TheBlaze.com - Stories

Pop Princess Appears to Have Been Caught Majorly Lip-Syncing During Awards Show

Liz Klimas — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:07:28 +0000

Pop singer Katy Perry appeared to suffer a lip-sync gaffe over the weekend at NRJ Music Awards in Cannes, France, but a statement later released by the show is suggesting otherwise.

In the broadcast performance, Perry’s mouth didn’t match exactly the audio being played of her latest hit “Roar.” The issue became so apparent that the award show host stepped in and gave Perry the opportunity to start again.

Image source: LiveLeak

“I’m sorry to stop all your energy — I prefer you to be the best,” the man interrupting Perry’s performance said, according to The Wrap, translated from French.

But it didn’t necessarily get better from there.

While Perry was on cue this second time around, it was clear it was her own live voice.

“The tone of her voice is not what we are used to. When the lyrics started, she could not get back in sync either with the words, or the notes, let alone the tune,” the user, who posted footage on LiveLeak and described it as “cringeworthy,” wrote.

Take a look at the performance — and compare the first 30 seconds to what happens at the 1:15 mark:

The Wrap reported that the NRJ Music Awards took the blame for whatever malfunction occurred in Perry’s performance.

“Katy Perry sang live during the NRJ Music Awards in Cannes on Saturday night, but unfortunately a bad soundtrack was accidentally launched, taking over the live performance of Katy at the beginning of the delivery tube of the ‘Roar,’” it said in a statement, translated from French by The Wrap. “TF1 and NRJ present their apologies to Katy Perry … for this technical problem beyond our control.”

Not everyone is buying it.

“Sure,” Gawker wrote in response to the award show’s statement.

Let us know your thoughts by taking our poll:

https://poutsch.com/question/1035974

–

Museum Removes ‘God’s Creatures’ Quote From Exhibit Following Atheistic Evolution Professor’s Complaints

Billy Hallowell — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:40:11 +0000

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County removed a quote that references “God’s creatures” from one of its exhibits following negative attention from a prominent evolutionary biologist and atheist.

The quote, which was placed in the museum’s Nature Lab exhibit in early December, read, “The Nature Lab is a gift to Los Angeles to celebrate all of God’s creatures and enable NHM to broaden our understanding of the natural world through the process of scientific discovery.” It was attributed to an anonymous donor, KPCC radio reported.

The museum’s removal apparently followed a blog post by Dr. Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, in which the academic lambasted the quote’s presence inside the Natural History Museum, a public institution.

Credit: Jerry Coyne/Why Evolution Is True Blog

“Given the quotation marks, I bet the donor insisted on the wording,” Coyne wrote. “It would be much truer, and not a possible violation of the First Amendment, to say ‘to celebrate all of evolution’s creatures.’”

He added, “First of all, it misleads the public in two ways: by giving a scientific imprimatur to the idea that animals are “God’s creatures,” and second, by not really making it plain that the quote was insisted on by the anonymous donor — if that’s the case.”

The professor emailed museum staff to voice his concerns. As it turns out, Kristin Friedrich, director of communication for the the institution, subsequently said that there were others on staff who shared concerns, KPCC reported.

“Upon further reflection and after discussion with our staff, and in conversation with the donor, the Museum has determined that acknowledging donors by including personal statements in such a manner has the potential to cause confusion,” read a statement from The Natural History Museum.

In a follow-up blog post, Coyne called the removal of the quote “a victory for secularism.”

“I don’t know what happened, but I think those of us who objected played some role in this, as I know some readers wrote to Museum officials,” he wrote. “I also suspect that some of the curators objected, and I’m pretty sure that the inquiring KPCC reporter is the same guy who was going to interview me, and his inquiries were the final blow.”

There’s no word on whether the donor who likely requested that the quote be placed in the exhibit in the first place will ask for his or her money back, though KPCC noted that the museum is communicating with the individual.

(H/T: Christian Post)

–

Featured image via Jerry Coyne/Why Evolution Is True Blog

Woman Suffers Brutal Animal Attack That Made Her Face Look Like This — but the Culprit Isn’t What You Might Expect

Liz Klimas — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:27:36 +0000

The footage of a woman being attacked by an animal she had saved is so extreme you might initially question its validity, but the Melvin, Mich., victim has the wounds to prove it and is speaking out, in somewhat unlikely terms, about the animal.

That animal? A cat.

The woman identified by WJBK-TV only as Maxx said the cat was a stray she had taken in over the summer and named Buddy. But in late November after Buddy attacked her mom’s dog, Maxx tried to shoo it away, kicking snow at it at one point.

Captured on her home security camera, the cat, enraged by the snow, launched itself at Maxx and her pink pajamas.

Image source: YouTube

Teeth and claws were sunk into Maxx’s face. She was able to free herself from the cat and cast it away from her, storming back to the house holding her face.

“My first reaction was to get him off and when I went to pull, I could feel his teeth,” Maxx told WJBK. “You can’t just rip him off or he was going to rip me wide open.”

Watch the footage:

These wounds resulted in an infection that caused Maxx’s face to swell and she required medical attention, WJBK reported.

Maxx’s face became infected and she had to be tested for rabies. The cat was also tested for rabies, but tests came back negative. (Image source: WJBK-TV)

But even with this experience, Maxx had kind things to say about him.

“I actually saved him from someone who was going put him down and he was sweet as pie. When they came to get him I couldn’t even watch because even though he did that to me, I couldn’t see them take him away because I knew what they were going do to him,” she told the news station.

Watch WJBK-TV’s report with Maxx’s account of the incident after the fact:

Fox 2 News Headlines

Buddy was taken in by authorities and was put down. Prior to this attack, WJBK reported that Buddy had bitten two other people.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

–

‘Let’s Get the F*** Out of Here’: There’s an Update on the TV Anchor Who Uttered an On-Air Expletive

Billy Hallowell — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:11:07 +0000

KSNW-TV anchor Justin Kraemer gained national attention after uttering “Let’s get the f*** out of here” on a “hot mic” following the NBC affiliate’s Saturday night broadcast. Now, Kraemer is claiming that he was fired from his position as a result of the on-air incident.

“I’m embarrassed. I did something extraordinarily unprofessional,” he subsequently told The Wichita Eagle. “It’s something that’s drilled into you from the minute you start in this business to always consider the microphones hot.”

Kraemer called the incident’s viral spread “surreal” and an experience that has been “fascinating.”

“I’m not sure I would wish it on anybody, but honestly I really don’t know how to put into words how surreal and bizarre the last few days have been,” he said.

Watch the video below (caution: strong language):

Kraemer also told The Wichita Eagle that he was already planning on leaving KSNW-TV before the incident unfolded, though he didn’t share where he’s headed. While Gawker claims that a tipster told the outlet that Kraemer is going to work for KOAA-TV in Colorado Springs, this hasn’t been confirmed.

“I don’t anticipate any problems,” the journalist told the Eagle of his future. “I’m pretty positive I’m going to end up landing on my feet, so I’m encouraged by that.”

As TheBlaze previously reported, Kraemer’s bio is no longer visible the KSNW-TV website.

(H/T: Gawker)

–

Featured image via Shutterstock.com

Barbara Walters to Piers Morgan: ‘We Thought That [Obama] Was Going to Be…the Next Messiah’

Jonathon M. Seidl — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 12:54:59 +0000

“I shouldn’t say this at Christmastime,” Barbara Walters told Piers Morgan on his show Tuesday night. But despite her best judgment, she went on to say it – and it was quite a controversial statement.

What exactly was it?

“We thought that he was going to be – I shouldn’t say this at Christmastime, but – the next messiah,” she told Morgan.

The response came after Morgan asked why Obama has faced so much opposition, and “Why is he struggling so much to really fulfill the great flame of ambition and excitement that he was elected on originally in 2009?”

“He made so many promises,” she began. “We thought that he was going to be – I shouldn’t say this at Christmastime, but – the next messiah. And the whole Obamacare, or whatever you want to call it, that Affordable Health Act, it just hasn’t worked for him, and he’s stumbled around on it, and people feel very disappointed because they expected more.”

She added: “It’s very difficult when the expectations for you are very high. You’re almost better off when they are low and then they rise and rise.”

Here’s the video via NewsBusters:

Read more stories from TheBlaze

MSNBC Host’s Radical Idea: ‘Every Non-Incarcerated Adult Citizen Gets a Monthly Check From the Government’

The Question Ted Cruz Reportedly Asked Dem Rep. After Getting an ‘Earful’ During Long Flight to South Africa

This Is How Far Rush Limbaugh Thinks the ‘Republican Establishment’ May Go to ‘Get Rid of the Tea Party’

Geraldo Slams ‘Another Right-Wing Jerk Off Rush Wannabe’ After Losing Syndication

How One U.S. City Went From the ‘City of the Christmas Story’ to Banning a 60-Year Nativity Tradition Altogether

The Dire Warning From British Royalty: Christianity Is Starting ‘to Disappear’ from the Middle East

Sharona Schwartz — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 12:28:26 +0000

Prince Charles warned that Christianity is starting to disappear from the region in which it was born, the Middle East, due to a campaign of persecution by Muslims.

“It seems to me that we cannot ignore the fact that Christians in the Middle East are increasingly being deliberately targeted by fundamentalist Islamist militants,” he said.

Prince Charles visiting a Syrian Orthodox Church in west London (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

The heir to the British throne spoke to religious leaders Tuesday after visiting with Christians from Egypt, Iraq, and Syria who told him how members of their faith have been subject to intimidation, have been forced from their homes and in some cases have been murdered.

In his impassioned plea, Prince Charles discussed his own Christian faith, Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported.

“Christianity was literally born in the Middle East and we must not forget our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters in Christ,” he said, referring to the birthplace of Jesus just days before Christmas is celebrated. “Their church communities link us straight back to the early church as I was reminded by hearing Aramaic, our Lord’s own language spoken and sung just a few hours ago.”

“Yet today the Middle East and North Africa has the lowest concentration of Christians in the world – just four per cent of the population and it is clear that the Christian population has dropped dramatically over the last century and is falling still further,” the British royal said according to quotes reported in the Telegraph.

“We all lose something immensely and irreplaceably precious when such a rich tradition dating back 2,000 years begins to disappear,” he added.

The Prince of Wales characterized the campaign against the Middle East’s Christians as using “intimidation, false accusation and organised persecution.”

Earlier in the day before the interfaith reception at which he delivered his remarks, Prince Charles visited the Egyptian Coptic Church center in Stevenage and the Syriac Orthodox cathedral in London where he met those who faced violence themselves and others whose relatives are in danger, the BBC reported.

“The Coptic Church traces its origins back to the 1st Century when it was founded by the apostle St Mark. The Syriac Orthodox Church says it was established by St Peter who became its first bishop,” the BBC reported.

‘Troubling’: Federal Judge Orders Obama Admin. to Disclose Document It’s Been Trying to Keep Hidden

Jason Howerton — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 04:40:19 +0000

A federal judge Tuesday ordered the disclosure of a government-wide foreign aid directive President Barack Obama signed in 2010 but wanted to keep hidden from the public, Politico reports. The judge called the scope of the government’s argument for “presidential communications privilege” rather “troubling.”

The Department of Justice has argued that the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development was covered by executive privilege, even though the information is “non-classified” and sends directives to agencies not to the president of the United States.

FILE – In this Dec. 4, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the new health care law during a White House Youth Summit, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. Americans who already have health insurance are blaming President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul for their rising premiums and deductibles, and overall 3 in 4 say the rollout of coverage for the uninsured has gone poorly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

“Acting on a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the Center for Effective Government, U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle concluded that the presidential order is not properly within the bounds of the so-called ‘presidential communications privilege,’” Politico’s Josh Gerstein reports.

In her opinion, Huvelle wrote there is “no evidence that the [directive] was intended to be, or has been treated as, a confidential presidential communication.”

The Obama administration has maintained that the document was only intended for those who “need to know,” but the judge argued the order was “distributed far beyond the president’s close advisers and its substance was widely discussed by the president in the media.”

Huvelle also lectured the federal government on its “cavalier attitude” when it comes to public oversight and transparency.

“The government appears to adopt the cavalier attitude that the President should be permitted to convey orders throughout the Executive Branch without public oversight…to engage in what is in effect governance by ‘secret law,’” she wrote.

The Obama administration will now be required by law to make the document available. It’s unclear why the administration has fought to keep the document hidden from the public.

The White House website refers to the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development as the “first of its kind by a U.S. administration.” WhiteHouse.gov also provides a “fact sheet” about the directive here.

Read Huvelle’s entire opinion here.

–

Police Officer Resigns After Fleeing Authorities in Second Car Chase in One Week

Oliver Darcy — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 04:00:42 +0000

An Arizona police officer who led authorities on two police chases in the past week resigned Monday, the Tempe Police Department announced.

“Today Garrett Peterson resigned as a Tempe Police Officer after he was contacted by phone to begin an internal investigation reference his arrest this weekend,” the police department said in a statement. “Garrett has been employed with the Tempe Police Department since May of 2007 and has worked in our Patrol Bureau his entire career as an Officer.”

On Friday, Peterson, 30, was accused by his ex-wife of sending threatening text messages and making threatening phone calls to her and her new husband, according to KTVK-TV. When confronted by authorities, they say he led them on a chase with speeds reaching 120 mph.

He was eventually arrested on multiple charges, including felony endangerment, driving under the influence and threatening and intimidating, but was reportedly released Monday after posting bail.

That same day, Peterson led authorities on yet another chase. This time, however, the disgraced officer crashed head on into a commercial truck, according to Officer Carrick Cook with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

“At this time Garrett has been detained by DPS and is currently in their custody after he led Border Patrol and DPS on a vehicle pursuit on the I-8, near Yuma,” the Tempe Police Department said in their statement.

(H/T: KTVK-TV)

–

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

Harvard Student Accused of Making Campus Bomb Hoax to Get Out of Final Exam

Associated Press — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 03:30:47 +0000

BOSTON (AP) — Bomb threats that led to the evacuations of four Harvard University campus buildings this week were made by a student trying to get out of taking a final exam, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

The student, 20-year-old Eldo Kim, sent emails saying bombs had been placed around campus to Harvard police, two university officials and the president of the Harvard Crimson newspaper, according to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. attorney’s office.

CAMBRIDGE, MA – DECEMBER 16: A police car seals off Quincy Street at Harvard University during a bomb scare December 16, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Police were alerted at roughly nine thirty this morning of possible bombs at four different buildings on the Harvard campus. Darren McCollester/Getty Images

The messages said shrapnel bombs would go off soon in two of four buildings, including one where prosecutors say Kim was supposed to take an exam at 9 a.m. Monday. The buildings, on Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, just outside Boston, were shut down for hours before investigators determined there were no explosives.

Kim, who lives in Cambridge, is to make an initial court appearance Wednesday. It was unknown if he had an attorney.

Investigators from several agencies searched the buildings for hours before determining there were no explosives. One of the buildings was a freshman dormitory; classes are held in the other three.

Harvard said in a statement it was “saddened” by the allegations in the federal complaint but would have no further comment on the ongoing criminal investigation.

An FBI affidavit filed Tuesday says Harvard determined Kim had accessed TOR, a free Internet product that assigns a temporary anonymous Internet protocol address, using the university’s wireless network.

The affidavit says Kim told an agent on Monday night he had acted alone and sent the messages to five or six Harvard email addresses he picked at random.

He said he sent them about half an hour before he was scheduled to take a final in Emerson Hall, one of the buildings threatened, the affidavit says. He said he was in Emerson at 9 a.m. when a fire alarm sounded and he knew his plan had worked, it says.

Kim said he sent the emails from his laptop computer using TOR and Guerrilla Mail, a free Internet application that creates temporary and anonymous email addresses, according to the affidavit.

CAMBRIDGE, MA – DECEMBER 16: A gate sits locked on Quincy Street at Harvard University during a bomb scare December 16, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Police were alerted at roughly nine thirty this morning of possible bombs at four different buildings on the Harvard campus. Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Kim’s LinkedIn profile says he is an undergraduate scholar at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences. The institute’s website says he is a research assistant who has worked for a professor analyzing partisan taunting and also writes for the Harvard International Review and dances as a member of the Harvard Breakers.

The maximum penalties for a bomb hoax are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said.

–

Report: German Chancellor Compares NSA to Communist Stasi During Heated Exchange With Obama

Jason Howerton — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 03:12:04 +0000

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly compared the NSA’s spying tactics to those of the Stasi, a ruthless communist secret police force, during an angry conversation with President Barack Obama.

Furious over reports that the U.S. had listened to her personal mobile phone, Merkel reportedly confronted Obama. “This is like the Stasi,” she said, according to the Guardian.

President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive at the G8 Summit (Photo: AP)

Merkel also told Obama it is clear that the NSA can’t be trusted due to the massive amount of information Edward Snowden was able to leak, the New York Times reports.

Snowden is scheduled to testify on NSA spying to a European parliament inquiry next month. U.S. lawmakers are upset over the decision and are pressuring the EU to cancel the testimony.

Rep. Mike Rodgers (R-Mich.) told the Guardian that inviting Snowden, “who is wanted in the U.S. and has jeopardized the lives of U.S. soldiers,” was irresponsible of the European parliament. When asked about Merkel’s alleged conversation with Obama, Rogers called it a “conversation that may or may not have occurred.”

(H/T: Drudge)

–

PHOTOS: The Luxury $450K a Year Rehab Center Where ‘Affluenza’ Teen Will Stay as Punishment for Killing 4 People in Drunken Crash

Jason Howerton — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 02:45:49 +0000

FORT WORTH, Texas (TheBlaze/AP) — North Texas prosecutors are trying a second time to imprison a teen who was sentenced last week to 10 years’ probation for drunkenly driving his truck into four pedestrians, killing them all.

There has been widespread outrage over the sentencing, which will allow 16-year-old Ethan Couch, who has admitted his guilt, to serve 10 years of probation in a luxury $450,000 a year rehab facility in California. The Daily Mail on Tuesday published a series of photos showing just how comfortably the teen will be living.

Screengrab via the Daily Mail

The luxury rehab center offers its patients horse riding, massages, cooking lessons and state-of-the-art exercise equipment, the Daily Mail reports.

Meanwhile, Tarrant County District Attorney Joe Shannon has asked a juvenile judge to put Couch behind bars on two cases of intoxication assault that he says are still pending before the court, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram ( http://bit.ly/JEXZpn ) reported Tuesday.

“During his recent trial, the 16-year-old admitted his guilt in four cases of intoxication manslaughter and two cases of intoxication assault,” Shannon said in an email to the newspaper. “There has been no verdict formally entered in the two intoxication assault cases. Every case deserves a verdict.”

Two teens riding in the back of Couch’s Ford F-350 pickup in the June wreck suffered critical injuries. According to testimony, one of them, Sergio Molina, is paralyzed and can communicate only by blinking.

District Judge Jean Boyd gave Couch 10 years’ probation last Tuesday after a sentencing hearing in which Couch’s attorneys argued his wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility – an affliction one witness called “affluenza.” Prosecutors had asked for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

A message could not be left with the judge after hours. A message left with a one of Couch’s defense attorneys was not immediately returned.

Couch’s blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit and there were traces of Valium in his system when he lost control of his pickup, plowing into a group of people helping a woman whose car had stalled.

Seven passengers were riding in Couch’s truck. In addition to Molina, Solimon Mohmand suffered numerous broken bones and internal injuries.

Screengrab via the Daily Mail

Defense attorneys had requested a lengthy probationary term at a costly rehabilitation facility in California, promising that Couch’s parents would foot the bill. During sentencing, Boyd said he might not get the kind of intensive therapy in a state-run program that he could receive at the California facility.

If Couch violates the terms of his probation, he could be sent to prison for 10 years.

Under Texas juvenile law, the maximum allowable sentence in Couch’s intoxication assault case would be three years in a Texas Juvenile Justice Department facility; he would be released no later than his 19th birthday.

–

‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Merry Christmas’ — Which Do You Prefer?

Billy Hallowell — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 02:30:43 +0000

The debate over saying “Happy Holidays” versus “Merry Christmas” is seemingly never ending.

While some prefer the former — along with its equally benign counterpart “Seasons Greetings” — others argue that the latter is more pertinent and pointed and that people should simply say it to avoid being so politically correct.

So where, statistically, does the nation fall on this issue? Well, it’s actually quite complicated and it depends on how the question is asked, but the latest poll on the subject might actually surprise those who are wedded to “Merry Christmas.”

Credit: Shutterstock.com

The Public Religion Research Institute released new survey results today, which indicate that more Americans are actually more supportive of the benign and general “Happy Holidays” than the definitive “Merry Christmas” greeting.

According to the research, 49 percent of Americans believe that stores and businesses should use the more general phraseology to be respectful of peoples’ diverse faiths, whereas 43 percent disagree with this sentiment.

An additional eight percent didn’t know or refused to answer the question.

Respondents were asked, “Do you think stores and businesses should greet their customers with ‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Seasons Greetings’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ out of respect for people of different faiths, or not.”

Credit: Public Opinion

Support for “happy holidays” is up five percentage points when compared to 2010, when 44 percent of respondents answered the same way. In that year, 49 percent expressed more support for the traditional “merry Christmas” greeting.

Past polls have found that changing the wording of the question has an impact on the results. The Pew Research Center explained this phenomenon last year when it asked for Americans’ preferences on the “Happy Holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas” debate:

When the question is presented as a choice between “Merry Christmas” and the less religious terms, 57% pick “Merry Christmas” and 27% select the less religious terms. (In this instance, even without “it doesn’t matter” presented as an option, 15% volunteer that they don’t have a preference.)

But when “it doesn’t matter” is added as an option, it draws roughly the same amount of support as “Merry Christmas”; 42% say they prefer “Merry Christmas,” 12% prefer the less religious terms and 46% say it doesn’t matter. There has been almost no change since 2005, when we asked the same question.

So, there you have it. It’s complicated. We thought we’d ask you where you stand on the issue as well, so take the poll, below:

https://poutsch.com/question/1035939

–

Featured image via ShutterStock.com

Guide Dog Shows Just How Loyal He Is After His Blind Owner Falls in Front of Oncoming Train

Associated Press — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 02:15:11 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Gallant guide dog Orlando was just doing his duty.

Cecil Williams smiles as he pets his guide dog Orlando in his hospital bed following a fall onto subway tracks from the platform at 145th Street, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013, in New York. The blind 61-year-old Williams says he fainted while holding onto his black labrador who tried to save him from falling. Both escaped without serious injury. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The black Lab bravely leapt on to the tracks at a Manhattan subway platform Tuesday after his blind owner lost consciousness and tumbled in front of an oncoming train.

Cecil Williams, 61, and Orlando both escaped serious injury when the train passed over top of them – a miraculous end to a harrowing ordeal that began when Williams began to feel faint on his way to the dentist.

“He tried to hold me up,” the emotional Williams told The Associated Press from his hospital bed, his voice breaking at times.

Witnesses said Orlando began barking frantically and tried to stop Williams from falling from the platform. Matthew Martin told the New York Post that Orlando jumped down and tried to rouse Williams even as a train approached.

“He was kissing him, trying to get him to move,” Martin said.

Witnesses called for help and the train’s motorman slowed his approach as Williams and Orlando lie in the trench between the rails.

“The dog saved my life,” Williams said.

As Williams regained consciousness, he said he heard someone telling him to be still. Emergency workers put him on a stretcher and pulled him from the subway, and made sure Orlando was not badly injured.

“I’m feeling amazed,” Williams said. “I feel that God, the powers that be, have something in store for me. They didn’t take me away this time. I’m here for a reason.”

Williams was taken to a hospital where he is expected to recover, with Orlando at his bedside. Williams, a large bandage on his head, said he is not sure why he lost consciousness, but he is on insulin and other medications.

Orlando, described by Williams as serious but laid-back, was making new friends at the hospital. He will be rewarded with some kind of special treat, Williams said, along with plenty of affection and scratches behind the ears.

“(He) gets me around and saves my life on a daily basis,” Williams said.

Williams, of Brooklyn, has been blind since 1995, and Orlando is his second dog. The lab will be 11 on Jan. 5, and will be retiring soon, Williams said. His medical benefits will cover a new guide dog but won’t pay for a non-working dog, so he’ll be looking for a good home for Orlando.

If he had the money, Williams said, “I would definitely keep him.”

–

Obama Seemingly Sends Putin a Clear, Defiant Message With Picks for U.S. Olympic Delegation

Associated Press — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 02:05:51 +0000

President Barack Obama sent Russia a clear message about its treatment of gays and lesbians with who he is – and isn’t – sending to represent the United States at the Sochi Olympics.

Billie Jean King will be one of two openly gay athletes in the U.S. delegation for the opening and closing ceremonies, Obama announced Tuesday. For the first time since 2000, however, the U.S. will not send a president, former president, first lady or vice president to the Games.

President Barack Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Monday, June 17, 2013. Obama and Putin discussed the ongoing conflict in Syria during their bilateral meeting. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Russia has come under fierce criticism for passing national laws banning “gay propaganda.” Though the White House did not specifically address the Russian laws in making its announcement, spokesman Shin Inouye said the delegation “represents the diversity that is the United States” and that Obama “knows they will showcase to the world the best of America – diversity, determination and teamwork.”

The White House said Obama’s schedule will not permit him to attend the Games.

“It’s a positive sign to see openly gay representatives in the delegation,” said Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, which recently sent a letter urging Obama to include gays and lesbians in the delegation. “Hopefully it sends a message to the Russian people and the rest of the world that the United States values the civil and human rights of LGBT people.”

King said she was “deeply honored” to be named to the delegation.

“I am equally proud to stand with the members of the LGBT community in support of all athletes who will be competing in Sochi and I hope these Olympic Games will indeed be a watershed moment for the universal acceptance of all people,” said King, who will attend the opening ceremony.

FILE – In this June 4, 2007, file photo, tennis champion Billie Jean King is introduced during a town hall conversation hosted by the group Women for Hillary in New York. The White House says King and U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul will join the opening ceremony delegation. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

Hockey player Caitlin Cahow is the other openly gay representative to the delegation. She’ll attend the closing ceremony.

The U.S. Olympic Committee made no comment about the sexual orientation of the delegation. In a nod to its disapproval of the law, however, the USOC recently revised its non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation.

France and Germany are among the other countries who will not send their presidents to Sochi for the Games.

Earlier this year, Obama rejected the idea of a U.S. boycott of the Olympics despite a number of differences with Russia, including the anti-gay law.

This move, however, sends a strong signal: In 2010, Vice President Joe Biden led the delegation, and in 2012, first lady Michelle Obama held the honor.

This year’s group is led by former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Others in the delegation include U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, figure skater Brian Boitano and presidential adviser Rob Nabors.

King, the iconic tennis player, might be the most recognizable face in the group.

She’s a 39-time Grand Slam title winner (singles, doubles and mixed), a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and one of the most prominent advocates of equality for women in sports and society over the past several decades.

She’ll attend the Olympics in a country that is creating tension for several key players because of the laws, including the International Olympic Committee, which awarded the Games to Russia.

Earlier this month, IOC President Thomas Bach said Russia would set up public protest zones in Sochi for “people who want to express their opinion or want to demonstrate for or against something.”

Meanwhile, the IOC approved a letter going out to athletes reminding them to refrain from protests or political gestures during the Sochi Games – reiterating Rule 50 of the Olympic charter, which forbids demonstrations on Olympic grounds.

Bach had previously said he’d received assurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin that gays will not be discriminated against in Sochi. But the Russian law has raised questions about what could happen to athletes who wear pins or badges or carry flags supporting gay rights.

Earlier this fall, skier Bode Miller was one of the few American athletes to speak out against the Russian law, calling it “absolutely embarrassing.”

–

Yet Another Horrific Execution Occurs in Egypt at the Hands of the Muslim Brotherhood

Erica Ritz — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 02:00:07 +0000

News out of Egypt may be falling from the headlines after the coup that forced the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi in July, but the country has far from stabilized.

On Monday, according to the state-run al-Ahram newspaper, Muslim Brotherhood supporters killed a taxi driver by slitting his throat before setting his car on fire.

The taxi driver – identified as both Mohamed Othman and Mohammad Badr depending on the source – was accused of striking a female protester with his car after the crowd would not let him pass. The woman is in critical condition, according to a pro-Brotherhood Facebook page called “Al-Azhar University in Mansoura.”

The coroner’s report, according to Al Ahram, said the taxi driver had a deep stab wound to the chest in addition to others on his neck and back.

Egyptian students of al-Azhar University who support the Muslim Brotherhood raise their hands showing the four-finger sign, called Rabaa AFP/AFP/Getty Images

The driver’s father condemned the Muslim Brotherhood in an interview with Al Arabiya News, calling them “infidels” who know nothing about religion. The father also said he thinks his son was attacked because of an image of Egypt’s army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi displayed on his car.

Security forces are investigating the murder, and currently have at least nine suspects.

Thousands attended the taxi driver’s funeral on Tuesday, reportedly calling for retribution against the Muslim Brotherhood.

As the BBC notes, security has all but disintegrated in Egypt in the years since the so-called “Arab Spring” swept the country’s longtime leader Hosni Mubarak from power. During the brief term of his successor, Mohammed Morsi, there were a number of public executions and increased instability.

In the wake of the coup, protests, clashes and trials of Islamists have become a daily occurrence in Egypt, sparking cycles of violence mainly between security forces and Morsi supporters demanding the reinstatement of the man they consider the legitimate president.

Egypt’s security forces clashed with supporters of the former Islamist president at several universities across the country on Tuesday, as an explosive device detonated in a residential area of the capital but caused no injuries or damage.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

–

Other Must-Read Stories:

Read more stories from TheBlaze

MSNBC Host’s Radical Idea: ‘Every Non-Incarcerated Adult Citizen Gets a Monthly Check From the Government’

The Question Ted Cruz Reportedly Asked Dem Rep. After Getting an ‘Earful’ During Long Flight to South Africa

This Is How Far Rush Limbaugh Thinks the ‘Republican Establishment’ May Go to ‘Get Rid of the Tea Party’

Geraldo Slams ‘Another Right-Wing Jerk Off Rush Wannabe’ After Losing Syndication

How One U.S. City Went From the ‘City of the Christmas Story’ to Banning a 60-Year Nativity Tradition Altogether

A Substitute Teacher Has Been Fired and a Principal Is Under Scrutiny After Bizarre Situation Allegedly Got Out of Control

Jason Howerton — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 01:22:00 +0000

A substitute teacher in Flint, Mich., has been fired and a school principal is under scrutiny after reports of out of control mouth-taping emerged. The substitute teacher is accused of putting tape over a second-grader’s mouth, while the principal allegedly put tape over the substitute teacher’s mouth in response to the initial claim.

No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the alleged incidents that reportedly occurred on Dec. 3 at Brownell STEM Academy, however, the Flint School Board is still investigating.

shutterstock.com

MLive.com has more details on the bizarre case:

The former substitute teacher filed a police report [on Dec. 11] accusing the principal of assault, saying in the report that the principal took tape from a student’s hand and “aggressively placed it on the mouth of (the substitute teacher) causing laceration to his upper lip.” Flint Police Chief James Tolbert confirmed the report was filed against Brownell Principal Valeria Shepard, who could not be reached for comment.

Tolbert said Tuesday, Dec. 17, that there was not sufficient evidence to seek charges against Shepard after a police investigation. He said there was not an investigation of the substitute teacher because no complaint was filed against him.

Watkins alleged in the email that the principal taped the substitute teacher’s mouth after the substitute teacher taped the mouth of a student. He said the substitute “since has been fired from the district,” according to the email supplied to The Journal by school board member David Davenport.

Interim Superintendent Larry Watkins said the school board has contacted a law firm and intends to “take the appropriate disciplinary action regarding the principal’s involvement.”

Both mouth-taping incidents occurred inside a second-grade classroom, according to MLive.com.

Flint School Board member David Davenport said he doesn’t think the district should file a police report against the substitute teacher. Flint schools spokesman Robert Campbell said the incidents are a personnel matter and are being investigated.

–

Glenn Beck Fights Back Tears in Moving Tribute to a Dying Friend

Erica Ritz — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:56:21 +0000

Glenn Beck on Tuesday spoke with raw emotion about his good friend Pastor Ken Hutcherson, who is dying of cancer and in his last days.

“It’s been an honor. He’s made me a better man in the short time that I’ve known him,” Beck said, holding back tears.

Beck has been so inspired and moved by “Hutch,” as he calls him, that he even made a television show about the man’s life and how he overcame a future of bitterness and racism after finding God.

Pastor Ken Hutcherson speaks on TheBlaze TV. (Photo: TheBlaze TV)

“I prayed that we had more time, because I really felt that we failed there,” Beck said. “It wasn’t until halfway through that I really realized … (It’s) for his children. How much would you pay to have your father or your grandfather – pull it off the shelf and be able to see what they said to you?”

“Seeing that his time is now up, I think that’s the only reason why we were supposed to do it,” Beck continued. “And that is the way the Lord works. He doesn’t care about cost; he doesn’t care about business; he doesn’t care about anything. He cares about individuals. And he has used us to comfort his good servant.”

Beck said that when he spoke to Hutch’s wife, she told him: “You don’t know what that peace of mind that has given him, that his children have that … It was a profound gift.”

Beck recalled his fondest memories with Hutch, from the time they met for a television show and Hutch asked that they open the show with a prayer, to the pastor standing behind Beck at one of Beck’s speeches and loudly inserting his own comments like, “Oh, he’s not going there…”

“The lesson of the day is,” Beck concluded, pausing to fight back his tears, “do today what you’re supposed to do today. Don’t put it off until tomorrow.”

“I hope that he will hang on … (so) that I can just say how much he means to me one last time,” Beck added.

Watch the entire, moving clip below:

Complimentary Clip from TheBlaze TV

The full episode of The Glenn Beck Program, along with many other live streaming shows and thousands of hours of on-demand content, is available on just about any digital device. Get it all with a FREE TRIAL.

–

Other Must-Read Stories:

Read more stories from TheBlaze

MSNBC Host’s Radical Idea: ‘Every Non-Incarcerated Adult Citizen Gets a Monthly Check From the Government’

The Question Ted Cruz Reportedly Asked Dem Rep. After Getting an ‘Earful’ During Long Flight to South Africa

This Is How Far Rush Limbaugh Thinks the ‘Republican Establishment’ May Go to ‘Get Rid of the Tea Party’

Geraldo Slams ‘Another Right-Wing Jerk Off Rush Wannabe’ After Losing Syndication

How One U.S. City Went From the ‘City of the Christmas Story’ to Banning a 60-Year Nativity Tradition Altogether

Here’s Why Some Gay Couples in Illinois Can Legally Wed Months Before the State’s Marriage Law Takes Effect

Billy Hallowell — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:30:35 +0000

Illinois last month became the 16th state to officially legalize same-sex marriage, with nuptials officially set to begin in June 2014. But for gays and lesbians who are terminally ill and may not be around next year to benefit from the new law, there’s an exception.

If one partner has a life-threatening illness, couples will be able to get married starting Monday, so long as they have a note from a doctor indicating that one of them is terminally ill.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman issued the final ruling, which impacts anyone living in the state starting Monday, so long as licenses are issued through the Cook County clerk’s office, the Associated Press reported.

Coleman’s ruling was made on a class-action lawsuit which was brought by four couples seeking to marry right away.

One of those couples, Elvie Jordan and Challis Gibbs, is facing a situation in which Gibbs, who has cancer, may not live until June.

“When I die, I want Elvie to be able to say, ‘I lost my wife,’” Gibbs is quoted as saying in a legal complaint. “I don’t want her to have to say, ‘I lost my civil union partner.’”

This isn’t the first time of late that a judge has ruled in favor of couples with a sick spouse gaining the right to marry before the law takes effect, though Coleman’s ruling will remove the need for couples to seek a judge’s order before gaining marriage rights.

“This Court can conceive of no reason why the public interest would be disserved by allowing a few couples facing terminal illness to wed a few months earlier than the timeline would currently allow,” Coleman wrote in the decision.

She added, “Equally compelling are the intangible personal and emotional benefits that the dignity of equal and official marriage status confers.”

In this Nov. 27, 2013 file photo, Vernita Gray, left, and Patricia Ewert holding their Illinois marriage license, after they were married in the first gay marriage in Illinois at their home in Chicago. (AP/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

As The Chicago Sun-Times reported, Vernita Gray, 64, and Patricia Ewert, 65, were the first gay couple in Illinois to marry after a judge allowed them to get a license last month following the revelation that Gray has terminal brain tumors and breast cancer.

–

The Secret Google Karaoke Tool That Can Help With Your Christmas Caroling

Liz Klimas — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:00:59 +0000

It’s a dreaded moment for any Christmas caroler — you’ve forgotten the words and are forced to mumble along with the other singers until you reach the well-known refrain again.

But thanks to a semi-secret Google Android tool, you won’t have to worry about this again.

All you have to do, according to Droid Life, is open Google Now’s search, hit the microphone and say, “let’s go caroling.”

Google will then bring up a list of popular caroling songs. It will not only provide the lyrics for your chosen song but will also play musical accompaniment — a boon for those who aren’t confident enough in their a capella skills.

Let’s go caroling. (Image source: Droid Life)

Phandroid put together a video demo of the tool:

Although Google’s Easter egg has been found out, there are other downloadable apps on the Google Play store and the Apple app store to keep your caroling on key.

(H/T: Reddit)

–

First-of-Its-Kind Experiment Reveals Patients in Vegetative State Might Have Emotional Connection to Familiar Faces

Liz Klimas — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:30:57 +0000

Research about patients thought to be in vegetative states with questionable levels of consciousness has been finding that they might be more aware than previously thought. A new study from Tel Aviv University is no different.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Researchers from the university and Loewenstein Hospital evaluated patients in vegetative states who were awake but exhibited “no signs of awareness.”

The team showed four patients in such a state — compared to 13 people who were healthy controls — pictures of people they knew and others who were strangers. They also verbally asked them to imagine someone they knew.

Monitoring their brain activity, the researchers found those in a vegetative state showed emotional processing in the brain, “suggesting the ability for covert emotional awareness of self and the environment in VS patients,” the study published in the journal PLOS One earlier this year stated.

“We showed that patients in a vegetative state can react differently to different stimuli in the environment depending on their emotional value,” said Dr. Haggai Sharon with Tel Aviv University’s Functional Brain Center, according to American Friends of Tel Aviv University. “It’s not a generic thing; it’s personal and autobiographical. We engaged the person, the individual, inside the patient.”

Two patients in a vegetative state eventually recovered, according to the journal, and in the study had showed the strongest connectivity between recognition and the emotional side of the brain.

“This experiment, a first of its kind, demonstrates that some vegetative patients may not only possess emotional awareness of the environment but also experience emotional awareness driven by internal processes, such as images,” Sharon said.

(H/T: Reddit, Wired)

–

Gunman Kills Himself, 1 Other at Reno Hospital

Associated Press — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:12:52 +0000

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a hospital campus in Reno on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding two others before turning the weapon on himself.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety said the wounded victims were in surgery and one of them is a doctor.

Police initially said the gunman shot four people before killing himself, but they later said he wounded two people and killed another before committing suicide.

“We have two people confirmed deceased in the building, two others injured,” said Reno Police Deputy Police Chief Tom Robison.

Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Gail Powell said the wounded doctor is a woman but she had no more information about the identity of the victims or the gunman, the type of weapon or a motive for the attack. She said the shooting happened at the Center for Advanced Medicine and Neurology of Nevada.

Renown Regional Medical Center was put on lockdown amid the chaos of the shooting as law enforcement rushed to the scene and victims were treated by doctors on the hospital campus. More than three dozen police cars, including SWAT team vehicles, surrounded the sprawling medical complex and closed off a three-block area near downtown Reno.

State Sen. Debbie Smith said she was at Renown for an appointment and was trying to leave a nearby building around 2:45 p.m. when the shooting occurred.

“I encountered some SWAT team guys, they said nobody was leaving,” she said. “A police officer was at the door and said I couldn’t go out there.”

Gov. Brian Sandoval said on Twitter that he and his staff were monitoring the situation and his thoughts and prayers were with those affected by the tragedy.

Renown Regional Medical Center is the largest hospital in northern Nevada.

–

‘Dr. Doom’ Has a Prediction About the Fed’s Easy Money Policies – and It’s Not Good

Guest Post — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:00:11 +0000

[Editor’s note: The following is a crosspost by Alex Rosenberg that originally appeared on CNBC.com]:

When the Federal Reserve announces its next move on Wednesday, some expect it to reduce its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program, targeting an eventual end to quantitative easing in late 2014. Others expect the Fed to begin to reduce the program in early 2014, or to finish it off by 2015.

But Marc Faber, known more commonly as “Dr. Doom,” has a different take altogether .

“The Fed will never end QE for good,” the editor and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Futures Now.” “They will continue because these programs, once they’re introduced, usually keep on going.”

The Fed will announce its decision at 12:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will follow that up with a 2:30 p.m. news conference. Expectations for the meeting are mixed, but more that 50 percent of Wall Streeters expect the Fed to taper its QE program in either December or January, according to the CNBC Fed Survey. As economic data have improved, many investors are guessing that the Fed no longer considers QE to be as vital as before.

But Faber said the good times cannot last.

“The economic recovery, or so-called recovery, by June of next year, will be in the fifth year of the recovery,” Faber said. “So at some stage the economy will weaken again, and at that point, the Fed will argue, ‘Well, we haven’t done enough, we have to do more.’”

The noted bear has little admiration for the economists at the Federal Reserve.

“The Federal Reserve—all of them—could be sitting on a barrel of dynamite, and then pouring gasoline on top of it, and then light a cigar with matches, throw the match into the gasoline, and then not notice that there is any danger,” Faber said. “That is the state of mind of the professors at the Fed, who never worked a single [day] in business.”

And while Faber actually believes that a reduction in QE could happen, he wouldn’t view it as a true tapering, as he says it will be a largely meaningless, one-time move that will eventually be reversed as the economy worsens.

“They may do some cosmetic adjustments, but in my view, within a few years, the asset purchases will be substantially higher than they are today,” Faber said.

–

RELATED:

Read more stories from TheBlaze

MSNBC Host’s Radical Idea: ‘Every Non-Incarcerated Adult Citizen Gets a Monthly Check From the Government’

The Question Ted Cruz Reportedly Asked Dem Rep. After Getting an ‘Earful’ During Long Flight to South Africa

This Is How Far Rush Limbaugh Thinks the ‘Republican Establishment’ May Go to ‘Get Rid of the Tea Party’

Geraldo Slams ‘Another Right-Wing Jerk Off Rush Wannabe’ After Losing Syndication

How One U.S. City Went From the ‘City of the Christmas Story’ to Banning a 60-Year Nativity Tradition Altogether

D.C. Council Passes Bill to Increase City’s Minimum Wage to $11.50 an Hour

Becket Adams — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 22:45:23 +0000

Washington’s city council voted Tuesday to increase the District’s minimum wage by 40 Percent to $11.50 an hour, up from its current rate of $8.25 an hour.

DC Mayor Vincent Gray (Getty Images)

The bill will now head to the desk of Democratic Mayor Vincent Gray.

Gray has in the past said he disagrees with efforts to increase the minimum wage exponentially. However, the fact that he has said he supports increasing the rate to at least $10 an hour and the likelihood a united city council will overrule any veto from his desk makes it likely Gray will sign off on the law.

The council’s vote comes after months of lobbying by organized labor to have the city block Walmart from opening stores in the District.

Groups, including the Service Employees International Union-backed “OUR DC,” pushed to have the city council pass a so-called “living wage” that would have forced big box retailers operating in spaces of 75,000 feet or more to pay their employees at least $12.50 an hour. The effort would have only affected retailers like Walmart while smaller businesses would have been exempt.

Walmart responded by threatening to abandon its plans to open stores in the District. Fearing what a loss of promised jobs and revenues would look like, Mayor Gray vetoed the “living wage” law in September.

The union-led effort to impose a massive wage hike on the non-unionized Walmart failed, and the retailer recently opened two locations in downtown D.C.

However, in order to keep Walmart critics and union supporters happy, D.C. officials said they would support an across the board increase in the District’s minimum wage rate — which is precisely what the council passed on Tuesday.

The council is united against Gray, according to a Washington Examiner report, meaning any pushback from his office will most likely be “moot.”

The proposed wage increase will be phased in over a two-year period, the report adds.

Unlike the “living wage” law proposed earlier, Walmart barely weighed in on the council’s latest effort to increase the District’s minimum wage. The retailer said its opposition to the ”living wage” law was due to the discriminatory nature of bill (remember, smaller retailers would have been exempt from the the wage hikes).

“Ironically, the new increase will likely benefit the retailer since its D.C. competitors may not be as able to pay the higher wage,” the Washington Examiner notes.

As of October 2013, the unemployment rate in Washington, D.C., was 8.3 percent.

–

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

MSNBC Host’s Radical Idea: ‘Every Non-Incarcerated Adult Citizen Gets a Monthly Check From the Government’

Jason Howerton — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 22:26:27 +0000

On Tuesday’s edition of MSNBC’s “The Cycle,” co-host Krystal Ball suggested that the United States implement a minimum guaranteed income for every “non-incarcerated adult citizen.” The enormous entitlement program would “eliminate poverty” completely, Ball claimed.

Referencing protests occurring across the globe, the MSNBC host made her pitch for a “monthly minimum income” or a “mincome.” The free government money would not only solve poverty, but it would not create deincentives to work, she claimed.

“The basic concept is simple,” she said. “Every non-incarcerated adult citizen gets a monthly check from the government. Other safety net programs are jettisoned to pay for the mincome, and poverty is eliminated.”

(MSNBC)

“Now I know what you’re thinking: ‘This is some crazy left-wing utopian idea that only Marxists like Krystal Ball and Pope Francis could possibly support,’” Ball continued. She then argued that the idea “has found support on the right,” citing Reason’s Matthew Freeney who suggested giving the poor “cash.”

Ball went on to cite a study about a Canadian town in the 1970s that reportedly implemented a minimum income and “not only was poverty eliminated, but the disincentives to work has a minimal effect on productivity.”

“We tend to think of poverty, homelessness, despair as inevitable but mincome makes you realize — in a country as rich as ours — we allow those outcomes as a choice. We could decide to eliminate poverty and it wouldn’t even take a Christmas miracle,” Ball said.

Watch the segment via MSNBC below:

(H/T: Mediaite)

–

These Two Obama Headaches Dominated President’s Meeting With Tech CEOs

Fred Lucas — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 22:20:46 +0000

Tech CEOs angry about the National Security Agency spying scandal met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House Tuesday, one day after a federal judge ruled the spying is likely unconstitutional.

The meeting with the heads of companies including Apple, Yahoo!, Twitter and Google also covered the botched rollout of the Obamacare website, the same day that the Obama administration announced it had hired former Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene to take over healthcare.gov and seek to build improvements.

President Barack Obama meets with technology executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington,Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. From left are, Mark Pincus, of Zynga and Marissa Mayer of Yahoo!, and Obama. (AP/ Evan Vucci)

The rollout of Obamacare along with the NSA’s massive data gathering of phone and email interactions revealed by government contractor-turned fugitive Edward Snowden have been two of the biggest headaches for much of Obama’s first year of his second term.

The NSA scandal faded over the last two months while Obamacare’s problems have dominated headlines. However, the NSA matter surged to leading headlines as U.S. District Judge Richard Leon for the District of Columbia ruled it violated the Fourth Amendment.

“The president was hoping to hear directly from the CEOs of these companies about their concerns and also the opportunity to explain both how these [surveillance] programs are viewed by him and the fact that he is engaging in the kind of comprehensive review of our intelligence gathering,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.

On Dec. 9, the heads of AOL, Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo signed a letter asking the government to change its surveillance policy regarding the NSA’s access to phone and Internet data of their customers. The letter called for the United States to “ensure that government surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent and subject to independent oversight.”

“The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the state and away from the rights of the individual—rights that are enshrined in our Constitution. This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It’s time for change,” the letter said. “For our part, we are focused on keeping users’ data secure deploying the latest encryption technology to prevent unauthorized surveillance on our networks, and by pushing back on government requests to ensure that they are legal and reasonable in scope.”

The companies began a website ReformGovernmentSurveillance.com.

The CEOs attending the White House meeting in the Roosevelt room were Tim Cook of Apple; Dick Costolo of Twitter; Chad Dickerson of Etsy; Reed Hastings of Netflix; Drew Houston of Dropbox; Marissa Mayer of Yahoo!; Burke Norton of Salesforce; Mark Pincus of Zynga; Shervin Pishevar of Sherpa Global; Brian Roberts of Comcast. Eric Schmidt of Google; and Randall Stephenson of AT&T.

Other executives attending were Erika Rottenberg, vice president of LinkedIn; Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook; and Brad Smith, executive vice president of Microsoft.

“The absolute value that the NSA and other agencies in our intelligence community provide in keeping the American people and our allies safe and doing so in a way that is legal and constitutional,” Carey said Tuesday. “He also has made clear that because of the remarkable advancements in technology that the United States has both led the way in and take advantage of, as have other countries, we need to look at our activities through the lens of making sure we’re doing what we should to keep ourselves safe but not just what we can because we have the technological capacity to do it. And I think that is the sort of lay framework in which the president has been approaching this review.”

–

Viral Video: This Time, an Airport Security Agent Is Making Headlines for All the Right Reasons

Jason Howerton — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 21:45:49 +0000

A quick-thinking airport security agent in Poland reportedly cleared about 16 feet to make a diving catch of a baby who had fallen from a table. The amazing catch occurred in November, but has reportedly gone viral overnight.

Grzegorz Paczko told Poland’s TVN24 that the baby was given to the mother and is OK.

Watch the heroic and seriously incredible catch via YouTube:

(H/T: BuzzFeed)

–

State Law Dictates Calif. Teen Should Be Taken Off Life Support – Overruling Wishes of Her Family

Jason Howerton — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 21:30:01 +0000

A California teenager who was determined to be brain dead following a routine procedure to remove her tonsils is set to be taken off life support because she has been declared legally dead under state law. The decision is not what the girl’s parents want, but their parental discretion has reportedly been overruled by the state.

Jahi McMath, 13, reportedly went into cardiac arrest while undergoing an operation to cure her sleep apnea earlier this month at Children’s Hospital Oakland. The teen reportedly suffered “an enormous amount of bleeding” and complications that continued in the days following the normally simple procedure.

Screengrab via the Daily Mail

KTVU-TV reported on Monday that the head of the hospital’s pediatrics department told the parents that their daughter had been declared dead under state law and therefore would be pulled from life support.

Omari Sealey, the girl’s uncle, said the family “didn’t want her to be removed from life support but the decision is out of our hands because it’s been declared a legal death.”

“Though the Alameda County Coroner reportedly wanted to pick up McMath’s body on Monday, hospital officials told her family that her life support would not be pulled until the next day so they could have more time with her,” KTVU-TV reports.

Dr. David Durand, the chief of Children’s pediatric department, said in a statement that the hospital is reviewing the case closely and offered his condolences to the family during “this extremely difficult time.”

Screengrab via the Daily Mail

In order for a person to be declared brain dead under California law, two different doctors doing two different sets of tests at least 3 hours apart must come to the same conclusion.

Additional details of McMath’s case were not immediately available because the family has asked the hospital not to release details to the media.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald Helps Shame CNN Into Deleting This Tweet

Jason Howerton — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 21:10:43 +0000

Journalist Glenn Greenwald upbraided CNN over a tweet it later deleted that said admitted National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was offering to “spy on the US & help Brazil investigate NSA surveillance.”

Moments after the tweet was sent, Greenwald blasted the network for the “reckless” headline.

“Dear CNN: even for you, this is so remarkably reckless and false that it’s shocking,” he wrote.

Image source: Mediaite

Dear CNN: even for you, this is so remarkably reckless and false that it's shocking https://t.co/p5u3EkOvKN

about 23 hours ago via webReply RetweetFavorite

@ggreenwald

Glenn Greenwald

CNN ultimately deleted the original tweet and replaced it with a more accurate headline: “#NSA leaker Edward Snowden is offering to help investigate U.S. surveillance of Brazilian citizens.”

Greenwald, who broke the initial story about NSA snooping with Snowden’s leaks, said CNN “did the right thing” by deleting the first tweet. The news network later admitted it had sent an “erroneous tweet” and thanked followers for the “feedback.”

We deleted an earlier and erroneous tweet on this topic. We regret the error and thank our followers for the feedback.

about 22 hours ago via webReply RetweetFavorite

@CNN

CNN

“CNN’s story about Snowden’s open letter to the people of Brazil makes no similar intimations that the exiled former NSA contractor had offered to “spy” on the U.S,” Mediaite’s Matt Wilstein noted. “In a statement on the matter, Greenwald said Snowden’s letter is “being wildly misreported” and does not represent a new request for asylum.”

Read CNN’s report on Snowden here.

–

‘We Sing of Christ’: Multi-Faith Ensemble Aims to Bring ‘God Back Into Concert Halls’

Billy Hallowell — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 20:35:44 +0000

The Millennial Choirs & Orchestras is a unique music ensemble with multiple locations around the country that collectively works to encourage and educate participants — and the public — by exposing society to “sacred and classical music.”

The organization’s work will be showcased in “The Performance,” a special two-part program airing Tuesday and Wednesday on TheBlaze TV at 8 p.m. ET.

Through the show, viewers will get a first-hand look at how music directors Brett and Brandon Stewart transform 800 ordinary vocalists and musicians into a large, multi-faith choir.

From auditions and rehearsals to the final performance, viewers will get to see the entire process unfold.

For those with an interest in faith and patriotism, the Millennial Choirs & Orchestras has plenty to offer. According to the group’s website, its primary purpose is “to fulfill the need for more refined music education in our communities, with a focus on God and country.”

Brett Stewart told TheBlaze that secularism has pushed God out of the public sphere and that the Millennial Choirs & Orchestras is trying to bring the Lord back into concert halls.

“Exerting our right of free exercise to worship, we are bringing God back into concert halls and back into the hearts and lives of the masses by performing the music of the masters that is innately worshipful,” he said. “Our deep Christian faith is found in every aspect of MCO. We sing of Christ, we pray in rehearsals, and we recognize the spirit in the entire process.”

Stewart said most participants are from a Judeo-Christian background, though people of any faith are invited to be a part of the Millennial Choirs & Orchestras. He even said that there have been some atheist and non-religious participants in the past.

“The feelings that result from the uplifting music are contagious regardless of the text, but for those who believe the experience is doubly rewarding,” he added.

See a sneak peek of ‘The Performance’ from TheBlaze TV:

With a focus on youth, the group believes it’s important to uphold faith-based values through its music.

“MCO provides an invaluable learning environment whereby children, youth, and adults may associate and develop talents with those who maintain upstanding Christian values, while instilling in its participants a deep love for sacred and classical music,” the group states on its website.

Stewart expanded upon the Millennial Choirs & Orchestra’s focus on young people, noting that the group’s motto is “All ages. All faiths. One voice.” Rather than diminishing the size of the ensemble, he said that the group believes wholeheartedly that there is power and strength in numbers.

Tune in Tuesday night to TheBlaze TV to watch “The Performance.”

–

Obama Administration Concedes, Hands Obamacare Site to Private Sector for Fixes

Becket Adams — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 20:27:09 +0000

After months of confusion and an unending stream of questions from the press, the White House announced Tuesday it would hand the error-plagued Obamacare website over to former Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene to fix.

Former Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene has been tapped to lead efforts to fix healthcare.gov (AP)

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made the official announcement Tuesday.

“Kurt has proven expertise in heading large, complex technology teams and in product development,” Sebelius said in a blog post. “He will be a tremendous asset in our work.”

The former tech executive, who is married to Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Washington state Democrat, is expected to head the effort to fix the Obamacare website for at least the first six months of 2014, Politico reported.

“I’ve long said that we need more people to enter public service who are focused on delivering results,” Rep. DelBene said in a statement. “Kurt has demonstrated throughout his career that he is about results, and his decision to join the administration will be extremely valuable to their efforts to improve the website.”

DelBene, who will replace White House adviser Jeffrey Zients, is expected to use his experience as a tech leader to get the healthcare.gov website up and running.

Zients’ exit comes after he was initially brought in to manage the site after its disastrous launch on Oct 1. For his part, the White House adviser says he did what he was asked to do that he met his goal of having the site work smoothly “for the majority of users.”

Zients will likely be tapped to head the National Economic Council in 2014.

Dec. 23 is the deadline to enroll for coverage effective Jan. 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

–

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

This Family’s Rap Video Puts All Christmas Cards to Shame

Liz Klimas — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 20:05:40 +0000

Instead of penning a typical family newsletter and sticking it into dozens of Christmas cards, a North Carolina family donned red and green pajamas and filmed a rap video, detailing what happened in 2013 not only to their family and friends, but to the whole Internet world.

Image source: YouTube

The Holderness family’s “#Xmas Jammies” is, as dad Penn Holderness sang in the video, “2013 in review, video Christmas card part II.”

“Check it out, we just brought a Prius V and it matches these (the jammies) perfectly,” the song, to the tune of Will Smith’s “I’m going to Miami” went.

Image source: YouTube

Lola, their daughter, we learn, participated in a kiddie triathlon, “she can count to 100 in Chinese and can read books as thick as these.”

Image source: YouTube

Penn Charles, their son, is in a superhero phase, he played a Native American in the school play and took a hip hop class

Image source: YouTube

Kim (a.k.a. mom) got a part in “Iron Man 3″ and she ran an actual Iron Man race.

And what about Penn Sr.?

“There’s room for child number three,” he rapped, pointing to a two-seat stroller. “But I can’t, I just had a vasectomy.”

Image source: YouTube

“Well I think that maybe we should end with a multiple choice of what happened to Penn,” mom rapped.

“A) Ran the same race as me. B) Had a tiny role in ‘Iron Man 3′ … C) Quiz the governor about his first term, D) Hurt his knee while doing the worm. E) Take up CrossFit and fall in love. Well, the answer is F) all of the above,” she rapped. “But the biggest thing is what happens next, he’s stepping off the anchor desk. It’s the biggest decision of his life, he’s going to quit his job and come work with his wife.”

“We’ll be making videos just like these for politicians and companies,” the song continued. “And we’ll do it in these jammies — in these Christmas jammies.”

Watch the clever video:

ABC News got more of a scoop into the video:

I think it’s a pretty honest look and a pretty ridiculous look into the craziness of a modern family,” Kim Holderness told ABCNews.com of the video’s appeal. “We’re acting like fools and I’m guessing people like to see other people making fools of themselves.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” said Holderness, who added it took the family about half-a-day and 12 hours of editing, done by Penn, to complete the video.

“The kids were shocked that we were allowing them to leave the house in their pajamas,” she said. “They had a blast.”

The company both parents will now work for, Greenroom, includes a team of former journalists and producers helping clients with various social and viral services.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

–

Scott Walker Mulls Eliminating Income Tax in Wisconsin

Becket Adams — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 19:34:46 +0000

Gov. Scott Walker’s administration is considering taking steps to eliminate Wisconsin’s income tax.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker is considering eliminating the income tax in Wisconsin. (Getty Images)

The Republican governor acknowledged this week that in his administration’s ongoing discussion about the state’s tax laws, the idea of nixing the income tax has been given serious thought.

Walker, who survived a recall attempt in 2012, said his administration is having this discussion well ahead of the state’s next budget so they can figure out now what employers and voters think “would be the biggest bang for the buck,” wispolitics.com reported.

“There are many states that do very well, better than most states in the country, that have no income taxes,” Walker said during a meeting at the Northern Economic Development Summit. “That’s one thing for us to look at. Is that feasible? What would that mean in terms of an economic boost? That’s not only for individuals, but small businesses in this state.”

Walker boasted of Wisconsin’s economic growth, telling summit attendees his administration wants to “work” with them to create jobs. He also explained that specialty training will be necessary to continue growing the state’s economy.

“The state that’s most aggressively out front on worker training will be the state that leads the country, if not the world, in economic recovery,” Walker said. “That’s the one thing I hear so often. I see it in polls, but more importantly I hear it every week.”

Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Revenue Secretary Rick Chandler discussed the state’s tax laws last week. Chandler said the administration is trying to figure out how to move forward with the proposed changes by getting input from the public. He added that there could be changes to the income tax code or property taxes.

“We want to look at areas where we may not stack up well against other states, where particular aspects of our tax code may be out of line with other states,” Chandler said. “We want to get the overall burden down, and we want to make all elements of the tax code as competitive as possible.”

–

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

‘Hysterical and Terrifying’: Glenn Beck on Why a Simple Health Care-Related Robo-Call Has Resounding Implications

Erica Ritz — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 19:14:24 +0000

What does it mean when a suspected robot, doggedly claiming to be a real woman, calls in an effort to enroll you in a health insurance plan?

According to Glenn Beck, the development is “both hysterical and terrifying at the same time,” and yet another sign that we are approaching “the singularity,” a time when “you won’t know the difference between reality and virtual reality.”

Beck was referring to a story broken by Time’s Washington bureau chief Michael Scherer, who was called by what he concluded was “definitely a robot” wanting to discuss his health insurance status. Scherer and a number of his colleagues even called back and made recordings of the conversation to be sure.

Glenn Beck speaks on his radio program Dec. 17, 2013. (Photo: TheBlaze TV)

Beck said the most disturbing element of the story is that the technology appears to have been “programmed to lie” to customers. Rather than admit it is a robo-call or give a boilerplate “main menu” answer to unexpected inquiries, it emits a laughing sound and says things like, “there is a live person here.”

Beck remarked: “You’re calling for … Obamacare and you’re pushed into this. So why won’t you tell me you’re a robot?”

Beck noted that he has repeatedly said that in the coming years, people will not be able to trust their own senses. Technology will have evolved so greatly that a photograph will no longer be proof of an event, and it seems that it may be increasingly difficult to tell the difference between a robot and a human as well.

“If I edited out all of the response time, you would have a really hard time telling that this wasn’t a real person,” Beck said of the audio recorded by the Time reporters.

“Give this two years … maybe not even two years,” Beck said, and the technology will be perfected.

Watch the entire segment below:

Complimentary Clips from TheBlaze TV

Other Must-Read Stories:

Read more stories from TheBlaze

MSNBC Host’s Radical Idea: ‘Every Non-Incarcerated Adult Citizen Gets a Monthly Check From the Government’

The Question Ted Cruz Reportedly Asked Dem Rep. After Getting an ‘Earful’ During Long Flight to South Africa

This Is How Far Rush Limbaugh Thinks the ‘Republican Establishment’ May Go to ‘Get Rid of the Tea Party’

Geraldo Slams ‘Another Right-Wing Jerk Off Rush Wannabe’ After Losing Syndication

How One U.S. City Went From the ‘City of the Christmas Story’ to Banning a 60-Year Nativity Tradition Altogether

There’s a Loophole That Allows Illegal Immigrants to Claim Tax Credits, and a GOP Sen. Just Made a Big Move to Close It to Save Vet Benefits (UPDATED)

Sara Carter — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 18:59:38 +0000

UPDATE: The Senate on Tuesday voted down the amendment filed by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) that intended to restore proposed cuts to veterans’ benefits by closing a benefit loophole for illegal immigrants.

On the near party line vote, the amendment failed by 46-54. Sen. Key Hagan (D-N.C.) joined Republicans on the vote.

–

The ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee has put forward a budget amendment to avert proposed cuts to veterans’ benefits by closing a loophole that allows illegal immigrants to collect child tax credits.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is proposing a budget amendment to avert cuts to veterans’ benefits. (Getty Images/Alex Wong)

Even though federal law bars illegal immigrants from collecting tax benefits like the earned income tax credit, the current child tax credit provision does not require a tax return to include a Social Security number, which means it’s possible for illegals to claim and get the benefits.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) filed the amendment late Monday hoping to salvage veteran and military retiree pension benefits that are reduced under the current budget agreement. The agreement passed the House of Representatives last week with broad bipartisan support and was being debated in the Senate Tuesday.

“An equivalent amount of savings and more can be easily found, and I hope the Senate will move to address the unbalanced treatment of our service members before considering the legislation any further,” Sessions said in a statement to TheBlaze.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration noted in a 2011 report that millions of people without valid Social Security numbers received $4.2 billion in the additional child tax credit in 2010 – up from $924 million in 2005.

In 2011, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported that illegal aliens received a staggering $4.2 billion in refundable child tax credits in 2010, a Senate aide said.

The cuts to veterans disability benefits was met with anger among a large swath of Republican senators after the budget passed the House last week.

“It has been asserted that the controversial change to military retirees’ pensions affects those who are ‘working-age’ and ‘still in their working years,’ with the clear suggestion being that these individuals are able to work,” Sessions said. “That’s why I was deeply troubled when my staff and I discovered that even individuals who have been wounded and suffered a service-related disability could see their pensions reduced under this plan.”

Sessions said the budget agreement “spares current civilian workers from the same treatment.”

Senior Republican senators were moving Tuesday to get the budget bill passed. It is not clear yet whether the military retiree provision submitted by Sessions will be considered.

–

It’s Bad Enough Being Arrested for Drunk Driving — It’s Even Worse When You Have to Take a Mug Shot Wearing This

Oliver Darcy — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 18:20:30 +0000

34-year-old Brandon Touchet probably regrets getting behind the wheel while allegedly drunk — but the Louisiana man almost certainly regrets the outfit he was wearing when he was nabbed by cops.

Touchet, who was arrested by Lafayette police Sunday for DUI, was captured in a mug shot dressed as a Christmas elf while being booked into the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Brandon Touchet, 34, was arrested Sunday for allegedly driving under the influence. (Image source: Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office via The Smoking Gun)

According to a court document, obtained by The Smoking Gun, Touchet “admitted to speeding and consuming alcoholic beverages after he was Mirandized.” Police said his speech was slurred and he was “swaying from side to side as he stood.”

“Santa’s helper was freed from custody after posting $1500 bond,” The Smoking Gun reported.

–

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

A Movie Company Gave a Man $25K to Promote ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’…and He Spent It in the Best Way Possible

Liz Klimas — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 18:01:01 +0000

Casey Neistat, a film director who at one point had a series on HBO and since 2010 became popular on YouTube, was contacted by 20th Century Fox to promote its blockbuster film starring Ben Stiller, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” He would have $25,000. But instead of using it on ads, Neistat convinced the movie producer to let him spend the money on helping typhoon victims in the Philippines.

And what happened was awesome.

“‘Mitty’ is a movie about chasing a dream and they wanted me to make a movie about chasing a dream,” Neistat wrote. “I am a big dreamer but at that time only one thing came to mind; if I could do anything in the world right now what would it be? That’s to help the victims of the typhoon. I, [somewhat] crassly, replied to 20th Century Fox that the only movie I wanted to make is one where I give away the budget to those in need.”

Image source: YouTube

Neistat, surprised that Fox agreed to his plan, took his friend, Oscar, to the Philippines. Using his own cameras and no crew, they filmed buying thousands of dollars worth of pallets of food and supplies for victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the coastal town of Tanauan in early November.

“We were unable to local trucks large enough to transport our supplies,” Neistat wrote in the video.

Image source: YouTube

But when he saw the line of people wanting food, Neistat said he didn’t think they bought enough.

Image source: YouTube

In addition to food, Neistat wrote that they stretched the budget to cover some medicine and tools to help in rebuilding.

Watch the video (Content warning: some strong language):

“Big thank you to Fox and Ben Stiller for not freaking the f*** out when they saw what I did with their money,” Neistat wrote.

Stiller seemed alright with it, tweeting about the video Monday.

20th Century Fox gave Casey Neistat money to promote the movie I made, and this is what he did with it. Amazing. http://t.co/5BD5My9OVm

December 16, 2013 4:45pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@RedHourBen

Ben Stiller

With the funding from 20th Century Fox, Neistat provided more than 10,000 meals and helped 35 villages get rebuilding tools.

Image source: YouTube

“Never have I met such people with the resilience of these typhoon victims,” Neistat wrote. “There was one thing that stuck out, one big huge tiny thing, that was; of everyone we were face to face with, thousands of people, not once, at anytime for any reason did anyone complain. No one. Their focus was on rebuilding and healing, not sympathy.”

–

‘Is Obama a Muslim or an Infidel?’: Watch What Syrian Children Are Learning From Jihadi Rebels

Sharona Schwartz — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 17:38:22 +0000

Two new videos have emerged from jihadi groups in Syria showing disturbing images of their latest weapon: young children.

One of the videos posted online by the Al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, showed one of its operatives teaching children at a Syrian school that all Christians and President Barack Obama are infidels.

Image source: MEMRI

According to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute, the unidentified ISIS representative told the schoolchildren: “The entire Earth belongs to Allah. Islam elevates the Muslims and humiliates the infidels.”

“Whoever says that God is three [the trinity] is an infidel. Whoever says that God is two and that Jesus is his son is an infidel as well. Whoever says that Jesus is God is also an infidel,” the man told the children, adding that President Bashar Assad is also an “infidel.”

Asked what should be done to Assad, the ISIS operative approved when the children said he should be slaughtered.

“Slaughter him. Right. Because he is an infidel,” the man taught.

He then characterized other world leaders, including President Barack Obama, as infidels.

“Anyone who does not believe in Islam is an infidel. Is Obama a Muslim or an infidel?” he asked the children. They answered, “An infidel.” The answer was the same for the presidents of Russia and China.

ISIS aims to topple Assad and replace his regime with an Islamist sharia state. Here is the video translated by MEMRI:

With a backdrop of the black flag of ISIS, another jihadi video posted in October and profiled Tuesday in The Washington Post showed boys as young as elementary-school age donning black scarves over their faces, wearing military style camouflage uniforms and displaying their automatic weapons in what appeared to be a terrorist training camp.

Bizarrely, in one of the images seen in the video in which teens decked out in fatigues ate round pita breads, a yellow smiley face mug sits incongruously center frame.

The children were given a quick induction into adulthood and the ways of jihad with machine gun training and learning to stand in formation as seen in the video, reportedly taken in a Damascus suburb.

Check out the smiley face mug one young jihadi used. (Screenshot: YouTube)

Joby Warrick wrote in The Washington Post on Tuesday:

They are “Zarqawi’s Cubs,” the youth brigade of Syria’s most fearsome Islamist rebel group and one of the newest manifestations of al-Qaeda’s deepening roots in rebel-controlled sections of the country. Building on earlier efforts to expand their influence in Syrian schools, radical Islamists appear to be stepping up efforts to indoctrinate and train children, some as young as 10, according to independent experts who have studied the phenomenon.

Warrick explained that the Syrian “Cubs” camp is reminiscent the “Birds of Paradise,” a brigade set up a decade ago by the same group in Iraq “to train children for military missions, including suicide bombings.”

The children’s group was named after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who founded Al Qaeda in Iraq and was killed in 2006 in a U.S. airstrike.

He “remains an inspirational figure for Islamist extremists worldwide, as well as the ideological father of ISIS and other Al Qaeda-allied rebel groups in Syria, including Jabhat al-Nusra,” Warrick wrote.

The Post provided translation for the song heard in the sountrack of the video, which included, “Oh mother, don’t be saddened by my leaving” as the boys are going away to fight “for the sake of defeating the Jews.”

TheBlaze cannot independently verify the video; however, experts told the Post that it appeared to be authentic.

–

‘The World Will Be Destroyed’: Failed Doomsday Preacher Harold Camping Has Died

Billy Hallowell — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 17:11:39 +0000

Harold Camping, the televangelist and self-professed prophet who captured global attention two years ago when he claimed that the world would come to a chaotic end on May 21, 2011, died Sunday. He was 92.

Televangelist and doomsday preacher Harold Camping died Sunday (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Family Radio Network, a Christian media company Camping co-founded, released a statement about his death Monday.

“On Saturday, November 30th, Mr. Camping sustained a fall in his home, and he was not able to recover from his injuries. He passed away peacefully in his home, with his family at his side,” the statement read.

It continued, “We know that each of us remain in God’s hand, and God is the one who knows our appointed time to leave our earthly body behind.”

The release went on to note that the company is grateful for Camping’s “dedication” and his “lifetime service to God.”

Camping’s failed doomsday predictions led his followers to sell their possessions in anticipation of the world’s impending end — an event that never unfolded.

After Camping’s initial May 21 prediction didn’t come to pass, he changed the doomsday date to Oct. 21, 2011.

“We’re not changing a date at all; we’re just learning that we have to be a little more spiritual about this,” he said at the time. “But on Oct. 21, the world will be destroyed. It won’t be five months of destruction. It will come at once.”

Camping later offered an apology of sorts after the second prediction fell through, and said he had no further predictions to make.

The televangelist had previously predicted Jesus’ return in 1994 as well, though his latter efforts garnered more attention, as Religion News Service reported.

As TheBlaze noted earlier this year, the Family Radio Network has faced some challenges since Camping’s 2011 predictions didn’t come to pass.

The Contra Costa Times reported in May that the Oakland-based company has sold its three largest radio stations and laid off longtime staff members. And here’s why: Tax records show Harold Camping’s nonprofit network saw its net assets drop to $29.2 million by the end of 2011, from a net worth of $135 million four years earlier.

Former and current insiders told the newspaper donations have dropped almost 70 percent since Camping’s Rapture prediction proved incorrect. It is unclear how Family Radio Network will be run following the evangelist’s death.

Camping is survived by Shirley Camping, his wife of 71 years.

–

The Video of a Police Officer Body-Slamming an Elderly Woman to the Ground Can Be Hard to Watch — but Here’s Why the Police Chief Is Defending It

Oliver Darcy — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 16:56:15 +0000

A Georgia police officer is back on the job just days after video of him surfaced appearing to body-slam an elderly woman to the ground during her arrest for allegedly driving under the influence earlier this month.

Glynn County Police Officer Kevin Jones was reinstated after Chief Matt Doering launched an investigation and ruled he acted appropriately in the Dec. 5 incident.

“The totality of circumstances is not typically afforded from the mere viewing of a video or from the individual perspective of a witness,” Doering said in a written report Saturday obtained by The Brunswick News.

“Camera angle, clarity, quality and point of view of witnesses does not lend the opportunity for a fully informed judgment as to the actions of an officer or others,” he wrote. “I have thoroughly reviewed this incident and find that Officer Kevin Jones acted reasonably.”

“I have thoroughly reviewed this incident and find that Officer Kevin Jones acted reasonably.”

Video recorded and uploaded to YouTube by user “nick james” appears to show Jones throw 70-year-old Kathleen Mary Allegrone to the ground, a move that made a loud sound as she slammed into the pavement.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the video had about 180,000 views on YouTube. But Doering insists it doesn’t capture the totality of the incident.

The police chief says the incident began when officers stopped Allegrone and the 70-year-old woman refused to unlock her doors, according to The Brunswick News. When Jones finally managed to finally obtain access to the vehicle, he said he smelled alcohol on the woman’s breath. Then, Allegrone allegedly became violent.

“As Officer Jones reached for the unlock mechanism, Ms. Allegrone grabbed Officer Jones’ left hand, squeezing and twisting her fingernails very hard into his hand, digging into his skin causing sharp pain,” Doering wrote.

“While in the car with Ms. Allegrone, Officer Jones smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage that, combined with her rear-ending a vehicle, combative and assaultive behavior, led him to believe she was driving while impaired,” the police chief added.

Then, when Jones placed the woman in handcuffs, Allegrone allegedly began ”squeezing very hard while twisting her fingernails into Officer Jones’ hand and wrist while simultaneously turning her body toward him.”

According to Doering, Jones thought the sharp digging may have involved a weapon and instinctively used a defensive tactic, The Brunswick News reported.

“He did so by making a split-second decision to immediately turn his body in the same direction as Ms. Allegrone was turning, while pulling his hand away from her, and in using her turning momentum, he grabbed her shoulder and pushed her rapidly forward and down to the ground as one continuing movement,” Doering said. “Once on the ground Ms. Allegrone cooperated and was hand-cuffed without further resistance.”

Video taken of the Dec. 5 incident appears to show officer Kevin Jones body slam a 70-year-old woman to the ground during her DUI arrest. (Image source: Screengrab via YouTube)

“Had he not reacted decisively, Ms. Allegrone would have continued to jeopardize the officer’s safety, and others, with her assaultive behavior,” he added, noting that Jones’ hand required medical attention and may leave scars.

Kathleen Mary Allegrone, 70, was thrown to the ground by an officer after she allegedly used her nails to dig into the cop’s hands. (Image source: Glynn County Police Department)

Officials backed the chief’s analysis.

“Clearly, she was an out-of-control person, and police deal with out-of-control people all of the time,” Commissioner Dale Provenzano told The Brunswick News. “I’m comfortable with the chief’s decision.”

“Clearly, she was an out-of-control person…”

Commissioner Richard Strickland, who retired from the Glynn County Police Department after a 30-year career, also agreed.

“[Jones] did no more and no less than what he was taught to do to neutralize the situation,” Strickland told The Brunswick News.

Allegrone, who reportedly refused medical treatment at the scene, was booked for drinking and driving and obstruction of an officer. She was later released on $7,558 bail and has not filed a complaint against the police department, according to The Brunswick News.

–

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

‘Duck Dynasty’ Family Clears Up Why Two Stars Are Accused of Having ‘Snubbed’ Barbara Walters

Jonathon M. Seidl — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 16:20:10 +0000

“Snubbed!”

That’s how one headline is describing why “Duck Dynasty” stars Phil and Jase Robertson will not appear on a Barbara Walters ABC special Wednesday night. According to that article on Radar Online, the father-son duo “opted to go hunting instead, much to the veteran journalist’s chagrin.”

Willie Robertson and Jase Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” attend the 87th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 28, 2013 in New York City. (Getty Images/Noam Galai)

But the family tells TheBlaze that there was “no disrespect intended.”

Family spokesman and the eldest Robertson, Alan, said some of the family was in New York in November for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and to film Walters’ ”The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013,” among other things, but that Phil and Jase didn’t come on the trip.

“They simply didn’t want to miss three days of hunting to do everything we had planned,” Alan wrote in an email to TheBlaze. “As a family, we were very honored to be recognized on the [Walters] list and there was no disrespect intended by us.”

“When it comes to Dad and Jase, ducks trump just about anything from late November to late January, it’s just the way they roll!”

So it seems there was no specific slight aimed at Walters.

Miss Kay, Phil’s wife, echoed that sentiment on the show, according to Radar Online.

“Between November and January, I told him [Phil] I didn’t ever plan to die then, because he may not be at my funeral,” she quipped.

“Tell him I have never been superseded by a duck before,” Walters joked during the interview, according to a transcript.

The Walters special airs Wednesday night at 9:30pm ET.

–

Firefighters Make the Worst Mistake Possible While Trying to Put Out a Jet Fire

Liz Klimas — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 15:42:12 +0000

What started as a mock plane crash meant to train firefighters took a dangerous turn when a huge fireball went up — and investigators now know what went wrong.

Instead of spraying water on the fire, the firefighters were shooting water tainted with flammable jet fuel.

The mock crash site was already on fire when crews arrived for the training exercise. (Image source: KING-TV)

When the firefighters started unknowingly spraying the fire with jet fuel laced water, it blew up. (Image source: KING-TV)

“When the firefighters put water on a fire that had been deliberately developed for training the fire got bigger instead of smaller,” Bob Calkins with the Washington State Patrol told KING-TV.

The Washington State Patrol’s investigation into the incident, which occurred Oct. 25 and resulted in minor burns for two firefighters, found that the training academy’s recycled water separator did not filter jet fuel from the water properly, according to KING.

Watch KING’s report about the incident:

The news station reported that the investigation is still underway to determine whether the incident was a result of a malfunction or an employee mishap.

(H/T Huffington Post)

–

‘Orwellian Anti-Semitism’: American Professors’ Group Under Fire for Israel Boycott Vote

Sharona Schwartz — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 15:28:03 +0000

The American Studies Association is under fire for voting by a 2-to-1 margin to join an academic boycott of Israel as a way to protest Israel’s policy toward Palestinians.

The vote has drawn outrage from Israel supporters who note that Israel is the only country the professors’ association has ever decided to single out with a boycott, and has prompted at least one legal scholar to try to challenge the group’s non-profit tax status.

“This vote to boycott Israel, one of the most democratic and academically free nations on the globe, shows the Orwellian anti-Semitism and moral bankruptcy of the American Studies Association,” Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, told Reuters. “The Middle East is literally filled with dead from governments’ reaction to the convulsions of the ‘Arab Spring,’ but the American Studies Association singles out the Jewish state, the one Middle Eastern country that shares American values, for opprobrium?”

The academic group drew further criticism when its president Curtis Marez, in trying to defend the boycott decision, did not dispute that many other nations have worse human rights records than Israel, even its own Middle East neighbors.

“One has to start somewhere,” Marez told The New York Times.

Jonathan Chait in New York Magazine called this reasoning “a minor classic in the annals of terrible justifications.”

“No, one does not have to start somewhere,” Chait wrote. “If you are going to start somewhere, wouldn’t it make sense to start at the top of the list of worst human-rights offenders, rather than at the middle?”

The American Association of University Professors has gone on the record calling all academic boycotts “prima facie violations of academic freedom.”

However, the AAUP, which represents 47,000 members from the nation’s campuses, devoted almost the entire issue of its most recent online journal, the 2013 Journal of Academic Freedom, to the subject of boycotting Israeli universities and professors.

“Is it a coincidence that these academics are singling out the world’s only Jewish-majority country for boycott? Only to those who know nothing of the history of anti-Semitic scapegoating,” columnist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in Bloomberg. Goldberg also called Marez a “something of a dolt.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas just last week voiced opposition to an overall boycott of Israel. (He does support a boycott of products made in Jewish settlements in the West Bank). “The ASA is more Palestinian, in other words, than the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization,” Goldberg noted.

Tablet Magazine created a chart it titled the “ASA Guide to World Peace” which noted the multitude of human rights violations carried out by China, Iran, Zimbabwe and Russia, none of which have entered the American Studies Association’s cross-hairs.

Cornell University law professor William Jacobson who runs the blog Legal Insurrection said he will challenge the academic group’s tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service and has already hired a lawyer to begin investigating.

“I have retained one of the leading practitioners in the field of charitable organizations, Alan P. Dye, Esq., to file a challenge to ASA’s 501(c)(3) status …” Jacobson wrote Sunday. “We expect to file the challenge prior to year end, if not sooner.”

“ASA’s anti-Israel academic boycott resolution calls ASA’s 501(c)(3) status into question for many reasons, including but not limited to the act of engaging in an academic boycott not satisfying the requirements of 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that an organization must be ‘organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, … or educational purposes …’” Jacobson said.

“An academic boycott, which clearly is a substantial activity of the ASA and will be for the coming years, does not satisfy this test,” he wrote, adding that he also believes the decision “discriminates on the basis of national original and religion.”

The ASA represents academics engaged in the study of American history and culture. According to Reuters, the association has 5,000 members. Despite the controversial nature of the issue, only 1,242 members cast ballots in the online vote. Of those, 66 percent voted in favor of the boycott resolution while 30.5 percent rejected it.

The resolution voted on Sunday night urges American universities to not collaborate with Israeli academic institutions.

Reuters reported that “it carries broad exemptions for individual Israeli scholars working with American counterparts.”

–

Here Are the Top Six Most Ridiculous Things the Gov’t Spends Tax Dollars On

Becket Adams — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 15:12:48 +0000

The office of Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Tuesday released a 177-page overview of questionable projects that have been allotted nearly $30 billion in federal funds.

From $15,000 spent on a project involving the collection of thousands of gallons of human urine (page 76 of the report) to $5 million spent on crystal stemware for the U.S. State Department (page 75 of the report) to the $3 million NASA plans to spend on studying Congress, Coburn’s fourth annual “Wastebook” report is one example of out-of-control government spending after another.

“When it comes to spending your money, those in Washington tend to see no waste, speak no waste and cut no waste,” Coburn said in the report.

Here are six bizarre examples of “egregious federal spending” in Coburn’s “Wastebook 2013”:

6. Uncle Sam Looking for Romance on the Web – $914,000

The Popular Romance Project has received nearly $1 million in federal funds from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) since 2010, “Wastebook 2013” reported.

The purpose of the program is to “explore the fascinating, often contradictory origins and influences of popular romance as told in novels, films, comics, advice books, songs, and internet fan fiction, taking a global perspective—while looking back across time as far as the ancient Greeks.”

Image source: Wastebook 2013

The project received approximately $914,000 in fiscal year 2013.

“Taking love and its stories seriously, wherever they may be found, the Popular Romance Project will spark a lively, thoughtful conversation between fans, authors, scholars, and the general public about the writing, production, and consumption of popular romance, including its history and transformation in the digital age,” the project’s site reads.

Some of the recent topics discussed by the project include the popular teen book series “Twilight” and the Carly Rae Jepsen’s bubblegum pop song “Call Me Maybe.”

5. Paid to Do Nothing (Government-Wide) — Approximately $400 million

It cost approximately $2 billion to provide back pay to federal employees “for services that could not be performed” due to the 16-day partial government shutdown, according to the White House.

“Total compensation costs, including benefits, are about 30 percent larger, in the range of $2.5 billion,” the White House report said.

Coburn’s report adds: “More than 100,000 non-essential federal employees being paid a salary of at least $100,000 were furloughed as non-essential. Each of these was paid $4,000 for the time off of work during the shutdown.”

The “Wastebook” report stresses that Congress is more to blame for this than the civil servants who received pay for “services that could not be performed.”

“(L)ike everyone else, (civil servants) have bills to pay,” the report reads. “But it is truly unfair to charge billions of dollars to pay others not to work to taxpayers working to cover their own bills and the bills of the government. This is especially true when the non-essential federal employee is being compensated more than twice the average U.S. family income of $51,000.”

4. A Whole Bunch of Money for a “Moosical” — $10,000

The National Endowment of the Arts awarded approximately $10,000 for a Christmas-themed show titled “Mooseltoe: A New Moosical.”

The show will be touring the nation this Christmas.

Image source: Wastebook 2013

“Taxpayer dollars pay for ‘Mooseltoe’ to feature voices from celebrities from Broadway, television, and movies, as well as costumes from the costume designer of Broadway’s ‘The Lion King,’” the report says.

“In addition to its original songs, parents will appreciate the 16 characters in ‘Mooseltoe’ that are entertaining their children on the taxpayers’ dime, including three snobby penguins, a mobster snowman, and a fat walrus,” it adds.

Again, $10,000.

3. A Mega-Blimp That Doesn’t Work — $297 Million

The U.S. Army spent nearly four years and $300 million developing a mega-blimp that it eventually scraped. The blimp was designed to be the size of a football field and would be used to perform surveillance duties in Afghanistan.

But in 2013, the Army decided it had enough of the blimp .

“(T)he Army closed the blimp’s eye forever when it brought the project to a halt after spending nearly $300 million,” Coburn’s report reads. “The Army sold the airship back to the contractor that was building it for just $301,000.”

2. NASA Pays to Study How Congress Works — $3 Million

NASA plans to spend nearly $3 million to study how Congress works.

The agency plans to hold seminars that will provide participants with “a comprehensive look at how Congress is organized, the key players and their roles, how the legislative process really works, and how Congress directly affects the daily operations of every department and agency in the Executive Branch.”

Image source: Wastebook 2013

Seminars hosted by NASA and Georgetown University will also provide participants with “briefings from experts in the field,” opportunities “to attend committee hearings, and observe floor action.”

Participants will be given a “hands-on understanding of the congressional process and procedures as well as the culture that is the United States Congress,” NASA said.

The program is expected to cost NASA around $3 million starting December 2012 and running trough December 2017.

1. Nearly $300,000 for a Video Game

The National Endowment of the Humanities has awarded a professor at Hope College nearly $300,000 for a multi-player game that connects Civil War re-enactors online.

The game, titled “Valley Sim,” allows students to “take on the identity of one of 25 real-life citizens of two communities that were on opposite sides of the Civil War.”

The game is based almost entirely on an Internet chat system.

“The NEH grant will be used to expand the basic framework of the game into a tool that can be applied to other areas of the humanities,” the Coburn report adds. “Perhaps we’ll see Battlefield or Call of Duty replacing WWII lectures? Or maybe the money can prop up something less wasteful in the realm of higher education. As cool as it might be to introduce games into the classroom, it might be a better idea to convince students to put the controller down and get back to the basics instead.”

Keep in mind the above are just six examples of the dozens and dozens of bizarre projects unearthed by Sen. Coburn’s office. There are many, many more contained in the report. Some are simply puzzling (money for alcohol for a dry county) and some are infuriating ($52,000 in continued pay for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan).

Read the full report here:

–

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

Featured image via Wastebook 2013

Geraldo Slams ‘Another Right-Wing Jerk Off Rush Wannabe’ After Losing Syndication

Madeleine Morgenstern — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 15:08:48 +0000

Geraldo Rivera appeared to bash his Los Angeles radio replacement as a “right-wing jerk off Rush wannabe” after another host taunted him over Twitter for losing his slot.

Rivera will lose his national syndication starting in 2014 and will only be heard in New York. Bryan Suits has taken over Rivera’s timeslot on KABC.

Here’s how it unfolded over Twitter between Rivera and host Tom Leykis:

@KABCRadio (remember them?) debuts new radio show replacing @GeraldoRivera (remember him?). Compelling new subject matter: Obamacare. #fail

December 16, 2013 2:52pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@tomleykis

Tom Leykis

@tomleykis @KABCRadio #fail Here's some compelling subject matter: LA radio gets another right wing jerk off Rush wannabe

December 16, 2013 2:59pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@GeraldoRivera

Geraldo Rivera

Leykis asked whether Cumulus Media chief operating officer John Dickey “know[s] about this.”

@GeraldoRivera @KABCRadio Does John Dickey know about this?

December 16, 2013 3:02pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@tomleykis

Tom Leykis

@tomleykis @KABCRadio That was directed at you Tom

December 16, 2013 3:07pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@GeraldoRivera

Geraldo Rivera

As Mediaite noted, Leykis is a self-described “left-leaning libertarian,” so Rivera’s “right-wing jerk off Rush wannabe” slam is confusing.

@GeraldoRivera @KABCRadio Really, Geraldo? Your ratings were so low they couldn't be seen with an electron microscope. FACT.

December 16, 2013 3:20pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@tomleykis

Tom Leykis

Rivera is of course no stranger to candid moments on Twitter, as his semi-nude “selfie” earlier this year made all too clear.

(H/T: Mediaite)

–

Watching People Just Trying to Walk in a Powerful Windstorm Is Surprisingly Funny

Mike Opelka — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 14:12:00 +0000

Chicago is widely known around the world as “The Windy City.” However, Ålesund, Norway, a town of less than 50,000, may give Chi-town a serious challenge for that nickname.

Image source: Euronews via YouTube

Ålesund was hit with an extreme weather system last week that forecasters called a “freak” storm. Reports say more than 50,000 homes in the region were without power after the hurricane-force winds blew across Norway. The storm, named “Ivar,” ripped down power lines and phone lines in the central portion of the Scandinavian country, but also provided us with some fairly entertaining video.

Image source: Euronews via YouTube

The simple act of crossing the street became a task requiring herculean strength (or a helpful police officer). No injuries were reported, but police and an ambulance were on the scene to assist pedestrians. If you were lucky enough to be crossing with the wind, you may have set a new land speed record.

(The author of this story was born in Chicago and does know that the city’s nickname is only partially attributed to actual wind blowing off Lake Michigan or the prairies to the west of the city. The origin of the moniker has also been tied to the considerable “hot air” blowing around the city during political conventions in the late 19th century.)

–

Follow Mike Opelka on Twitter – @stuntbrain

Reminder: A New Light Bulb Ban Kicks in on January 1

Liz Klimas — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 14:06:28 +0000

For those who are fans of the traditional, yellowish glow of an incandescent light bulb, the time has come stock up.

We’ve already seen the 75-watt variety ushered out with a ban on manufacturing or importing them starting in 2013, but Jan. 1, 2014, starts the same process with 40- and 60-watt bulbs.

This is not to say the bulbs won’t be available into 2014 and perhaps beyond. Under the Energy Independence and Security Act, signed by President George W. Bush and upheld by Congress in 2011, stores are allowed to continue to sell the incandescent bulbs until the supply runs out.

In this Jan. 21, 2011 file photo, manager Nick Reynoza holds a 100-watt incandescent light bulb at Royal Lighting in Los Angeles. In an attempt to cut energy consumption, federal laws began prohibiting the production of some incandescent bulbs. Starting 2014, 40- and 60-watt light bulbs will be banned (AP/Jae C. Hong, File)

The move forces consumers to switch to LED, compact fluorescent light bulbs and others, which are currently more expensive than the Thomas Edison-invented incandescents but are billed to be more efficient with a longer lifespan.

Many were upset at a federal regulation limiting consumer choice for a product that some feel doesn’t match up in terms of performance quality. Parodies have been made to lament the phasing out of the incandescent bulb:

“Once all of our nation’s 4 billion screw-based sockets have an efficient bulb in them, U.S. consumers will save $13 billion and 30 large coal-burning power plants-worth of electricity a year. The savings really add up,” Noah Horowitz, senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council told Yahoo recently.

Even though Americans have had years to warm up to the idea and technology is advancing to improve the performance of these alternative light bulbs, there are still those who aren’t on board.

“The soul doesn’t connect to LED, it’s a visceral reaction,” lighting designer Bentley Meeker told Yahoo. “Until the mid-1850s, the only light that humans were exposed to was daylight and firelight — incandescent bulbs have a color that is similar to firelight.”

He said he believes the more efficient light bulbs are too harsh for what the human eye is accustomed to.

As the familiar glow of incandescents disappears over time, there are a couple things one can do to achieve a comfortable result with alternative bulbs.

Here are a couple of the tips Yahoo suggested:

Don’t inadvertently buy a bulb that’s too bright. New bulbs are measured in lumens, not watts, which can be confusing. A 10-watt LED is as bright as a 60-watt incandescent, so if you purchase a 19-watt LED for a small accent light, it will seem glaring. The NRDC has a useful chart showing the light equivalences of various bulbs.

Choose different types of bulbs for different purposes. Meeker uses LEDs and CFLs to light hallways, stairwells, and basements, and for spotlighting objects. For living spaces, he prefers halogen incandescent bulbs. He says they are a great substitute for the old bulbs, especially if you use them on a dimmer.

If you want to use CFLs, choose the right color. Most people prefer the ones labeled “warm.” The bulbs that are labeled “daylight” are bluish.

One of the new-age light bulbs that will become available after the first of the year is the Phillips SlimStyle LED, which is a flattened, horseshoe-shaped bulb.

Phillips SlimStyle LED bulb. (Image source: CNET/YouTube)

CNET reviewed the bulb and compared it to competitors, saying its uptake will “all come down to the SlimStyle’s price point.”

“If the absence of heat sinks is enough to keep the cost per bulb somewhere around $10 or less, then the SlimStyle LED stands to make a lot of sense — particularly to consumers who are making first-time upgrades from newly obsolete incandescents, and who aren’t looking to spend very much in the process,” CNET editor’s wrote.

Image source: CNET/YouTube

Watch CNET’s review:

The law will fully go into effect by 2020, requiring light bulbs to be 60 to 70 percent more efficient than what the standard incandescent is today.

Featured image via Shutterstock.

–

This Is Not the Way to React When a Salvation Army Bell Ringer Says ‘Happy Holidays’

Billy Hallowell — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 13:38:59 +0000

A Salvation Army bell ringer in Phoenix, Ariz., was in for a big — and painful — surprise when she said “Happy Holidays” to a woman entering a local Wal-Mart.

Kristina Vindiola told KNXV-TV that she was assaulted by a passerby after offering up the seasonal greeting.

“The lady looked at me. I thought she was going to put money in the kettle,” Vindiola told the outlet. “She came up to me and said, ‘Do you believe in God?’ And she says, ‘You’re supposed to say Merry Christmas,’ and that’s when she hit me (in the arm).”

Then, the woman reportedly entered Wal-Mart and carried on with her shopping.

Vindiola got a store manager who subsequently called police. Despite reviewing security footage, authorities didn’t have enough evidence to arrest the alleged assailant, according to KNXV-TV.

“She should’ve just been happy I said ‘Happy Holidays,’ but I got hit because I didn’t say ‘Merry Christmas,’” Vindiola added.

Bell ringers in the area are asked to say “Merry Christmas” during their training, although a spokesperson for The Salvation Army’s Western Territory told The Christian Post they are not required to do so when dealing with the public.

“The vast majority of their interactions with the public are really positive,” spokeswoman Kathy Lovin told the Post. “But even if they’re not, our bell ringers are trained to be gracious and to be good representatives of The Salvation Army.”

(H/T: Christian Post)

–

Featured image via Shutterstock.com

Bad News for American Religious Leaders When It Comes to ‘Honesty and Ethical Standards’

Billy Hallowell — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 13:13:36 +0000

Clergy have traditionally held a revered place in American society, but new research from Gallup shows that the public’s view of faith leaders’ honesty and ethical standards is at a new low.

When asked, “How would you rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in the clergy?” 47 percent of those surveyed said very high or high, with 11 percent giving a low or very low rating.

This year marks the first time since Gallup started asking the question in 1977 that less than 50 percent of respondents rated clergy as having a high or very high rating for this measure.

Credit: Gallup

The overall negative trend line has ticked up over the past few decades, with favorability ratings on honesty generally remaining steady until this year.

Clergy rank seventh overall when compared to Americans’ views on other popular professions. Nurses (82 percent), pharmacists (70 percent), grade school teachers (70 percent), medical doctors (69 percent), military officers (69 percent) and police officers (54 percent) have the six highest ratings.

The least trusted professions are car sales people (9 percent), members of Congress (8 percent) and lobbyists (6 percent).

Credit: Gallup

Gallup did note in its analysis that stereotypes help to shape Americans’ views on various professions. Those who heal or provide health aid are generally ranked at the top; these careers, teamed with police, teachers and military, hold a special place in many Americans’ hearts and, thus, likely rank higher because of their service to the community.

As for clergy, news stories over the past 15 years might be having an impact on honesty ratings.

“If views of a certain profession have changed, it usually has been a function of scandal surrounding it,” Gallup explained. “The Catholic priest abuse stories from the early 2000s helped lead to a sharp drop in Americans’ ratings of clergy, a decline from which the profession has yet to fully recover.”

The poll results are based on telephone interviews with 1,031 adults, aged 18 and older, which were conducted on Dec. 5-8, 3013, with a ±4 percentage points margin of error.

(H/T: Christianity Today)

–

Featured image via Shutterstock.com

Something Could Be Very Wrong With Your Anti-Bacterial Soap

Liz Klimas — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 13:05:08 +0000

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — More likely than not, the soap sitting next to your kitchen sink or in your bathroom is labeled anti-bacterial. When presented with the option of non-anti-bacterial and anti-bacterial soaps, many would probably choose the latter.

The Food and Drug Administration says Monday, Dec. 16, 2013, there is no evidence that antibacterial chemicals used in liquid soaps and washes help prevent the spread of germs, and there is some evidence they may pose health risks. (AP/Kiichiro Sato)

But a new study is saying one might not be more effective at germ killing than the other. What’s more, it says anti-bacterial products could even come with some risks.

After more than 40 years of study, the federal government said Monday it has no evidence that the anti-bacterial chemicals used in countless common soaps and washes help prevent the spread of germs, and it is reviewing research suggesting they may pose health risks.

Regulators at the Food and Drug Administration said they are revisiting the safety of chemicals such as triclosan in light of recent studies that suggest the substances can interfere with hormone levels and spur the growth of drug-resistant bacteria.

The government’s preliminary ruling lends new support to outside researchers who have long argued that the chemicals are, at best, ineffective and at worst, a threat to public health.

“The FDA is finally making a judgment call here and asking industry to show us that these products are better than soap and water, and the data don’t substantiate that,” Stuart Levy of Tufts University School of Medicine said.

Watch the Associated Press’ video report about the findings:

Under a proposed rule released Monday, the agency will require manufacturers to prove that anti-bacterial soaps and body washes are safe and more effective than plain soap and water. Products that are not shown to be safe and effective by late 2016 would have to be reformulated, relabeled or removed from the market.

“I suspect there are a lot of consumers who assume that by using an anti-bacterial soap product they are protecting themselves from illness, protecting their families,” said Sandra Kweder, deputy director in the FDA’s drug center. “But we don’t have any evidence that that is really the case over simple soap and water.”

A spokesman for the cleaning product industry said the FDA already has “a wealth of data” showing the benefits of its products.

An FDA analysis estimates it will cost companies $112.2 million to $368.8 million to comply with the new regulations, including reformulating some products and removing marketing claims from others.

The rule does not apply to hand sanitizers, most of which use alcohol rather than anti-bacterial chemicals.

The agency will accept data from companies and researchers for one year before beginning to finalize the rule.

The proposal comes more than 40 years after the FDA began evaluating triclosan, triclocarban and similar ingredients. Ultimately, the government only agreed to publish its findings after a three-year legal battle with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group that accused the FDA of delaying action on potentially dangerous chemicals. Triclosan is found in an estimated 75 percent of anti-bacterial liquid soaps and body washes sold in the U.S., including some brands of Dial from Henkel AG & Co., one of the nation’s largest soap makers.

More than 93 percent of bar soaps also contain triclocarban or triclosan, according to the FDA.

While the rule only applies to personal hygiene products, it has implications for a broader $1 billion industry that includes thousands of anti-bacterial products, including kitchen knives, toys, pacifiers and toothpaste. Over the last 20 years, companies have added triclosan and other cleaners to thousands of household products, touting their germ-killing benefits.

The FDA was tasked with confirming those benefits in 1972, as part of a law designed to set guidelines for dozens of common anti-bacterial cleaners. But the guidelines got bogged down in years of regulatory delays and missed deadlines. The agency published a preliminary draft of its findings in 1978, but never finalized the results until Monday.

Most of the research surrounding triclosan’s safety involves laboratory animals, including studies in rats that showed changes in testosterone, estrogen and thyroid hormones. Some scientists worry that such changes in humans could raise the risk of infertility, early puberty and even cancer.

FDA scientists stressed Monday that such studies are not necessarily applicable to humans, but the agency is reviewing their implications.

On a conference call with journalists, Kweder noted that the government’s National Toxicology Program is already studying whether daily skin exposure to hormone-altering chemicals could lead to cancer.

Other experts are concerned that routine use of anti-bacterial chemicals such as triclosan contributes to a surge in drug-resistant germs, or superbugs, that render antibiotics ineffective.

In March 2010, the European Union banned the chemical from all products that come into contact with food, such as containers and silverware.

A spokesman for the American Cleaning Institute, a soap and cleaning product trade organization, said the group will submit new data to regulators, including studies showing that company products do not lead to antibiotic resistance.

“We are perplexed that the agency would suggest there is no evidence that anti-bacterial soaps are beneficial,” said Brian Sansoni. “Our industry sent the FDA in-depth data in 2008 showing that anti-bacterial soaps are more effective in killing germs when compared with non-anti-bacterial soaps.”

The group represents manufacturers including Henkel, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and Dow Chemical.

Featured image via Shutterstock.

–