THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL
Proudly serving North America and the International Community since 2007
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Volume 6, No. 30
Published by
Merritt Scott (Rusty) Miller – Editor
Seattle, Washington
SAMMY YATIN WAS NOT THE VICTIM
Hi again from the shores of the Salish Sea. Well, making headlines across the land of my birth is an incident involving a knife-wielding 18-year-old Toronto man, a midnight street car with terrified passengers; and a law enforcement officer who had to decide very quickly whether said knife-wield 18-year-old man would kill the driver of the street car.
Sammy Yatin was shot and killed so what he might have done is a moot point. And of course, since it was a youth against the police, Yatin is being portrayed as a victim himself and the Toronto police are being pilloried behind a wave of accusations suggesting Yatin’s death was murder and not what it actually was, a means of saving a truly innocent victim’s life.
Yatin was not a victim. According to at least one eye-witness, he was a knife-wielding man who scared the living H out of the women and men on that streetcar. He may have also been a very good son, friend and upstanding member of the community at the time. But he was not acting like one and in a situation like this, the police don’t really have the time to check resumes.
I feel real bad that the Yatins lost a son this way. It makes me sad that a human being could feel so bad they’d do what Sammy did. But I’m also thinking about those passengers, the driver and all the others who would have been impacted had Sammy gone into a stab, slice and butcher mode.
I’m also not really up for seeing the police force of Canada’s largest city crucified for doing a job that very few of us would take on for any amount of money. It is an awesome and sacred trust they carry.
As tragic as Sammy Yatin’s death was, the Toronto Police honoured that trust.
IN OTHER NEWS
The costliest war in American history was fought to preserve the Union and end slavery. How successful was that bloody slaughter? One wonders when the F.B.I. arrests 159 men across the country for forcing teenaged girls into prostitution. Perhaps the only light at the end of this particular tunnel is the realization that those convicted will have lots of opportunities to experience what their victims went through.
I’ve had some personal experience with this one so I’m glad to see that there’s a program in New York which would require severely mentally ill patients who refuse hospitalization, deny they have problems and do not take their meds and whose behavior is a threat to themselves and others to receive outpatient treatment. In other words, no longer does a mental patient in New YorkState who is incapable of making decisions about their own care get to do so.
Well, at a time when municipal, state and federal budgets have been strained beyond reason, it’s very reassuring to know that the US Department of Agriculture paid subsidies to thousands of dead farmers.
WORLD NEWS SHORTS
TOPICAL NEWS SHORTS
CLIMATE CHANGE
More Than 1,700 U.S. Cities Underwater By 2100: Study
Despite slowdown, global coal remains a planet-destroying monster
Former Republican EPA chiefs back Obama on climate change
Sally Jewell doesn’t want any climate deniers at Interior
Climate Change And Violence Linked, Breakthrough Study Finds
MIDEAST PEACE TALKS
Mideast Peace Talks Kick Off In Washington
Kerry: Israel, Palestinians Will Try To Reach Peace Deal In 9 Months
SNOWDEN
Disclaimer: If it was entirely up to me, this individual would not get a word of coverage. But since we are not only reader funded but editorially responsive, we’re carrying it. Yep, I’d rather have a root canal. Or three. Rusty
Russia Grants Snowden Asylum For One Year
Video: White House Reacts to Snowden Asylum
U.S. and Russian Envoys Discuss Snowden, Among Other Topics
SYRIAN WAR
Slide Show: In Old City of Damascus, War Closes In
Syrian Troops Battle For Site Of Alleged Nerve Gas Attack
Syrian TV: Assad Visits Troops In Damascus Suburb
Kurdish Struggle Blurs Syria’s Battle Lines
OH CANADA
Is poverty still a problem in Canada? For one out of every eight families, yes, it is.
Guess what country in the G20 is best for women. Hint: it isn’t the United States and is sure is not India. To see which one is and where your nation ranks, yep, please go here.
If you do not believe in miracles, you just may after you read about this Montreal man who can see for the first time in 68 years.
OH CANADA SPECIAL
Are we looking at the Americanization of Canada’s law enforcement establishment? The answer just might chill you.
SHORTS
GRAPHIC: Shocking Enhanced Video Of Toronto Streetcar Shooting
LOOK: Protest Gets Heated Outside Police Station After Toronto Shooting
GOOD EXAMPLES
In what I’m certain history will record as perhaps the bravest, most compassionate and noble position ever taken by a pope in the history of the Catholic Church, Francis says of gays, “Who Am I To Judge Them?”
Check out the 100 best places in America to work.
For those who think Congress is going to the dogs, nope. A part of it is going to the goats.
SHORTS
U.S. to Give Equal Treatment to Same-Sex Spouses’ Visa Applications
Group Rooted in the Desert Looks Out for Migrants
North Carolina House Passes Bill To Rescue Dogs Left In Hot Cars
BAD EXAMPLES
Well, our dependence on fossil fuel has cost another country a lot of money. Check out this vacation spot in Thailand that an oil spill ruined.
Has marijuana growing become an environmental liability? In some places, yes, it most certainly has.
Bottleneck dolphins off the American East Coast are dying in record numbers. Marine biologists have been as yet unable to identify the cause but suspect that human pollution is playing a major role. They are very much alarmed because this species is an indicator of the health of the Atlantic Ocean ecosystem in the first place.
SHORTS
Google Realizes Sex Jokes Weren’t A Good Idea
George Polis, Self-Described ‘Dirty Old Man,’ Hits On Marissa Mayer
Zimbabwe Hospital Fined Women For Screaming During Childbirth
A CHANCE TO MATTER
Virunga National Park
Help Save Africa’s Oldest National Park From the Oil Industry
EXPLORATION, HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Well, here’s something we just found out about. There’s a federal government owned remote operating vehicle (ROV) which has been mapping the Atlantic’s ocean floor off the east coast of America. For a fascinating look at undersea exploration in the 21st Century, please go here.
Now here’s something we found truly unique. Here’s what it would look like if L.A.’s freeways magically turned into subways
Here is something whose time has definitely come. It converts your pedal bicycle into an electric one and it’s small, simple and, for a prototype, inexpensive. The reviews I’ve read on this British import come from all over and they are consistently good. The manufacturers of this device are a start up and acknowledge that the cost of one of these now is a little high. But they point out that as demand for more of them increases, the price per unit will go down. Yep, for more on the Rubbee, please go here.
OUTER SPACE
Best Night Sky Photos of the Week: July 27, 2013
NASA Flooded with Asteroid Exploration Ideas
National Park On Moon? U.S. Lawmakers Propose Apollo Lunar Landing Site
Incredible Technology: How to Explore Jupiter’s Moon Europa
New Space Engine & ‘CubeSats’ Could Help Cut Cost Of Planetary Exploration,
CLOSER TO HOME
Incredible Technology: How to Explore the Microscopic World
Stunning 3D Rock Images Revealed in New Lab
Archaeologists Get Big Surprise At Royal Burial Site
UNEARTHED: Ancient ‘Halls Of The Dead’
In Denmark, Sustainable Housing Can Mean Seaweed & Wool
‘Adam & Eve’ Chromosome Study Traces All Men To Man Who Lived 135,000 years ago
NORTHSTAR WEEKLY READER QUIZ
Okay, gang. How much do you know about petroleum refining?
THE GREEN AGENDA
City Wants To All But Eliminate Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Despite slowdown, global coal remains a planet-destroying monster
In Denmark, Sustainable Housing Can Mean Seaweed & Wool
“Renegade Gardener” Plots World Domination Through Home-Grown Veggies
10 Tips for a Zero-Waste Household
HEALTH
One of my skeptical friends asserts that eating a good breakfast is actually a conspiracy among the cereal, dairy, meat, wheat and vegetable industry to sell more oatmeal, milk. bacon, bread, onions and potatoes. That well may be. But here’s why it’s also a real good idea ~ personally ~ to break the night’s fast with at least oatmeal.
Check out these five super foods for August.
Despite that great commercial by Sally Fields, osteoporosis is not an exclusively female problem. To see how it affects males and what we can do to prevent it or modify its impacts, please go here.
ON THE CANCER FRONT
There is a very tiny mammal whose total immunity to cancer might unlock the key to knocking this ravaging disease out permanently. For more information, please go here.
LINKS
LIFESTYLE
Test Out Micro-Living In The First Tiny House Hotel
How Much A Big Mac Would Cost If Mcdonald’s Doubled Salaries
The Best And Worst G20 Countries To Be A Woman
3D-Printed Shells Turn Hermit Crabs Into Beautiful Walking Cities
Wish You Were a Morning Person? Try a Camping Trip
10 Tips for a Zero-Waste Household
BEST OF THE NET
Live Science Image of the Day Gallery – These are from all over the world and rival those of National Geographic and other peer publications.
Video: A Complicated Cetacean — Orcas, known popularly as killer whales, are the subject of a new documentary that hopes to bring attention to problems they face in captivity.
Video: Tunnel Vision — A short impressionistic film shot from New York City subway trains.
WATCH: Owl Eskimo Kisses Will Melt Your Heart
WATCH: This Commercial Will Make You Want To Call Your Mom
SITES WE PERSONALLY ENJOY EACH WEEK
Liveblog: Cute animals to look at | Grist
Outer Space, Space Shuttle & Solar System Videos
LiveScience Best Science Photos of the Week
NORTHSTAR ENDORSES
BACK COUNTRY GALLERY: BEST NATURE PHOTOS ON THE NET
BLACK SEA AGRO: AGRICULTURE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION
CREAM MAGAZINE & MILLENNIUM ART GALLERY
HELP END WORLD HUNGER & POVERTY | HEIFER INTERNATIONAL® | HEIFER.ORG
THE SEADOC SOCIETY: PEOPLE & SCIENCE HEALING THE SEA
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
Sometimes I get accused of really shoveling it. That accusation is not entirely without foundation. Photo courtesy of PJH
NEWS, WEATHER & INFORMATION
The tunnel boring machine known as “Bertha” that will dig the State Route 99 tunnel under Seattle. Photo courtesy of KING 5 News
BERTHA BEGINS TO DRILL
Well, at long last, that big tunnel boring machine which came over here in sections from Japan is going to work digging the infrastructure which will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. That structure was deemed an earthquake and as traffic density increased over the years since it was first constructed, insufficient for 21st Century traffic flows. For more, please go here.
USA TODAY CALLS BURKE-GILMAN TRAIL NATION’S PRIDE
Apparently it’s one of the longest and most scenic urban trails in America. Yet the Burke-Gilman Trail was strongly opposed at its inception, despite backing from both the city and county chief executives. For an outstanding article on how the BGT was born, please go here.
THE TODAY FILE: “Your guide to the latest news from Seattle and around the Northwest”
SEATTLE DIRECTORY
KOMO 4 News (ABC)
KIRO 7 (CBS)
KING 5 News (NBC)
ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL
I am not a fan of putting wild animals in cages or tanks because doing so is the equivalent of putting a human being in prison. I understand why zoos and aquariums were created but with the proliferation of media which can bring these creatures in their natural environment right into our laps and living rooms, the need for caging creatures has ended. This is particularly true for the 36 orcas still in captivity and to see why that’s especially important to these gentle leviathans, please go here.
Justin, the fire survivor kitten who took the Net and the world by storm earlier this year, is recovering and has found a foster home. Last week, the little guy learned to climb stairs. Yep, this is another opportunity to die of “total cute”.
South Korea recently ruled the capture of three dolphins illegal and ordered their release. Two of them have rejoined their original pods and the third appears to have found a new family. Yep, for this happiest of endings, please go here.
ALL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL EXTRA
She’s a canine bomb detector who jumps from low-flying aircraft and she’s joined Columbia’s elite anti-terrorism group. For more on this super dog, yep, please go here.
FROM THOSE WE SUPPORT MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Here’s the SeaDoc Society’s August newsletter. They’re headquartered north of here on OrcasIsland. Affiliated with the University of California (Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine, their education programs, research and proactive marine mammal protection efforts are literally rewriting animal conservation history. And their newsletter is really cool too.
SHORTS
Farm to Fido: Dog Food Goes Local
WATCH: The Story Of Two Disabled Dogs Who Found A Home In Each Other
Want to become an urban naturalist? Try trailing a toddler
RELATED LINKS:
National Geographic Daily News – Animals
YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP
Well, we’re betting this could not have happened to a nicer guy. And our thanks to Aelwen & Braith in Cardiff for sending us this one. Farmer Loses Keys, Makes ‘Once In A Lifetime’ Find
AVAILABLE FROM NORTHSTAR
The August wallpaper from our favourite outdoor photographer is now available.
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WRATH OF THE TESTAMENT an exciting seagoing saga of war and rebellion For the kindle book, ($3.99) at amazon.com
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Thought is the blossom; language the bud;
action the fruit behind it.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
On the way back from a Cub Scout meeting, my grandson innocently said to my son, “Dad, I know babies come from mommies’ tummies, but how do they get there in the first place?”
After my son hemmed and hawed awhile, my grandson finally spoke up in disgust, “You don’t have to make up something, Dad. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer.” 
To subscribe to this Thought of the Day, contact Amy at SpringggRain@aol.com
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, then, take care and Godspeed. Rusty
The Northstar Journal 