A weekly ezine of news, commentary, health, humor and general interest
The Magazine With Heart
News & Commentary, From You Guys, Our Window On Europe, Our Window On Asia, Good Examples, Bad Examples, Our World & Beyond, The Green Agenda, Health, Lifestyle, Northstar Comics, Thought Of The Week, Best Of The Net, All Creatures Great & Small, Northstar Endorses, You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up, About Us
August 23, 2015 Vol. 8 No. 49
Olya Bereza – European Associate Editor
Dennis Steussy – American Associate Editor
NOT ONE OF RUSSIA’S BETTER IDEAS
Hi again from the shores of the Salish Sea. Well, not surprisingly, tourism is apparently way down at Black Sea resorts since the former Soviet Union took the Crimean Peninsula away from the Ukraine.
Their public relations people in the Kremlin came up with a rather unique pitch to turn this around. They are appealing to the nationalism in their citizens. Russia’s Pitch to Vacationers: Crimea Is for Patriots
With all due respect to Vlad and the rest of the commissars, good luck with that. I have been to places where patriots gather to relax and partake of godly pleasures like a good swim and stuff.
For the most part, I have observed that they are not into communing with nature and are a rather boisterous lot. Conversationally, they appear to be just a little multi-subject challenged. It’s like there are just three colors in the rainbow; red, white and blue. Their taste in music runs to songs that one can march to and/or sing along with, but you can’t dance to any of it. And if you cannot dance, what is the point of any of it, right?
I have also noticed that many of them are so focused on their nationalistic vision that they know little or nothing about the rest of the world, which in their minds, is okay because America is a big country and there’s no need to live anywhere else than there.
Put walls around all of it with a big bridge from Fairbanks to Fargo. Make it tougher to break in or out of than the legendary Siegfried Line. Mann those walls with dedicated patriots of poor education but good dental hygiene. And turn America into the biggest and most diverse human reservation in the history of our species.
That’s your average super patriot’s wet dream, folks. Keep the pure of heart on one side of that great wall and the unwashed infidels on the other. And God or Allah forgive you if you forget who is which on what side of the wall.
Thanks for the ear, then, gang. Have a good week. And remember this magazine is ~ in large part ~ supported by small contributions from folks like you. To drop a dollar in the sugar can, please go here
FROM YOU GUYS
In a message dated 8/21/2015 4:30:52 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, PlatinmTabbyRose@aol.com writes:
Rusty… I have been wanting to drop you a quick note… You have been on my mind all week… watching the news of all the horrible fires up there… I can’t even imagine the “Hell” all the residents are going through… Please know you have been in My Heart and Prayers… God’s Blessings Serena
Serena, thank you very much. And I’ll pass that down the line. Here in Seattle, we’re on the other side of the Cascades. We refer to where Lake Chelan is as “east of the mountains”
As you know, we are a small state, population-wise, so nothing happens anywhere in Washington that does not impact us all. Our first responders are among the best in the world and our legislature and local news media are proactive and responsible.
But I think sometimes we all need to be reminded that we also live here by choice, Serena. What is true of us now is true of every part of not only America but everywhere else.
Some handle it well. Some handle it not so well. But since the dawn of human history, this has always been the case. If there were lessons to be learned from all of this, we would have learned them long ago.
For all of that, your intuition serves you well, Serena. The rains always come eventually and the ground after always breaks green. Human hearts are often much slower to heal and I suspect that is not a bad thing.
Your thoughts and prayers are part of that healing process, Serena.
Thank you and God Bless You.
Rusty
THE NEWS
This may not be the most important thing happening in the world today, but its implications could be among the most profound. Bedtime Stories For Young Brains
This might explain a great deal. The Man Who Can’t Feel Emotions
The longer we hang out with these folks, the cooler they seem to become. Saving 100,000 Acres/156 Square Miles/404 Square Kilometers
GLOBAL
After 70 Years Of Men, Some Say It Is ‘High Time’ A Woman Led The U.N.
AFRICA
VIDEO: Ugandan Troops On Patrol In South Sudan
Saving The Rarest Canids On Earth
Major Migrant Rescue Off Libya
Shabab Bombing Kills At Least 11 At Somali Army Camp
Crackdown In Niger Fails To Deter Migrant Smugglers
U.N. Details Sexual Abuse Claims Against Troops
2007 Case Against Kenyan Leader Is Under Scrutiny
South Sudan: Penalties Proposed
Mali: U.N. Warns Of Hunger Crisis
South Sudan: U.S. Threatens Sanctions Over Rejection Of Pact
Gabon’s President Offers Some Of His Wealth ‘To The People’
Nigeria: Boko Haram Is Said To Have A New Leader
22-Year Term For Nigerian Who Joined Al Qaeda And Then Denounced It
ASIA
Video: Plane Wreckage Found In Indonesia
Japan Hit By Weaker Economic Growth
Video: Western Band Plays To North Koreans
The Latest On Koreas: S. Korea Reports North Army Movements
Malaysia Finds 24 More Bodies Of Human Trafficking Victims
Rival Koreas Restart Talks, Pull Back From Brink _ For Now
Wild Tigers Counted for the First Time in Bhutan
CHINA
Tianjin Protests Demand Compensation
Fading Economy And Graft Crackdown Rattle China’s Leaders
One Killed In Explosion At China Chemical Site
Outstandingly Successful Breeding Year For Rare Chinese Crested Tern
INDIA
Video: India’s Collapsing Building Problem
Longtime Critic Of Modi Is Now A Target
Pakistan Cancels Talks With India, Citing Restrictions
MIDDLE EAST
Iran ‘To Work With Rivals For Peace’
Video: Inside An Iranian Technology Firm
British Embassy To Reopen In Tehran
Kabul Suicide Bombing Kills 12, Including 3 Americans
EUROPE
Video: Desperate For A Train Into The EU
Syriza Rebels Form New Greek Party
Migrants Rush Across Border in Macedonia
In A Twist, Europe May Find Itself Relying On Success Of Alexis Tsipras Of Greece
What Alexis Tsipras’s Announcement Means For Greece
President Erdogan Of Turkey To Call For New Election
Macedonian Police Clash With Migrants On Border With Greece
Britain And France To Announce Measures To Contain Migrant Crisis In Calais
Seven Die As Planes Carrying Parachutists Collide Over Slovakia
Migrant Influx Prompts Macedonia, Britain And France To Increase Security
Alexis Tsipras, Greek Prime Minister, Calls For New Elections
Germany: Treason Charges For Spy
Greece Makes Payment To European Central Bank, Avoiding Default
Germany Announces Plan To Cope With Migrant Influx
Turkey: 2 Are Held In Palace Blast
Attacks, And Accusations, Escalate In Eastern Ukraine
Head Of Russian Railways, Close To Putin, Resigns
Russia Sentences Estonian To 15 Years In Disputed Spy Case
Roy Jones Jr. Meets With Putin
Inflation Robs Russians Of Buying Power
THE VATICAN
Rogelio Livieres Plano, Bishop Ousted By Pope Francis, Dies At 69
UNITED KINGDOM
7 Dead As Fighter Jet Crashes Into Highway At British Airshow
A British House Overflowing With Lords Draws Scorn
What Is Being Done To Save The Wildlife Of The Irish Sea?
The Tale Of The Mysterious Girt Dog Of Ennerdale
NORTH AMERICA
CANADA
Prescriptions Of Opioid Drugs Skyrocketing In Canada
Markets, Not Government, Will Determine Canada’s Energy Future
Nine Of The Most Decadent Foods Available At This Year’s CNE
Canadian Maple Syrup ‘Rebels’ Clash With Law
UNITED STATES
Video: US Continues To Battle Wildfires
Justice Dept. Presses Civil Rights Agenda In Local Courts
Man held in Statue of Liberty hoax
Draft Rules Would Help Save Elephants
Carter Reveals Cancer Treatment
Three Killed In Washington Wildfire Are Mourned
LATIN AMERICA
Investigation Lifts A Cloud Over President Of Mexico
Guatemala: Former Official Is Arrested
Expanding Web Of Scandal In Brazil Threatens Further Upheaval
Trump Hotel Goes Up, And His Latino Views Barely Raise Eyebrows
Brazil: House Speaker Is Charged
Santiago Journal: Alongside A Doctor’s Care, A Dose Of Traditional Healing
Protests Across Brazil Raise Pressure On President Dilma Rousseff
Brazil: Police Suspected In Killings Of 18
Venezuela Releases Two Prominent Government Critics From Prison
As Drug Kingpins Fall In Mexico, Cartels Fracture And Violence Surges
Scandals In Brazil Prompt Fears Of A Return To Turmoil
El Salvador Cracks Down On Crime, But Gangs Remain Unbowed
OCEANA
Inmate Caught After Daring Escape
Qantas Returns To Full-Year Profit
TOPICAL
BANGKOK BOMBING
Video: Phone Footage Shows Bangkok Blast
Bangkok Video Shows ‘Bomb Suspect’
‘No foreign role’ in Bangkok bomb
Video: Bangkok Bomb: Voices From The Shrine
Thai TV Sorry For Bomb Re-Enactment
ESPIONAGE AND TERRORISM
Obama Administration Warns Beijing About Covert Agents Operating In U.S.
Egypt Imposes New Anti-Terror Laws
Religion Meets Rebellion: How Isis Lured 3 London Girls
Bangkok Bomber ‘Is Part Of Network’
Palmyra Archaeologist ‘Killed By ISIS’
Video: The Women Taking Up Arms Against Is
US Cinema Chain Starts Bag Searches
Al Qaeda Militants Deploy In Yemen’s Aden, Raise Flag Over Port
TRAIN ATTACK IN FRANCE
A Shot, A Glimpse Of An AK-47, And U.S. Servicemen Pounced On Gunman On Train To France
3 Who Stopped Train Attack Were Boyhood Friends
Train Attack in Europe Puts Focus on Vulnerability of U.S. Rail
Profile Emerges of Suspect in Attack on Train to Paris
WEATHER AND CLIMATE CHANGE
What Oysters Are Telling Us About Our Changing Oceans
How To Talk About Climate Change
OUR WINDOW ON EUROPE — by Olya Bereza – European Associate Editor
photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/ArchiDesign
Hello Rusty:
This week, I want to congratulate and celebrate United Nations World Humanitarian Day. My total admiration to all organizations like Unicef or Human Rights Watch working throughout the world and now Ukraine and to all people who are doing this very important work. And I really appreciate the Northstar Journal sharing these values. Please enjoy dedicated to this day this astonishing video of Beyonce It is so very inspirational. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i41qWJ6QjPI
And just to prove that in life there is always place for beauty here is a picture of a Czech Grandma who paints her village
Stay cool, my cousin Mishka.
Olya
OUR WINDOW ON THE EAST by Sara Goldstein
Editor’s Note: Sara is a Fullbright English Teaching Assistant embarking on a year in Taiwan. She and her sister have been readers of this magazine since they were in high school and their mom, Amy, is the creator of Thoughts of the Day/Week. Sara’s a fine writer in her own right and we are both proud and honoured to welcome her aboard the Goodship Northstar. Rusty
Nĭ hăo (hello) from Taichung!
It has been quite an exciting first week here. We just completed our first week of training, which will continue through the rest of this month. Training so far has included workshops about education in Taiwan, Chinese language, classroom management, teaching English as a foreign language, and Taiwanese culture. Our coordinators have also helped us accomplish settling-in tasks such as getting Taiwanese SIM cards for our phones (we were in a tiny shop for two hours trying to figure out all of our phone plans!), buying bus passes (the bus here is free!), and opening local bank accounts.
There are 10 Fulbright ETA (English Teaching Assistant) Grantees in our group in Taichung. There are about 60 ETAs in all of Taiwan; we are spread out in five locations around the island and will meet formally all together in a few weeks. In our group, nearly everyone has just graduated this past May with their Bachelor’s degree, and I am the only one who has my Master’s. This helps to balance things out because I am also the only one who has never been to Asia or studied Chinese! Everyone in my group has studied Chinese at the college level, studied abroad and/or traveled in Asia for an extended period of time, and/or has family who lives here. So the nine other Taichung ETAs have the advantages of knowing the language and culture well, and I have the advantage of significant experience in the classroom. It is a good balance and so far we have all been sharing and learning quite a bit from each other. Not surprisingly, it is an extremely intelligent, well-traveled, and motivated group. I look forward to continuing to work, learn, and travel with the other Taichung ETAs!
Below are some pictures to illustrate a bit of what Taichung is like.
Everyday life in Taichung: Mopeds are called “scooters” here, and there are so many!!! It’s great to see parents riding with their kids, dogs balancing on scooters, baskets piled up by drivers’ feet … people here make anything and everything fit onto their scooters.
For those pictures and more of this exceptional narrative please go here
GOOD EXAMPLES
Way to go! Angola Signs Historic Agreement To Protect Its Lions
Let us hope someone pays attention to this one. Simple Solution Proposed To Save Blue Whales From Being Struck By Ships
It is going to take a lot of cool to beat this one, gang. International Nobel Prize Winners Travel To Israel To Mentor Students
BAD EXAMPLES
I am sure even Shell will ultimately regret this. As solar takes hold, consumers will remember that “Big Oil” had a chance to exercise a conscience and failed, utterly, to do so. I, personally, am boycotting anything Shell has anything to do with. Shell Gets Final Permit For Arctic
This needs to stop, Your Majesty. Bottlenose Dolphins And Seals Are Being Harassed In Cornwall
Not at all cool. Macedonia Fires Tear Gas At Migrants
OUR WORLD AND BEYOND
This is a good reminder that evolution is ongoing. Chimps living in the Stone Age
Do not read this real close to bed time. Earth’s most poisonous plants
Or This One. Atlas, A Humanoid Robot, Takes A Walk In The Woods
HERE ON EARTH
Superheroes Of The Ancient World
Graphic: Tianjin Blasts Expose the Dangerous Proximity of Toxic Chemicals in China
5 Keystone Species Crucial To Balance Of The Ecosystem »
OUTER SPACE
A Glimpse Into The Center Of Our Galaxy
Science And Hollywood: When The Martian Met The Earthlings
NASA Spies Star That’s 10 Million Times Brighter Than The Sun
FROM JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE
Who’s The First Person In History Whose Name We Know?
From Bacon-Flavored Seaweed To Crushing Rubik’s Records: This Week’s Curios
Marijuana Helps Heal Broken Bones: Study Shows
OTHER TECHNOLOGY
Robot Weapons: What’s The Harm?
Scientists Figure Out Pendulum Clock Puzzle That Dates Back Centuries
Italian Cows Get Air-Conditioned Sheds To Beat The Heat
The Earth Observatory’s mission is to share with the public the images, stories, and discoveries about climate and the environment that emerge from NASA research, including its satellite missions, in-the-field research, and climate models.
THE GREEN AGENDA
Landmark US Clean Power Plan Announced
‘Drinkable Book’ Cleans Murky Water
Revolutionary Rooftop Farm Grows Organic Veggies Sans Soil In The Heart of Tel Aviv
HEALTH & LIFESTYLE
Coaxing Children With Selective Mutism to Find Their Voices
Work Policies May Be Kinder, But Brutal Competition Isn’t
What Eating 40 Teaspoons Of Sugar A Day Can Do To You
Another Approach To Raising Healthy Eaters
Daily Coffee May Boost Colon Cancer Survival
‘Female Viagra’ Gets US Approval
NORTHSTAR COMICS
We’ve collected what we consider the most wholesome, family-oriented and genuinely humorous comic strips we could find on the Net. They include: Adam@Home, Calvin & Hobbes, Emmylou, For Better or For Worse, Foxtrot Classics, Garfield, Get Fuzzy, and Peanuts. Either click the banner or this link.
THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK by Amy Goldstein
Life is not something we go through or that happens to us; it’s something we create by our decisions. ~ Kathleen Dean Moore
How I love this man! ~ Mister Rogers Talks About How Moms Feed Their Babies – YouTube
To subscribe and experience Thoughts in their original, please contact Ame at SpringggRain@aol.com
BEST OF THE NET
Three Western Myths About Japan
The Daring Flights Of Fire-Planes
FROM NORTHSTAR
A tale of insurrection and war in an America of a dark and distant future To preview, please go here Now available in both paperback and Kindle at amazon.com |
THE BACK COUNTRY GALLERY’S new free monthly nature wallpaper is available here. Lens jockey Steve Perry also has a newsletter offering a great deal of cool stuff for wildlife photographers, amateur and professional, alike.
RUSTY MILLER, WRITER/EDITOR FOR HIRE
minstrel312@aol.com http://nstarmed.wordpress.com
Have something you’ve written that needs editing?
How about a resume that needs polishing?
Need some jokes or a speech for a special occasion?
How about a “message” that will bring them to tears or to their feet cheering and contributing?
Are you an international student or professional who wants to improve their written English?
How about an international business which wants to “Americanize” its writing?
What about a special project, like a book, press release, poster or business or product name?
I’ve been in the writing and editing profession for awhile now and there are few creatures made of words, I haven’t captured in print. So if you have something like that and you want it done quickly, simply and reasonably, shoot me an email at minstrel312@aol.com
International clients are not only welcome but encouraged and for more on my background and experiences, as well as a precise listing of services offered, please go here http://nstarmed.wordpress.com
My name is Rusty Miller. I look forward to hearing from you.
ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL
We need to help these little folks. Red Pandas Are Adorable and in Trouble
This is fascinating. Secrets Of Nature’s City-Dwellers
This is awesome. The Rarest Wolves On Earth
SHORTS
Celebrating World Elephant Day: What Will Really Make A Difference To Elephants
Scientists Discover Just How Surprisingly Complex Is An Octopus’ Genetic Code
Where The ‘Human Fish’ Lurks
NORTHSTAR ALL CREATURES LIBRARY
Animal Daily News – National Geographic
Attracting Wildlife To Your Garden
Creating A Wood
Discover Kielder: A Guide To This Magical Forest
Dive Sites In The World – 50 Best
Diving With Marine Wildlife
Identifying Birds And Mammals In The Field
Looking After An Orphaned Hippo
A Spotter’s Guide To Mustelids
Rehabilitating An Ex-Circus Lion
THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL ENDORSES & RECOMMENDS:
Help End World Hunger & Poverty | Heifer International® | Heifer.Org
No Camels – Weekly Israeli Innovation News
SeaDoc Society: People & Science Healing The Sea
Showcase Magazine: Today’s Media For Artful Living
YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP
VIDEO: Six Arrested Over Contraband Cheese
The Greatest Artworks Never Made
Risking Death At Sea To Escape Boredom
ABOUT US
The Northstar Journal is an international news, commentary and general interest weekly Internet magazine reaching readers in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Oceana. We also have a website linked to both Facebook and Linked-In. While we occasionally accept classified advertising, we are otherwise entirely reader-supported. If you enjoyed this edition and would like to contribute to the next: please go here For more information and to receive us in your email, contact us at minstrel312@aol.com
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