March 27, 2015

Bill moves forward in Indiana to allow breeding deer for the sole purpose of being hunted.

The state Senate's top Republican has relaxed his hold on a bill that would legalize hunting of farm-raised captive deer in Indiana.

The Senate Natural Resources Committee will hear House Bill 1453 at 10 a.m. on Monday.

Last year, the committee overwhelmingly passed a similar bill. If that happens again on Monday, it sets the stage for a definitive vote in 2015 on whether the controversial practice of high-fence hunting will become officially legal in Indiana.

Last year's bill failed to advance in the full Senate by just one vote.

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/03/27/indiana-senate-president-moves-captive-deer-hunting-bill/70549006/

March 27, 2015

Yelp CEO rips Indiana 'religious freedom' law

Yelp’s CEO slammed Indiana’s governor and all other governors who have signed state “religious freedom” bills Friday, saying that he believes these laws “set a terrible precedent” that will harm states’ economies.

These laws “would allow for businesses to discriminate against consumers based on certain traits including sexual orientation,” wrote Jeremy Stoppelman, a co-founder of the service Yelp, which crowd-sources reviews of restaurants and other local businesses. “It is unconscionable to imagine that Yelp would create, maintain, or expand a significant business presence in any state that encouraged discrimination.”

On Thursday, Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed the “religious freedom restoration” act, amid significant controversy. Critics claim that the bill provides a license for businesses to refuse to sell to LGBT citizens or others whose identities the owners deem against their religions.

“This bill is not about discrimination,” Pence said in a news conference, defending the law as a defense of religious freedom. “I think there’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this bill.”


http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/yelp-ceo-response-indiana-religious-freedom-law-116454.html#ixzz3Vcb5KGmE

March 26, 2015

How do you feel about precious metals?

Not asking for advice, just general attitudes towards precious metals such as gold. And no, Glenn Beck did not turn me into a Bug, but I did read that it doesn't hurt to have about 5% of one's portfolio in gold or silver. How do you approach it? Also, where does one find a reputable dealer and avoid getting gouged?

March 24, 2015

George Zimmerman: Killing Trayvon was God’s plan. Up to God whether he kills again

The former neighborhood watchman insisted that he had a “clean conscience” after he was found to be not guilty.

“I believe God has his plans, and for me to second-guess them would be hypocritical, almost blasphemous,” he said when asked if he wished the encounter that ended Martin’s life would have turned out differently.

And according to Zimmerman, “Barack Hussein Obama” was the government official who was the most unfair to him “by far.”

<snip>

Zimmerman concluded by saying that it was “up to God” if he would ever be the person again that he was when he killed Martin.

“It’s up to God and I put it all in his hands and I do have faith that whatever he has planned out for me is what’s best for me. So whatever he’s determined whatever he has planned out for me I am along for the ride and I just hope to be strong enough to see his will be done.”


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/george-zimmerman-killing-trayvon-was-gods-plan-and-wishing-he-lived-is-almost-blasphemous/

March 24, 2015

Obama’s niece reportedly threatened before college basketball game

A phone message threatening President Barack Obama’s niece, a player on the Princeton basketball team, prompted authorities to increase security at Monday night’s NCAA women’s tournament game between the Ivy League school and Maryland, USA Today reported.

An eight-minute voicemail was received at the University of Maryland athletic department offices on Monday afternoon in which a woman said a man was driving on the College Park, Maryland, campus with a Glock handgun in his possession, the newspaper reported, citing a person with knowledge of the threat.

The caller linked the man’s appearance on campus to the game and Leslie Robinson, a freshman forward at Princeton and the daughter of Michelle Obama’s brother, USA Today said.

Robinson was not told of the threat, but Princeton coach Courtney Banghart was aware of it, the paper said.


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/obamas-niece-reportedly-threatened-before-college-basketball-game/

March 24, 2015

MO lawmakers introduce bill to prevent food stamp recipients from buying fish

They say if you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. But teach the man to fish, and you will feed him for a lifetime.

Some Missouri lawmakers have seemingly taken the old saying and distilled it down to its most reductive lesson: Don't give fish to poor people.

Indeed, there does seems to be something a bit twisted in Republican Representative Rick Brattin's House Bill 813, which would bar Missouri's roughly 930,000 food-stamp recipients from using their government payouts to buy seafood. The bill would also ban energy drinks, soda, cookies, chips and steak.

Brattin's bill follows in the footsteps of several recent laws designed to restrict how needy Missourians use their federal assistance. In 2011 the legislature passed a law that required drug testing applicants who were applying for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Two years later lawmakers banned the use of electronic benefit cards to withdraw welfare funds from casino and strip-club ATMs.


http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2015/03/missouri_lawmakers_think_welfare_recipients_waste_money_on_fish_steak_and_porn.php

March 24, 2015

World’s Largest Asteroid Crater Unearthed in Australia

Scientists have discovered evidence of a 250-mile wide crater in central Australia they believe was created by a colossal asteroid hundreds of millions of years ago.

The largest impact zone ever discovered is no longer visible on the Earth’s surface, researchers from the Australian National University said in a statement Monday, but could be identified by evidence buried deep in the earth’s crust.

The scientists had been drilling for another geothermal research project when, by chance, they came across rock layers that had been turned to glass, which usually signifies a high-energy impact. Their findings, published recently in the journal Tectonophysics, contributes to the understanding of the Earth in prehistoric times.

“Large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in Earth’s evolution than previously thought,” said lead researcher Andrew Glikson. Still, the exact details of when the impact occurred remain unclear. While the rocks surrounding the impact zone are around 300 million years old, scientists said they have not yet found a similar layer in other sediments the same age.



http://time.com/3754917/asteroid-impact-australia/

March 24, 2015

WTF was this kid thinking?

Note: Calling any woman a (I won't repeat it) is never appropriate. But when a grown adult in college uses that term to describe a 13 year-old girl over Twitter, he is definitely stuck on Stupid.

After Bloomsburg University baseball player Joey Casselberry was released from the team following an offensive tweet in which he called 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis a “slut,” Davis reached out to the university and asked for Casselberry to be reinstated.

Davis, the Little League World Series star, emailed university President David L. Soltz Sunday evening and asked the school to reconsider Casselberry’s dismissal.

”While I admit I was pretty hurt when I read his comments, I felt sad that he was dismissed from the team…,” the Philadelphia pitcher wrote. “I am sure Joey Casselberry has worked very hard to get where he is and dreams of playing in the major leagues. For this reason, I'm asking you to please allow him back on the team so that he can continue to chase his dream. He made one dumb mistake. I'm sure he would go back and change it if he could.”

"Everyone makes mistakes," Davis echoed Monday on SportsCenter where she was being interviewed about her new book, "Mo'ne Davis: Remember My Name."


http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/trending/Mone-Davis-asks-Bloomsburg-to-reinstate-player-who-insulted-her.html#mP0IIFiDaXxJKRpp.99

March 23, 2015

Is Singapore a canary in the coal mine?

Currencies often speak to a simplicity of truth that equities don’t. They tend to have a multitude of driving domestic influences, a regional context and global relative value. Currencies are free of quarterly earnings, analyst coverage or estimates and not bound to universal accounting principles in all cases. It could be argued that behind much of the brutal economic competition in the world at the moment lies a currency battle. For example, look at how central the US dollar’s strength is in the narrative driving crude pricing, monetary policy, manufacturing and exports.

When we think of deflation, tepid demand and weak economic expansion we think of the euro zone. We think of China’s deceleration and of course we think of the Fed’s current battle to reignite healthy inflation in the United States. Deflation however has emerged as a global challenge – one that does not recognize boundaries. One country that seems to be speaking to these themes with singular focus is Singapore.

Singapore is the top rated economy in Asia by most measures, and is often considered something of a proxy for the pan-Asian economy. At the end of this quarter Singapore will likely have registered its third consecutive loss in value versus the U.S. dollar. Given the importance of Singapore as the premier economy in Asia, that weakness relative to the US dollar is a concern. Last week the Singapore dollar closed at a four year low versus the US dollar. It has been underperforming its peers in the region.

Interest rate cuts in Thailand impacted the Singapore dollar last week driving it lower. China’s declining rate of growth and questions concerning its approach to reigniting demand are also having its impact on the Singapore dollar. Increasingly the Singapore economy is having its own issues with growth given that its primary export is oil. Singapore’s significance to the pan-Asian economy is often overlooked here but shouldn’t be. History has taught us that a currency crises can be contagious and disruptive to economies far and wide.


http://peterckenny.tumblr.com/post/114103172059/is-singapore-a-canary-in-the-coal-mine

March 22, 2015

Second suicide at a BART station within a week.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A report of a person under a train has closed the Balboa Park BART station in San Francisco this afternoon, disrupting service for many trains in the system, transit agency officials said.

The station located at 401 Geneva Ave. was closed shortly before 12:30 p.m. due to a report of a person under an eastbound train, BART spokesman Jim Allison said.

BART police are on scene investigating the incident, he said.

Allison did not have an immediate update on the person's condition this afternoon.

The closure is impacting trains traveling in the San Francisco International Airport, Millbrae and East Bay directions, according to BART officials.

http://abc7news.com/traffic/sfs-balboa-bart-station-closed-due-to-medical-emergency/568615/