns Where You Have To Wake In The Middle Of The Night Just To Use The Internet

Kuala Lumpur-Singapore Named Busiest International Air Route

What’s In London’s Secret Green Huts?

THE GREEN BEAT  

Revving Up Over Vehicle Emissions

Kinder Morgan’s Oil Spill Problem

Video: Lawmakers Hold EPA’s Scott Pruitt Accountable Over Ethics Scandals

Batteries Have A Dirty Secret

How Lyft And Uber Could Actually Help Reduce Emissions

HEALTH

Our Lack Of Paid Leave Threatens Public Health

People Who Bike To Work Live Longer Than People Who Drive

Burning Health Questions? Email TIME

Diseases Spread By Insects Have More Than Tripled, CDC Saysthese 5 Habits May Help You Live 10 Years Longer

Foods That Pack A Surprising Amount Of Sugar

COMMUNITY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

The Power Of ‘Play Streets’

Will Starbucks’s Implicit-Bias Training Work?

Report: “These Are Scary, Scary Environments For Pedestrians”

3 Things We Learned From The New Ruth Bader Ginsburg Documentary

American Seniors Have Active Sex Lives, According To A New Poll

BEST OF THE NET

When Mountains Fall Into The Sea

Chico Gets To Bark Another Day Thanks To Sydney’s First Animal-Focused Cancer Centre

15 Hilarious Alternative Names For Animals

 

MASHA AND THE BEAR

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ:  This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine.  There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively.

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of links to mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS, including Olya’s novel “Rocket Man” and mine, “Wrath of the USS Testament”.  The ‘shelves’ also offer films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.  Now, here’s the really cool part.  Load up your cart and instead of getting your plastic out, just drop in the jar on your way out whatever it’s worth to you.  You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

This certainly fits “All Creatures Great And Small”.  A Lesson From The Fireflies

We do not recommend trying this.  WATCH: Diver Gets The Video Of His Life After Almost Being Swallowed Alive

Outstanding and good for these guys.  New Parks Set Aside To Save Declining Koala Population In NSW

SHORTS

Going Birding On Vancouver Island

Volunteers Are Counting Every Species Around Puget Sound

‘We Got A Problem’: Man Drives 65 Kilometres With 3,000 Bees Loose In Truck

FOLKS WE FOLLOW

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s May 2018 newsletter is now online.

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

‘It’s One Thing After Another’: Hawaii Braces For More Lava, Quakes From Kilauea Volcano

‘Disaster Like Never Before’: Man Clings To Bonnet Of Car As Torrential Flooding Hits Ankara

A Language Only Three Women Can Speak


ABOUT US:  The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world.  We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard.  If you would like to help us help them, please go here.  No contribution too large or too small.  If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com  Thank you and see you next week.  RM/OB

 

TO AN UNSUNG GOOD SAM

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
April 29, 2018 Volume 10 Number 34

Reader Supported:  All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

INSIDE: To An Unsung Good Sam; News In Review; From Olya – May Day Remember & Olya’s Recipe For Shashlik; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

Hi again, gang, from the shores of the Salish Sea.  In the 500 or so columns I’ve written for this magazine over the last ten years, I have very seldom singled out a single human being who was not already in the media.  There are reasons for this and there are, of course, exceptions to that rule, as well.

Putting an individual in the spotlight casts them in unnatural light and strips them of the right to be as fragile, as vulnerable and as foible as the rest of us.  I was privileged to know and to have loved and been loved by one of the most attractive women a sensual god ever created and her admonition resonates to me this day, even though she’s Up Yonder and has been for some while.

“Mishka, please do not put me on a pedestal.  There’s not much room up there to dance.”

This column is dedicated to that unsung hero who, by a simple act of kindness on a bus last week, kept me from having the kind of day you have when you lose your purse or wallet with everything in it except prayers from a pope.  Mine slipped out of my sweat pants as I was preparing to disembark from the 107 northbound from where I live to where I shop in Seattle’s Rainier Beach.

This man, who’d been sitting beside me, saw what happened and I suspect without even thinking, bent over, scooped said brown leather wallet up, tapped me on the hip with his cane and wordlessly handed me my life back.  There was just time enough to give him a business card and to get kidded by the bus driver a little.

So I hope wherever this now sung good Samaritan is, he is reading this.  It is the small acts of kindness like his which keep this planet from spinning off its axis and sending morons and messiahs alike to the Good Place ahead of schedule.

That’s it for this week, gang.  Take care, stay well and God Bless.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here.

THE PAST WEEK’S HEADLINE NEWS AT A GLANCE

FROM OLYA

Olya’s shashlik

MAY DAY REMEMBERED

Hi Rusty:

It is always interesting for me to look back in history and find out the causes of that or other event. It’s first of May. or as they call it, International Labour Day here.  This time that made me curious. Ironically the history of it started in your homeland although Labour Day celebrations there it seemed on some later date in September.

1 May was chosen to be International Workers’ Day to commemorate the 1886  Haymarket Affair in Chicago. In that year, beginning on 1 May, there was a general strike for the eight-hour workday. On 4 May, the police acted to disperse a public assembly in support of the strike when an unidentified person threw a bomb.

I think I was too young for knowing the reason for 1 May while it was a Soviet paradigm.  I do these vague memories of long parades and lots of red flags around.  For me later on it was always not just ideological but an opportunity to spend an additional day off with family and celebrating traditionally for this part of the world,

Making shashlik and enjoying nature and the outdoors.

Now, here in Ukraine many years later, I am even able to do my own recipe: for a kilo/2 lbs of meat, squeeze juice of one lemon and put there also chopped one onion. Keep it one-three days in fridge before going to event where you then cook the meat on an open fire.

Interesting how celebrations just seem to be inherited without much knowing of the meaning. But I guess that is how these things are usually continued – by inertia. And in the beginning of May, it is just so nice to have a rest. Even if you support the Labour Party (wink and grin)

That’s it for this week, Mishka.  Stay dry, my cousin.  Olya

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine.  Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management.  For comments, please go here. 

RUSTY’S INFAMOUS UNCLE SEAMUS 

She had a voice so soft and warm, even the stars stopped to listen when she sang to them.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

This is more or less what we thought all along, having been through several in two states.  Earthquake Expert: We Can’t Predict Or Warn You About The ‘Big One’

Cool, if it lives up to its press.  Amazon’s New Echo For Kids Will Train Your Children To Say ‘Please’

And he knows this how, again?  Macron: ‘There Is No Planet B’

Earth

Giant Ichthyosaur One Of Largest Animals Ever

Mesmerising Lava Lake Overflow In Hawaii

 Fancy A French Farm For Free?

Outer Space

Gaia’s 2nd Data Release: 1.7 Billion Stars   

Mars Insight Mission Due To Launch

1st Deep-Space Cubesats Ready For Launch To Mars

Technology

The Robot Delivering Water In Rural India

Tracking Ships’ Dirty Fumes From Orbit

Video: Artificial Intelligence Could Revolutionize Farming Industry

PRAISE

Fighter. Liberator. Ungovernable Woman. Mother Of A Nation. And A Wife Too.

Flint, Michigan Water Activist And 6 Others Win Environmental Prize

CENSURE

Russia’s Crackdown On Jehovah’s Witnesses Begins With A Foreigner

The Geography Of Health In America

Years After Oil Spills, Money Still Owed To Vancouver, Aquarium, And Heiltsuk Nation

TRAVEL

Moscow Airports Enact Strict New Code Of Conduct

Fewer Russian Tourists Traveling To U.K., U.S., Tour Operators Say

Spain’s Palma To Ban Holiday Rentals After Residents’ Complaints

THE GREEN BEAT  

‘We Need To Rethink The Entire Plastics Industry’: Why Banning Plastic Straws Isn’t Enough

The Clean Energy Revolution In The US Is Taking Off

Record Microplastic Found In Arctic Sea Ice

HEALTH

Portland, Oregon’s Vegan Movement Is 100 Years In The Making

The FDA Is Cracking Down On ‘Juuling’ And Youth E-Cigarette Use

10 Simple And Healthy Things You Should Do Every Day

COMMUNITY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

Searching For A Motherland As A Black Latina

When It Comes To America’s Affordable Housing Crisis, Mobile Homes Matter

Feature: Chinese, American College Students Discuss Eco-Civilization In California

Gerontopoly: Homeownership, Wealth, And Age

The Number Of Single Moms In America Is At A Record Low. Here’s Why

What The Handmaid’s Tale Gets Right—And Wrong—About The History Of Women And Resistance

Royal Baby: How The Day Unfolded

BEST OF THE NET

Trapped Swan Is Rescued. Hooray!

Cool Video! When Humans Stalked Giant Sloth

Orphan Chimp In Viral Video Broke Rescue Pilot’s Heart

MASHA AND THE BEAR

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ:  This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine.  There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively.

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of links to mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS, including Olya’s novel “Rocket Man” and mine, “Wrath of the USS Testament”.  The ‘shelves’ also offer films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.  Now, here’s the really cool part.  Load up your cart and instead of getting your plastic out, just drop in the jar on your way out whatever it’s worth to you.  You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

I’ve always wondered about this. (smiling)  Why Leopards Eat In Trees

This needs to go global.  Eu Member States Support Near-Total Neonicotinoids Ban

This is good news.  Oregon’s Wolf Population Continues To Grow

SHORTS

How Do Flocking Birds Move In Unison?

Watch The Mating Dance Of A New Bird Species

Why We Should Listen To Insects

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

How Stories Have Shaped The World

Did Ancient Hindus Surf The Web?

An Ancient Curse Kept Nigerian Women Bound To Sex Slavery. Now, It’s Been Reversed

ABOUT US:  The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world.  We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard.  If you would like to help us help them,  please go here.  No contribution too large or too small. 

If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com  Thank you and see you next week.  RM/OB

 

 

MEET SISSEL

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
April 22, 2018 Volume 10 Number 33

Reader Supported:  All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

INSIDE: Meet Sissel; News In Review; From Olya – Another Case For Cryptocurrency; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Dalai Lama; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

Hi again, gang, from the shores of the Salish Sea.  I started out life as a musician trained in bands and orchestras in Sacramento, California public schools and performed with the Sacramento Youth Band, a city-wide marching and concert band that toured the state and the Northern California DeMolay Show and Band, a masonic stage band that toured western Canada.  I had my own professional group, The Jazzmen, for which I also fronted and booked.  We were good enough to play at the same Class A clubs which headlined the likes of Count Basie and Duke Ellington, both of whom I’ve met.  I’ve also covered entertainment in Los Angeles and Hollywood as a writer.

I live for stellar performances.  They reaffirm my faith in humanity.  They uplift me and move me in more ways than even the passion of romantic love or the spiritual ecstasy of a high mountain dawn.  I’ve survived a lot thanks to the folks who produce this stuff and I’ve grown as both an artist and a human being thanks to their creative genius.

This is Sissel (Cecelia) from Kyrkjebo, a small town in Norway, a Scandinavian nation of five million. I recently discovered her by accident and I am absolutely, totally and without reservation enjoying becoming a devout fan of perhaps the finest vocal performer the last of an old century and the first of a new has yet produced.

A clear voiced soprano with a classical background, she has crossed over into gospel and popular with stunning effect. She is also multi-lingual and has recorded in over a dozen languages and dialects. Her looks are as international as her music and when this statuesque entertainer takes the stage, she does so quietly, sincerely and without command. She has also collaborated with a number of the finest performers in music today.  And she was also the “voice” in the theme from the most recent version of the epic film, “Titanic.”For a truly unforgettable experience, we give you, then, Sissel.

Homepage

YouTube Videos

Amazing Grace, with the Oslo Gospel Choir

Auld Lyne Syne, Live On Swedish TV4

Bridge Over Troubled Water, with Russell Watson

Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina

Going Home

In Concert

In Concert – All Good Things

The Prayer, with Josh Groban

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here.

THE PAST WEEK’S HEADLINE NEWS AT A GLANCE

FROM OLYA

ANOTHER CASE FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY

Recent weeks have seen positive tendencies in the cryptocurrency market. Is it Spring optimism or a game of big players? One of the possible reasons for the upswing might be because cryptocurrency declared under Islamic law and market is now opened to1.6 billion Muslims  

There are, perhaps, other reasons. We all remember the financial crisis of 2007-2008, which began in America and then spread worldwide, infecting the global economy. Has the system changed much since then so it is more stable?

That question is probably the one which drives cryptocurrency holders trying to find alternative financial ways. One of the reasons for that Banking Crisis of 2008 was the so-called moral hazard, which is when someone increases their exposure to risk when insured).  Governments were paying for the risks (and then losses) the bankers were taking.

Can we say it will not happen again? Consider a recent Ukrainian example with PrivatBank when the government assumed all the debt of that institution to prevent it from failing.  Could this not be encouraging bankers to take risks, knowing they will not be responsible for consequences?

The great advantage of cryptocurrency is that it is never borrowed money.  That is why, even in volatile times, its stability could make it a new system for a changing world. Also should we mention libertarian sentiments about a decentralized financial system? Who knows?  Maybe cryptocurrency will make the Lorenz curve  (a graphical representation of the distribution of income or of wealth) work closer to a line of perfect equality.

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine.  Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management.  For comments, please go here.

RUSTY’S INFAMOUS UNCLE SEAMUS

If you want to live a long and healthy life, run up big bills with medical people for stuff you don’t really need.  They’ll have a vested interested in keeping you alive long enough to pay them off.  And if you die before then, there really will be sad people at your funeral.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

Happy Earth Day, All

Why I Like My Job-Share With Robots  Say hi to HAL 9000 for us.  (shudder)

These have been appearing in the astronomical news often these days so it is probably a good idea to refresh our memory.  What is an exoplanet?

Earth

Was Another Civilization On Earth Before Humans? 

A British Rocket Base Returns To Life

Look What A Woman’s Love Can Do To An Abandoned Plane (PHOTOS)

Outer Space

NASA’s Tess: Planet-Hunting Satellite Lifts Off

Asteroid Buzzed Earth This Weekend

Europe’s Mars Rover Takes Shape

Incredible Images From Our Friends At NASA’s Earth Observatory (Refreshed Weekly)

Technology

When Robots Take Our Jobs, Platform Cooperatives Are A Solution

UK Joins Super X-Ray Laser Machine

Vera, The Russian Hr Robot, Is Ready To Start Hiring In The U.S. 

DALAI LAMA

A person’s underlying outlook and motivation can certainly affect how he or she responds to life’s adversities and dangers. An attitude of kindness and compassion brings a sense of self-confidence, an inner strength that reduces fear. In fact, an individual’s response to danger and ability to deal with fear can often depend more on their outlook and personal characteristics than on the nature of the situation itself.

PRAISE

One Mom’s Grief Turned To Action: ‘I Can’t Be Quiet About This’

TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People Of 2018

The Boston Marathon Winner Was Close To Quitting, But She Kept Going

NYT And New Yorker Win Joint Pulitzer For Weinstein Exposé

The Little Newspaper Helping Inmates Prepare For Reintegration

CENSURE

North Korea’s Secret Slave Gangs

Chemical Weapons Watchdog: Inspectors Have Samples From Douma

TRAVEL

The World’s Toughest Highway?

How Dutch Stations Help Blind Travelers

Art Exhibitions At Museums Across The USA

THE GREEN BEAT  

Your Lyft Ride Is Now Carbon-Neutral; Your Uber Isn’t

The Pokemon-Inspired Stream-Monitoring Citizen Science Project (Yes, Really)

Why The Kalama Methanol Project Would Be A Climate Disaster

The Staggering Environmental Footprint Of Wasted Food

HEALTH

Burning Health Questions?  Email TIME Magazine’s Health Editors.

E. Coli Outbreak: CDC Warns ‘Avoid All Types Of Romaine Lettuce’

These 12 Fruits And Vegetables Have The Most Pesticides

How To Spring Clean Your Health

5 Recipes That Will Fuel Your Entire Day

Should You Diagnose Yourself Online? Here’s What Doctors Really Think

Is Sushi Healthy? Here’s Everything You Need To Know

COMMUNITY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

8 Things You Should Never Say To Someone Who Has Just Given Birth

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth Celebrates 92 Years With Star-Studded Concert

Katya, Concert Photographer, Nizhny Novgorod. GENERATION P

BEST OF THE NET

The Greek Island Of Compassion

Scientists Had Their Jaws Drop When This Creature Swam Up To Their Boat

Kids Ask NASA Astronaut About Going To Space

MASHA AND THE BEAR

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ:  This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine.  There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively.

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS.  It includes films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our work lives easier.  So load up on the good stuff and if you have any spare change, drop it in the jar on your way out.  You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

I totally love this and I’m betting you will too.  Retired Couple Capturing A Treasure Trove Of Data On Australia’s Dolphins

Here is yet another study confirming that underwater noise pollution stresses aquatic animals

Amazing is the word for it.  Amazing Photo Of Kenya’s ‘Mohawk’ Lion

SHORTS

Nearly 1,400 Sharks Spotted In Mysterious Gathering Off East Coast

Last Of Kazakhstan’s Wild Asses Back From The Brink

Puget Sound Salmon Are Ingesting Drugs. Here’s How That’s Hurting Them

FOLKS WE FOLLOW

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s monthly newsletter is now online and, as usual, it is a bird lover’s delight.

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

World’s ‘Oldest Person’ Dies In Japan Aged 117

The Strange History Of Bicycle Day

The Holiday Village Run By Spies

ABOUT US:  The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world.  We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard.  If you would like to help us help them,  please tap the tip jar lid or go here.  No contribution too large or too small. 

If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com  Thank you and see you next week.  RM/OB

 

 

WALKING FREEDOM ROAD WITH THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AND LADY JUSTICE

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
April 15, 2018 Volume 10 Number 32

Reader Supported:  All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

INSIDE: Walking Freedom Road With The Statue Of Liberty And Lady Justice; News In Review; From Olya – Losing The Trust Of Ordinary People ; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Dalai Lama; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

WALKING FREEDOM ROAD WITH THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AND LADY JUSTICE

Hi again, gang, from the shores of the Salish Sea.  It’s been a fun week for President Trump and the American people as they both continue to struggle through a morass for which both of them are responsible.

Trump and a host of other elected and appointed officials have proven they do not belong in positions of trust, responsibility, truth or justice.  We have an American public which seems incapable of cutting through the Twitter barrage and removing these individuals from the equation.

Why have we not done that?  Is it because there is some of Donald Trump in all of us and we’re afraid that whatever measures we take against him will also be applied to us?  Is it because we yet hope for a saviour, a contemporary white knight, a 21^st Century Paladin to rescue us from the world we created when we granted a sociopathic egomaniac with pull ascension to the highest lay office in the land?

More questions yet beg.  How much of our invective against Trump really belongs to the person in the mirror?  Do we have the courage to look that image in the face and admit that we haven’t exercised our democratic mandate because we would rather wallow in the sty with Trump than walk Freedom Road with the Statue of Liberty and Lady Justice?

Do we love one another and this nation enough to fix what WE – not Trump – broke in the first place?

Have a great week, gang, and thanks for the ear.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here.

THE PAST WEEK’S HEADLINE NEWS AT A GLANCE

FROM OLYA

James Stewart & Jean Arthur – Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

LOSING THE TRUST OF ORDINARY PEOPLE

Hi Rusty:

As I noticed in social media this TED talk became shared TED 2018: Ukrainian journalist fights fake news

We live in strange times when the most powerful weapons are actually mass media and opinion making. To justify any deed, all that is necessary is manipulation of public opinion.

Technologies such as Photoshop have made it far easier to ‘create’ the tools for managing one’s social media and public opinion.  In an information saturated age, so much user information is out there that it becomes not a creative issue but a moral and ethical one.  To what uses do we put this?  And do we protect ourselves from those who would use it immorally, unethically or lethally?

What I hear from people around me here in Ukraine, as well as my international friends is that mass media is loosing the trust of ordinary peple.  We are all tired of trying toe valuation information to determine if it is real or fake.  So more and more people just switch off TV, stop reading newspapers and try to stay far away from politics.

Is it fear based behaviour? Maybe. Or possibly it is a conscious choice.

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine.  Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management.  For comments, please go here. 

RUSTY’S INFAMOUS UNCLE SEAMUS

Beggin’ your pardon, Your Grace, but that flippin’ sod is so full of it, he piddles when he fiddles.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Walter Mondale On 50 Years Of The Fair Housing Act And The Problem With Purging A President’s Cabinet

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

This is really cool.  Little Inventors – Inventions For Space — Develop Your Space Inventions! The 2018 Edition Of Little Inventors Is Focused On Space. Little Inventors Are Invited To Explore The Challenges Of Travel And Life In Space.

Ambiguities abound in this one.  World’s Most Valuable AI Startup Also Happens To Be Part Of “The World’s Biggest System Of Surveillance”

The implications of this should terrify us.  A Global Arms Race For Killer Robots Is Transforming The Battlefield

Earth

Planet-Hunting TESS Mission Launches Tomorrow

Why Rainbows Are Curved

Earth’s Magnetosphere Envelops And Protects Us

European-Arab Team Of Women To Trek To The North Pole

Outer Space

Whoa! New And Giant Telescopes Ahead

Goodbye Kepler, Hello TESS: Passing The Baton In Exoplanet Search

Hubble Finds An Einstein Ring

Variety Of Life Studied To Benefit Humans On Earth And In Space – Space Station

Tour Earth’s Moon In 4K

In Infrared, Io Appears Alive With Volcanos

Incredible Images From Our Friends At NASA’s Earth Observatory (Refreshed Weekly)

Technology

Facebook Data: How It Was Used By Cambridge Analytica

Key Moments From Zuckerberg Hearing

The World’s First Bionic Kidney Is All Set To Replace Dialysis In Just Two Years

DALAI LAMA

One very important factor for sustaining hope is to have an optimistic attitude. Optimism doesn’t mean that you are blind to the reality of the situation. It means that you remain motivated to seek a solution to whatever problems arise. Optimism involves looking at a situation not only in relation to problems that arise, but also seeking out some benefit—looking at it in terms of its potential positive outcome.

PRAISE

March For Science Seattle Returns To The Streets Saturday

The Man Who Hunts Radioactive Objects

The Woman Who Took On Uganda’s Legal System From The Inside

Mosul: Woman Risks Backlash To Care For ‘IS Orphans’

TED 2018: Ukrainian Journalist Fights Fake News

Seahawks Auction Items To Support Ben’s Fund, Helping Children With Autism

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Want Donations To These Charities Instead Of Wedding Gifts

Why This Montana Farmer Grows Food Year-Round In Shipping Containers

CENSURE

TED 2018: Fake Obama Video Creator Defends Invention

Starbucks Chief Executive Apologizes For Arrests Of Two Black Men

TRAVEL

5 Places To View Pre-Colonial America

The World’s Most Extreme Museum?

A 2,000-Year-Old Engineering Marvel

THE GREEN BEAT  

Listen: The Fuel With A Dirty Secret

What Does The Trans Mountain Pipeline Announcement Mean?

Putting Taxes On Soda Can Actually Work, Study Says

Nuclear Is Scary

Kinder Morgan Trans-Canada Pipeline On Ice Due To BC Opposition

Batteries Fit For A Clean Energy Future

Yet Another Dead Whale Is Grave Reminder Of Our Massive Plastic Problem

HEALTH

Burning health questions?  Email TIME magazine’s health editors.

How Compassion Lowers Health Risks For Pregnant Women With Trauma

How Being A Night Owl Endangers Your Health

10 Foods Filled With Probiotics

Oysters And Illness

Brace Yourselves: Spring Allergy Season Is Coming. Here’s What To Expect And How To Handle It

A Delicious, Nutritionist-Approved Coffee Hack

Six “Healthy” Snacks You Should Cut From Your Diet

How Exercise Lowers Your Chances Of Getting Heart Disease Even If You’re Genetically At Risk

COMMUNITY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

#Askcanadiansikhs Educates The Community Through Social Media

Weekend Recipe: Salmon Burgers With A Side Of Sweet Potato Fries

President Trump Signs Executive Order Pushing Work Requirements In Return For Welfare

A Tough Place To Be A Mother

How To Use Facebook’s New Privacy Tool In The Wake Of The Cambridge Analytica Breach

Ilya, Supply Factory Worker, Sergiyev Posad. GENERATION P

Vladimir, Student, Yekaterinburg. GENERATION P

BEST OF THE NET

Tourists Go Sightseeing On Cantilever Bridge In Chongqing, SW China

Explore An Interactive Aerial Map Of The Past

This Hauntingly Beautiful Loon Call Will Give You Chills

MASHA AND THE BEAR

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ:  This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine.  There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS.  It includes films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our work lives easier.  So load up on the good stuff and if you have any spare change, drop it in the jar on your way out.  You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

I would have given a small fortune to have been there when this happened.  ‘Very Angry Badger’ Invades Scottish Castle

India’s ‘sugarcane leopards’ prowl close to humans  Yeah, for the same reason bear and puma ‘prowl’ Seattle’s suburbs.  It has something to do with their ancestors being there before ours.

In my house, we celebrate moments like this.  Rare Cat Sighting In The Mountains Of Mongolia Is Cause For Celebration Among Conservationists

Incredible.  Watch This Desperate Dolphin Approach A Nearby Diver And “Ask” For Help

SHORTS

You’ll Love These Penguins’ Reactions When They See A Robotic Newcomer!

PHOTOS: Orca Whales Spotted Near Seattle

College Student Uses Scene From “The Office” To Bring Drowned Squirrel Back To Life.

“The Deer Have Had A Crazy Impact … On All Levels Of Biodiversity”

The Strange Animal Roaming Australia

Washington State Says No To Poisoning Native Shrimp To Protect Oyster Beds

Puget Sound Salmon Are Ingesting Drugs. Here’s How That’s Hurting Them

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

The Temples That Had To Be Moved

The Key To Longevity For The World’s Oldest Man? Sumo Wrestling And Hot Springs

Bank Robber Identified Through Note She Gave The Teller

ABOUT US:  The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world.  We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard.  If you would like to help us help them,  please tap the tip jar lid or go here.  No contribution too large or too small.

If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com  Thank you and see you next week.  RM/OB

 

FAITH WITHOUT FEAR, PREJUDICE OR NEGATIVE SANCTION

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
April 8, 2018 Volume 10 Number 31

Reader Supported:  All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

INSIDE:  Faith Without Fear, Prejudice Or Negative Sanction; News In Review; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; The Best Among Us; Dalai Lama; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

From Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms Essay; Freedom of Worship

Hi again, gang, from the shores of the Salish Sea.  In response to a request for my opinion of Michael Bennett’s new book,  I might possibly be one of the few people in the world who has no intention of reading it.  He joins a long line of abused celebrities going through what far too many non-celebrities also experience.  It’s an aspect of an imperfect republic hundreds of thousands of us have been working for over a century and a half to change.  Welcome aboard, Mr. Bennett.

Celebrities also make a great deal of money publishing their memoirs, as it were.  Since that is income on top of what their main talents provide, it is “discretionary” and I’d like to see what they spend it on, like I can with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

It would also be nice if celebrities who share with us the intimate details of their life in order to make a better world also acknowledge those who came before and their prayers, etc. that the legacy continue to roll on down the centuries.

I have absolutely nothing against celebrities or the rich, neither of whom I have ever really wanted to be and certainly am not now.  It factors down to the same thing for me regardless the venue, the milieu, and/or all other the other social categories we heap on the basic human experience.

It is how one behaves that ultimately determines the outcome of any encounter.  That’s also why, despite both Christian and Jewish roots, I take no issue with other theologies as long as those who worship at any given altar respect the right of the rest of us to practice our faith without fear, prejudice or negative sanction.

Have a great week, gang, and thanks for the ear.  Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.  For comments, please go here.

THE PAST WEEK’S HEADLINE NEWS AT A GLANCE

FROM OLYA

Olya is celebrating Orthodox Easter with her family in Ukraine and will be back next week.

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine.  Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management.  For comments, please go here.

 

RUSTY’S INFAMOUS UNCLE SEAMUS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald Trump is a watershed of American integrity.  He was elected in spite of major character flaws.  He remains in office despite conduct unbecoming a president of the Republic.  And he is empowered by those unable or unwilling to accept their own culpability, correct for course and move on.  Until this changes, America will be mired in mediocrity and prostituted to the lowest common denominators.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Watch 21 Americans Come Together To Discuss Gun Control

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

What’s more dangerous than a human driving a car? A bored human not driving an av.  I still take Metro, Greyhound and AMTRAK.  And leave the driving to them.

Here we go again.  Good luck, folks, and say hi to you-know-who when you get there.  Next Mars Mission Due To Launch

Ooookay.  What Monkeys Teach Us About Money

Earth

The Quest To Map The Ocean Floor

Antarctic Ice Grounding Lines Are Shifting

Sahara Desert Is Expanding

Outer Space

To Understand The Atmospheres Of Distant Exoplanets, Look To Your Car Engine

Researchers Say Venus’ Atmosphere Could Support Extraterrestrial Life

Fiery Death For Tiangong-1 And A Plunge Into The Pacific

Technology

Russia Seeks To Block Telegram Messaging App

South Korean University Boycotted Over ‘Killer Robots’

This Crazy Gadget Helps You “Talk” To Your Computer Without Words

Self-Driving Cars Need Better Maps

DALAI LAMA

It is only after they have spent time in the modern education system that children begin to develop a sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’ — a stifling of their basic human nature. We need to learn how to keep our natural compassion alive and how to extend and develop it so it can encompass the whole of humanity. Modern life and modern education are focused on external goals — peace of mind concerns the mind within.

THE BEST AMONG US

Fighting Hunger Together In Phoenix, AZ

After Months In Jail For Doing Their Jobs. These 2 Reuters Reporters Are Not Losing Hope

How This Man Uses Design To Help The World’s Poorest Farmers

BC Parks Launches Student Ranger Program Funded By License Plate Sales

TRAVEL

Here’s Everything You Need To Travel The World

The Filipino Tribe That Hangs Its Dead From Cliffs

Ireland’s Secret To A Low Key Life

THE GREEN BEAT  

California Takes Up Ocean Wind Energy

How Environmental Review Laws Are Used To Stall Affordable Housing

Natural Gas Has A Dirty Secret

Why The Campaign To Force Scott Pruitt Out Of The EPA Could Backfire

The Great Unbundling

Let’s Be Honest About Decolonization And Environmentalism

Listen: Fighting Fire With Fire

An Opponent Of The ESA Now Oversees Fish And Wildlife

Listen: Life With Or Without A Car

Come Build An All-Ages Bike Network

HEALTH

Think You Have The Wrong Body For Outdoor Activity? Meet ‘Fat Girls Hiking’

Facebook Halts Medical Data Sharing Plan

The Doctor Who Really Feels His Patients’ Pain

The  US Surgeon General Urges Americans To Carry Opioid Overdose Antidote

Hidden Healing Power Of Sugar

The 7 Best Foods For Fighting Inflammation

COMMUNITY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

Poverty Is Moving To The Suburbs

Black Homeownership As Low As When Housing Discrimination Was Legal

Prepaid Postage Is A Big Deal

The ‘Transit-Oriented Teens’ Are Coming To Save Your City

Almost Nobody Can Write This Letter Of The Alphabet Correctly

What’s Changed In Most Segregated US City?

10 Time-Saving Kitchen Hacks

When Cops Become Robbers

Viktor Yushchenko: Ukraine’s Ex-President On Being Poisoned

Superintendent: Why Teachers Carry Guns In Fayetteville

BEST OF THE NET

Watch A Robot Fish Swim In The Ocean

Hand Of The Desert At Night

An Ancient Word No-One Can Translate

 

MASHA AND THE BEAR  

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ:  This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine.  There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively.

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS.  It includes films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our work lives easier.  So load up on the good stuff and if you have any spare change, drop it in the jar on your way out.  You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

This sports fan was very subtle.  Bald Eagle Lands On Mariners Pitcher James Paxton During National Anthem

Incredible.  Indian woman Rupali Meshram fights off tiger with stick

They’re serious about this in India, thank God.  Bollywood Star Salman Khan Gets Five Years In Jail For Poaching

SHORTS

Locusts Used In Research By The Military To Do Some Very Unexpected Domestic Protection

Blackbirds In The City: Bad Health, Longer Life

The Pest Controller Of Kandahar

Overfishing Of Krill Is Disrupting Antarctic Food Chains

The Impact Of Underwater Noise Pollution

BC Strengthens Grizzly Bear Hunting Ban

Groups Call For A Ban On Trapping Rare Martens

Where Are The Pacific Northwest’s Gorge Pikas?

Top 10 Things About Brown Recluse Spiders

FOLKS WE FOLLOW

Bird photographers, this is the last week t to enter the Audubon Society’s photo contest.  Yep, go here.

The SeaDoc Society’s March 2018 newsletter is now online.  This is a Northstar Five Star Recommendation.

Cornell Lab eNews April 2018 edition is now online.  And it has the sparrows in my yard chirping.

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

The Burger Mcdonald’s Can’t Master

Meet The Ethiopian Man Who Walks On His Hands

China Family Find Lost Daughter After 24-Year Search

ABOUT US:  The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world.  We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard.  If you would like to help us help them,  please tap the tip jar lid or go here.  No contribution too large or too small.

If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com  Thank you and see you next week.  RM/OB