What's up in Guatemala?

Read a rather disturbing article today.

About 10 teenagers attached and killed an elderly man in some Guatemalan village...so about 50 to a hundred villagers tracked them down and caught one of them - a 16 year old girl.

The villagers - women and children as well as men - beat her to a pulp - then poured gasoline on her and set her on fire....and then stood and watched her burn to death.

This wasn't an isolated incident, apparently this happens all the time.

And while I can see beating someone to a pulp - the fact that women and children would stand by and watch someone burn to death - after first setting them on fire - there's a lack of humanity there....

Fun blog - Travel Writer's Wife

The URL for this new blog is http://travelwriterswife.blogspot.com/.

 There have only been a couple of posts so far, but I think The Travel Writer's Wife blog is going to be a lot of fun.

The author is an artist, but is married to, obviously, a travel writer. She has shared some amusing anecdotes so far.

Check it out.

A blog for Scrabble lovers

If you like to play Scrabble, or even in you just like to improve your vocabulary, check out:

http://wordgamersblog.blogspot.com/

The Word Gamer's blog is devoted to people who love Scrabble, Words with friends and so on.

If you're trying to find out how to improve your vocabulary, or how to improve your chances of winning a Scrabble game, check out the Word Gamer's blog!

And Taco Bell's sexist commercial

So I'm watching the Colorado Rockies vs the Milwaukee Brewers.

Rockies ahead 10 - 0 in the 5th inning - that's good.

Then I see this Taco Bell commercial.  Two senior citizens sitting in their car, husband and wife presumably.

Elderly wife all of a sudden lifts up her shirt to show her breasts to her husband.

And I'm like...what?

The last thing impressionable boys need to see is that women - even elderly women - are there as sex objects only...

I've seen a few of those commercials for Girls Gone Wild or whatever they're called, all these sorority girls go on spring break, get drunk, then lift up their shirts to show their breasts to any guy who wishes to salivate over them...

If they were approached later by a guy who cops a feel, wlll they try to stop him? Or by this time will they be too drunk to know what is going on?  So the guy thinks, well, she showed me her breasts, gotta be pretty easy, I'm sure she'd say yes to sex if she were conscious, so she won't mind it while she's unconscious....

Then the next day the girl wakes up, vomits for an hour or so, then realizes she's had sex and doesn't remember anything about it...

Am I extrapolating too much?

I just think young boys and girls don't need to see women showing off their breasts - even if in this case it was a wife (one hopes) doing it for her husband.

Sad day for America...

As far as I'm concerned, Alex Rodriguez aka A-Rod should have been banned from baseball two years ago.

Instead, after a year's suspension, he made his debut for the Yankees today - and everyone in the crowd cheered him!

He got cheers!

Probably 40,000 people in the stands, and no one cares that he's a cheater and a liar?

Well...they're hoping he's going to be a good player.

If he has a .200 batting average after the first three weeks...you may be sure they'll boo him then.

Meanwhile...I'm hoping Ichro can have a resurgence with the Florida Marlins...I liked him as a Mariner...didn't like him as a Yankee (I don't like the Yankees!)...I hope he does well.

For Angel Eyes Only - How *You* Can Earn Your Angel Wings

I've just launched my crowdfunding campaign to create a print magazine called For Angel Eyes Only.

It will be a print magazine and a digital magazine, as well as a blog and video journal, aimed at the backers/micro-micro-invesotrs/angels who will help people with their campaigns.

The idea is to create a gi-normous pool of angels who will deliberately seek out people to help - with just a dollar or two each - just to help folks along.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/118270389/for-angel-eyes-only-crowdfunding-magazine

5 Mar 2015, Schedule of Department of State

Their schedule is a day behind, this is for March 4th:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2015/03/238140.htm

SECRETARY JOHN KERRY

Secretary Kerry is on travel to Montreux, Switzerland, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is accompanied by U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, Deputy Chief of Staff Jon Finer, Spokesperson Jen Psaki, and Vice Admiral Kurt Tidd, JCS.

9:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Kerry meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Montreux, Switzerland.
(POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT THE TOP)

DEPUTY SECRETARY ANTONY BLINKEN

Deputy Secretary Blinken is on travel to France, Moldova, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine through March 7.

DEPUTY SECRETARY HEATHER HIGGINBOTTOM

12:20 p.m. Deputy Secretary Higginbottom delivers remarks in honor of International Women’s Day hosted by the UN Foundation, in Washington, D.C.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY R. SHERMAN

Under Secretary Sherman accompanies Secretary Kerry on travel to Montreaux, Switzerland for discussions with Iranian officials, in the context of the P5+1 nuclear negotiations with Iran.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ROSE GOTTEMOELLER

Under Secretary Gottemoeller is on travel to the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand from February 27 through March 9.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS SARAH SEWALL

10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Sewall leads a roundtable with 12 civil society leaders from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Pakistan, and Indonesia as part of the Women Preventing Violent Extremism Symposium, at United States Institute of Peace.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT CATHERINE NOVELLI

8:30 a.m. Under Secretary Novelli participates in the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue Stakeholder Event hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Novelli meets with National Security Council Senior Advisor Christopher Kirchhoff, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

COUNSELOR TOM SHANNON

10:00 a.m. Counselor Shannon attends a meeting at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Counselor Shannon participates in a Modern Unconventional Warfare and Implications for U.S. Whole of Government Strategy meeting, in Washington, D.C.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

5:30 p.m. Counselor Shannon meets with Peruvian Ambassadorto the U.S. Miguel Castilla, in Washington, D.C.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Counselor Shannon attends a welcome reception for Peruvian Ambassadorto the U.S. Miguel Castilla, in Washington, D.C.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS NISHA DESAI BISWAL

10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Biswal meets with Heritage Foundation Director of Asian Studies Walter Lohman, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Biswal meets with Kyrgyz Ambassador to the U.S. Kadyr Toktogulov, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Biswal meets with Bangladeshi International Woman of Courage finalist Nadia Sharmeen, at the Department of State. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Biswal meets with Bangladesh Nationalist Party Senior Leader Osman Faruk, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN

Assistant Secretary Countryman is on travel to Qatar, Germany, and the United Kingdom from March 2 through March 6 for Non-Proliferation Treaty and G-7 Nonproliferation Directors Group (NPDG) meetings.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AFFAIRS SHEBA CROCKER

Assistant Secretary Crocker is on travel to Vienna, Austria.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR TOM MALINOWSKI

2:15 p.m. Assistant Secretary Malinowski meets with the Syrian International Women of Courage Award Recipient Majd Chourbaji, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS VICTORIA NULAND

10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Nuland testifies on Ukraine before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HFAC)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS CHARLES RIVKIN

Assistant Secretary Rivkin is on travel to Tunis, Tunisia through March 6. Please click here for more information.

9:00 a.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Rivkin participates in a briefing for the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Rivkin and members of the National U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC) meet with Tunisian Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Zakaria Hamad, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

5:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Rivkin attends a reception for the Investment and Entrepreneurship Conference, organized by the Department of State, Partners for a New Beginning - North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (PNB-NAPEO), and the American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL MILITARY AFFAIRS PUNEET TALWAR

10:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Puneet Talwar meets with Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Political Director Rolandas Kacinskas, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES CATHERINE RUSSELL

9:00 a.m. Ambassador Russell welcomes the 2015 recipients of the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, at the Department of State. Please click here for more information.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Ambassador Russell speaks to the American Women for International Understanding at the group’s Annual International Women of Courage Celebration, in Washington, D.C.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE STEPHEN RAPP

Ambassador Rapp is on travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to deliver a presentation on “Responding to Mass Communications that Spread Terror and Incite the Commission of Atrocities,” at an event sponsored by the International Human Rights Film Festival and the University of Geneva.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH DIPLOMACY DEBORAH BIRX

10:00 a.m. LOCAL Ambassador Birx delivers remarks at the “Health for All” event hosted by the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), in Kingston, Jamaica.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

5 Mar 2015, Thurs, President Obama's schedule

President Obama has nothing on his schedule today except a lunch with the Vice President.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president/2015-03-05

What is the Task Force on 21st Century Policing?

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/policingtaskforce

(COPS stands for Community Oriented Policing Services)

On December 18, 2014, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The Task Force seeks to identify best practices and make recommendations to the President on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust and examine, among other issues, how to foster strong, collaborative relationships between local law enforcement and the communities they protect.

The Task Force was directed to provide an initial report on recommendations to the President by March 2, 2015.

From their website:

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component within the U.S. Department of Justice dedicated to the concept that trust and mutual respect between police and the communities they serve is critical to public safety. This concept is the foundation of “community policing,” and ensures that police and community stakeholders partner in solving our nation's crime challenges. Community policing is a law enforcement philosophy that focuses on community partnerships, problem-solving and organizational transformation. The COPS Office mission is to advance public safety through community policing.

When police and communities work together, they more effectively address underlining issues, change negative patterns, and focus resources. The COPS Office plays a critical role in executing the Attorney General's Smart on Crime Initiative by focusing on fairer enforcement, crime prevention, and the improvement of relationships with minority populations.

The COPS Office is committed to helping the field advance the field. Over the last 20 years, the COPS Office has pioneered crime analysis through the funding of community policing officers, resources, training, and technical assistance. The COPS Office partners with law enforcement, businesses and other Federal agencies to enhance policing activities and outcomes. Please visit our Resource Center and the Grants and Funding page to learn more about our current resources.

President Obama's Schedule, 2 Mar 2015

10:00 am
The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
The Oval Office
Closed Press

11:00 am
The President meets with members of his Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Roosevelt Room
Pool Spray at the Bottom

3:30 pm
The President meets with members of the Technology CEO Council
Roosevelt Room
Closed Press

What are My Brother's Keepers, and their Mentees?

The below is from the Government website. It's weird...it's a call to action to cities, towns, counties and tribes... but not to parents or siblings. Shouldn't they be involved in this? http://www.whitehouse.gov/my-brothers-keeper
“That’s what ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ is all about. Helping more of our young people stay on track. Providing the support they need to think more broadly about their future. Building on what works – when it works, in those critical life-changing moments.” - President Barack Obama, February 27, 2014

My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge

In September 2014, President Obama issued a challenge to cities, towns, counties and tribes across the country to become “MBK Communities.” This challenge represents a call to action for all members of our communities, and mayors in particular, as they often sit at the intersection of many of the vital forces and structural components needed to enact sustainable change through policy, programs, and partnerships.

The MBK Community Challenge encourages communities (cities, rural municipalities, and tribal nations) to implement a coherent cradle-to-college-and-career strategy for improving the life outcomes of all young people to ensure that they can reach their full potential, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or the circumstances into which they are born.

The six goals of the Challenge are:
Ensuring all children enter school cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally ready
Ensuring all children read at grade level by 3rd grade
Ensuring all youth graduate from high school
Ensuring all youth complete post-secondary education or training
Ensuring all youth out of school are employed
Ensuring all youth remain safe from violent crime

Community leaders can lay the groundwork for an MBK Community in four steps:
Accept the President’s Challenge
Convene a “Local Action Summit” to build an MBK Community
Conduct a policy review and form recommendations for action
Launch a plan of action, next steps and a timetable for review

President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.

Through this initiative, the Administration is joining with cities and towns, businesses, and foundations who are taking important steps to connect young people to mentoring, support networks, and the skills they need to find a good job or go to college and work their way into the middle class.

My Brother’s Keeper is focused on six milestones:

Getting a Healthy Start and Entering School Ready to Learn

All children should have a healthy start and enter school ready – cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally.

Reading at Grade Level by Third Grade

All children should be reading at grade level by age 8 – the age at which reading to learn becomes essential.

Graduating from High School Ready for College and Career

Every American child should have the option to attend postsecondary education and receive the education and training needed for quality jobs of today and tomorrow.

Successfully Entering the Workforce

Anyone who wants a job should be able to get a job that allows them to support themselves and their families.

Keeping Kids on Track and Giving Them Second Chances

All children should be safe from violent crime; and individuals who are confined should receive the education, training and treatment they need for a second chance.

27 feb 2015: President Obama's schedule

10:00 am
The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
The Oval Office
Closed Press

11:05 am
The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia
The Oval Office
Pool Spray at the Top

12:45 pm
The President has lunch with My Brother's Keeper mentees
Map Room
Pool Spray at the Top

5:35 pm
The President delivers remarks at the portrait unveiling ceremony for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
Travel Pool Coverage

26 Feb 2015 - President and Vice President's Schedule

President Obama has no public schedule today.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president/2015-02-26 

Yesterday he was in Florida talking to an Immigration Advocacy Group (as usual, the fact that it is *illegal* Immigration advocacy is never, ever mentioned.

 I read a message board of a successful soundtrack producer who is a former active, and he as about 10 people contributing to his message board on a daily basis, one of whom is an "immigration" lawyer (who specializes in helping illegals stay in the country) and she mentioned a few days ago that she had given a talk about "immigration" to people... I forget all the precise details but the main thrust of the argument is that she was not talking about "immigration" - most US citizens have no problem with immigration.... she was talking about *illegal* immigration...but they just won't say that....

It's like living in the Twilight Zone...or in Kafka's world...

Vice President Biden also has no public schedule today according to the scheduler, anyway. Yesterday he made a couple of speeches in New Hampshire:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president/2015-02-26

Ever heard of Drabbles?

I decided to launch my own Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. The first of hopefully several...

When going through some campaigns on Kickstarter, I found one called 1 Drawing for 1 Dollar. The campaign asked for only $250, and the guy had received over $7,000 in orders.

Unfortunately I'm not an artist, so I couldn't offer such a deal...but I *am* a good writer and wondered if I could sell drabbles. I set the bar at only $25....

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/118270389/1-drabble-for-1-dollar?ref=nav_search And a woman has already ordered 25 drabbles featuring John Steed and Emma Peel: The Avengers.

So after 3 days I'm already fully funded.

So if you would like a drabble, you'll receive it immediately.

What is a drabble? It is a story that is exactly 100 words long. It's typically fan fiction - for The Avengers, Doctor Who, Star Trek: The Original Series and so on.

Here's a couple of samples, one for The Avengers, and one a non-fiction drabble that I call a Scrabble Drabble, to help people improve their Scrabble vocabulary.

Religions don't kill people...

Someone mentioned this to me yesterday...these friends are Democrats who were annoyed about Giuliani's comment that Obama doesn't love America because he refuses to call ISIS Islamist radical terrorists.

The husband said: The refrain from gun lovers about guns is : "guns don't kill people, people kill people."

So following that logic, "religions don't kill people, people kill people."

Do you think the comparison is apt, in all its ramifications?

There's a woman on the hannity forums who persists in equating Islam of today with Christianity of today, which I've got to say shocks me. While there are fundamentalist Christians who won't let female refs referee a basketball game (because that would place a woman in a position of authority over the boys - God forbid! - I wonder if they have women teachers there or not) but I've yet to hear of a Christian parent doing an honor killing because daughter left the house without a male relative. I've yet to hear of these sects not allowing women to drive - which women can't do in Saudi Arabia...and on and on...

I felt like asking her where'd she prefer to live, as a woman, Saudi Arabia or any city in the US or even Europe...

What can we do about ISIS?

President Obama says that if we get these terrorists jobs, they'll stop beheading people or setting them on fire.

All well and good...but where are they going to get jobs in the middle of a desert? What kind of jobs could they do?

Of course since they wouldn't allow women to work, they'd get any available jobs for themselves, which is one benefit... Seems to me ISIS folks are just living in the 13th century..and need to be sent back there as expeditiously as possible.

OT: Rucksack Appeal: A UK chairty

For my readers in the UK, I thought I'd feature this charity for the homeless, located in the UK, that I thought was pretty interesting. (And there's no reason why my US readers can't help out as well if you feel so inclined.

The Rucksack Appeal is a charity whose goal is to collect rucksacks (or backpacks, as we say in the States), fill them full of necessities, and give them to the homeless.

Their URL is http://www.aokrucksackappeal.org.uk/.

They've been working for a couple of years now to help the homeless in the UK, and are putting together a variety of charitable events to help raise funds to fill rucksacks, such as holding a poetry competition, an art exhibit that sounds pretty interesting - it will focus on all aspects of homelessness and be held in St Stephens church Bournemouth at the beginning of July.(See their website for more details).

The Kaiser Chiefs, an Indie Rock band, are also going to help them out on the night of Feb 10, 2015. (Remember the English put their day before the month). They'll be asking for donations outside the the concert at the BIC.

So, if you're Anglophiles, or if you're in England, check out the Rucksack Appeal and help them (and help out the homeless) if you can.

Ever wanted to improve your posture?

Think about a smart back brace.

An inventor is crowdfunding to get the funds to manufacturer his smart back brace.

Here's his campaign video:

If you're not familiar with crowdfunding, it's a business and entrepreneur funding model, where average people like you and I make pledges on sites such as Kickistarter.com, IndieGoGo.com, etc and in return - if the product is fully funded, we receive rewards, such as a back brace at a special price.

If the product isn't fully funded, then the money we pledged is returned.

So, check out the campaign webpage and see what you think of it.

Check out the link to his video, so you can see what it's all about:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/smart-back-brace-ssb-posture-correcting-device/x/9250570

1 January 2015, Thursday: Happy New Year

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to get back to posting in this blog on a daily basis.

I only hope that through the next few months the morons who are proving to the police that they are the mindless thugs that the police think they are, will get a grip and turn over a new leaf.

And of course I hope the people suffering under ISIS et al get a reprieve and someone civilized can take over in that part of the world.

Today is the Rose Bowl... I can remember decades ago when all the main bowls took place on the same day... now we've had weeks and weeks of crappy bowls from crappy teams... kind of dilutes the status of the name "bowl."