Tragedy in Texas, Guadalupe River flood

Artificial heat waves and clouds? Rare roll cloud stuns Portugal beaches | WION Climate Tracker | World News | WION

Shocking video shows Texas flood waters rising over 20 feet in 37 minutes

(New York Post) July 5, 2025: The death toll in the devastating Guadalupe River flash flood in south Texas has risen to 43 — including 28 adults and 15 children in Kerr County, officials said in a grim Saturday night update. Officials said 12 adults and five children have not yet been identified. Another press conference is expected Sunday morning. At least four of the dead — Renee Smajstrla, 8; Sarah Marsh, 8; Janie Hunt, 9; and Lila Bonner, 9 — were attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer retreat for girls where 23 other campers were still unaccounted for. Family members took to social media to post the heartbreaking news. Read more at nypost.com/2025/07/05/us-news... #texas #flood #guadaluperiver

• Death toll from Texas floods reaches 59, including 21 children

HAIR: 17-y.o. sues Texas school over hair

Juan A. Lozano, APnews.com, 9/20/23; KHOU 11; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

HOUSTON (AP) — The debate over whether a Black high school student in Texas should be serving in-school suspension for wearing twisted dreadlocks to class intensified this week as the student’s family and his school district both took legal action.

Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been serving an in-school suspension since Aug. 31st at the Houston-area school.

School officials say his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district’s dress code.

Mr. George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s attorney deny the teenager’s hairstyle violates the Barbers Hill Independent School District dress code and have accused the district of violating a new state law that outlaws racial discrimination based on hairstyles.

The new law, the CROWN Act, took effect Sept. 1st, 2023. 

On Tuesday, Darresha George and her attorney filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency, alleging that Darryl George was being harassed and mistreated by school district officials over his hair and that his in-school suspension was in violation of the CROWN Act.

On Wednesday, the agency notified Darresha George and her attorney that it will investigate the complaint. Later Wednesday, the Barbers Hill school district announced it had filed a lawsuit in state district court asking a judge to clarify whether its dress code restrictions limiting student hair length for boys violates the CROWN Act. The lawsuit was filed in Chambers County, located east of Houston. More

• OTHER NEWS
• A Black student was suspended for his hairstyle. Now his family is suing Texas officials
• Activists from community groups, far-left parties, and unions have held marches around France against racism and police brutality
• Disgraced Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de Leon is entangled in a City Hall racism scandal but resisted Pres. Biden's calls for his resignation said Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, that he's running for reelection

Secret that solves all problems: Magic (TED)

Collins Key, TEDx Santa Barbara, 12/18/17; Crystal Q., CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Hoo-hoo, Collins, magic is Key! Dont'cha know it's all about misdirection and perception?

The surprising secret that solves your problems quickly | Collins Key | TEDxSantaBarbara

Hi, I'm Collins. I have the Key!

(TEDx Talks) The answer to EVERY problem is hiding in plain sight. This is an education and entertainment focused TEDx Talk by Collins Key.

He gained national notoriety for becoming the first magician to become a finalist on America’s Got Talent and is currently one the world’s biggest family and kid friendly comedy YouTube influencers with over 8 million subscribers.

He uploads viral videos and teaches his millions of fans how to make fun comedy and humor DIY food experiments/technology life hacks.

In this engaging performance Collins Key breaks down learning the surprising secret that solves our problems quickly by using the art form of magic. He explains that the answer to every problem is hiding in plain sight: It's a matter of perception, that is, of avoiding misperception.

The only question left to learn in this TED talk is, Do you see it?

ABOUT: Collins Key, with 6.5M+subscribers, is one of the fastest growing channels on YouTube, having gone from 1M to 6M subscribers in less than a year. His unique blend of viral trends and family-friendly content makes his channel unlike any other with over 100M views in the last 30 days. At the age of 17, he was the first magician to be voted into the finals in eight seasons of America’s Got Talent.

On the show, he completely changed the perception people had of magic with his innovative style and mind-blowing performances. Soon after, he embarked on a 30-city tour opening for Demi Lovato in front of 12,000 to 15,000 screaming fans a night, something a magician had never done before.

His record-breaking and award-winning scripted series with AT&T, The Disappearing Girl, showcased his brilliant innovation and a new way to partner with brands. And recently Collins and his brother have been featured on the newly perverse Disney Channel.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx.

Devil says: "Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll"

Demon: Elizabeth Hurley, Faust: Brendan Frasier (Bedazzled US remake); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Liz Hurley sparks frenzy as she smolders in plunging red devil jumpsuit (Express.co.uk)

"Do it, Fat Boy, do it!" - "Restraint, Peter."

I'm going bad, breaking bad, wild! I've had it with the good life and the burdens of being upright! I want to tear loose and have some fun, sickening fun -- fornication, intoxicants, and loud music with a thunderous beat. It's my right as an American. The CIA and FBI made it so, and that's what our boys died for over there on foreign shores. They were fighting for peace, and now I want a piece of what they were fighting for.

If I do it, this will be my karma (intentional action). And as a result, that action will ripen and come to fruition in very unpleasant ways, over and over again, exponentially. Now, if I restrain myself, that will be my action (my present choice, my deed), and it will ripen, here or in the future, over and over again, exponentially. Which do I choose? Craving for painkilling pleasure drives me to choose the former, but sense and having heard the Dharma of the Buddha (the Teachings of the Awakened One) drives me to choose the later. What to do, what to do?

Mara ("The Devil") has many disguises

• What does "karma" mean in Buddhism?
• Is karma (our deeds) always intentional?
• Overcoming by repression (Pali pahāna)
• The [bad] Five Hindrances to progress
• Is Buddhism's Mara real, symbolic, both?
• "Going Down" with the Devil (Hair!)

The legal marijuana industry's rigged (video)

Hasan Minhaj (Patriot Acmtflix, May 25, 2020); Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly


The legal marijuana industry is rigged

(Patriot Act) As rich white male business owners monopolize newly-available marijuana licenses, states continue to arrest people of color for cannabis crimes -- even after it’s legal. This leads Hasan to ask, If cannabis can’t be legalized fairly, should it be legalized at all?

Have a happy day, marijuana monger.

About Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj: New topics and new episodes every Sunday, only on Netflix. Hasan Minhaj brings an incisive and nuanced perspective to global news, politics, and culture in this unique comedy series.

ABOUT: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

• WEBSITE: bit.ly/2JbZISS
• FACEBOOK: bit.ly/2R5RAWY
• TWITTER: bit.ly/2CWqPkN
• INSTAGRAM: bit.ly/2OH80Ir

Pres. Obama moves for WAR on Iraq (video)

Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; DemocracyNow.org

I don't care about 4.5 thousand patriot GIs, what do I care about 1.4 million civilians? (DK)

OO-RAH, woo-hoo, yes! We get to go back to kill a new generation of kids and Hajjis!

Not so fast, NY Times, propagand of record. It's not over till it's over. And it ain't over.

.

We Meant Well in Iraq (look inside)

WASHINGTON DC (WQ/AP/FOX/LIP) President Barack S. Obama says the U.S. is prepared to take targeted military actions [more "smart" bombs, "precision" bombing runs, and "surgical" strikes?] in Iraq if they would help fight a growing threat from extremist militants. He also says the U.S. is ready to send as many as 300 military "advisers" [a euphemism for special forces soldier] to Iraq.

Obama is offering an update to U.S. operations in Iraq, where "al-Qaeda-inspired" militants have sparked instability. He says the United States is forming joint operations centers in Baghdad and northern Iraq.

But Obama emphasizes that American combat troops would not be returning to Iraq [unless they do, which will be decided later].

See how they love me in Orange County? I'm The Decider now. Forget Dick Cheney!

 

Obama says the U.S. has increased its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance [spying and exploiting of assets, and war-as-usual] operations in Iraq to better understand the threats to Baghdad. [Having traded blood for oil, we have more blood to trade so we have to protect the refineries innocent people of Iraq.]


Extended: see Minute 1:40 when Megyn Kelly begins her surprise attack on the former VP

Megyn cannibalizes Right Dick

(Occupy Democrats) Dick Cheney was blamed for the CURRENT crisis in Iraq on the rightwing haven FOX News of all places. During an interview with mouthpiece Megyn "Reagan" Kelly (The Kelly File) where Dick attempted to pin the blame on his relative Pres. Obama.
 

Shoot me in the face, Meg?

Cheney attempted to absolve the previous three Bush administrations of any responsibility for Iraq's disarray saying that they went into the country for good reasons, which we turned out to be deliberate lies used as pretexts for imperial invasions and US war crimes. Dick claims the results were "positive." Lip News looks at Cheney's deflection in this Lip clip with Mark Sovel and Lissette Padilla. See Megyn Kelly's full interview with the Cheneys.

 .

A Buddhist in Congress tries to stop this War

Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez (DemocracyNow.org); Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

I will say anything to get elected and reelected. But I do what the MIC directs me to.

.

That was wishful thinking by the NYT

Buddhist Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (Democrat, Hawaii) on Thursday said that she will stop President Obama, who unilaterally announced the deployment of up to 300 military "advisers" [that's what we called boots on the ground in our war on Vietnam] to Iraq.
 
He is using expanded executive war powers applicable to Iraq and Afghanistan (AUMF) invented using the 9/11 pretext and Patriot Act, which means he can make initial moves without declaring war or asking Congress for permission before sinking the country in yet another war. (Of course, we never left Iraq, and we have no plans to leave Afghanistan; all we are going to do is change the name of "soldiers" to "advisors," "contractors," "experts," and "investors."
 

What Bush/Cheney started Obama intensifies.

The president, face, and mouthpiece for the MIC (military-industrial complex) left open the possibility of U.S. airstrikes against Sunni Muslim "militants" who are said to have taken back large parts of their country. Democracy Now! goes to Capitol Hill to speak to Democratic Buddhist Rep. Colleen Hanabusa of Hawaii, who successfully introduced an amendment that passed by UNANIMOUS consent this week to prevent the deployment of U.S. troops to Iraq without congressional approval. More

Thanks to whistleblower Pfc. Chelsea Bradley Manning we now have no doubt about the truth: The preemptive Iraq War, the illegal invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, the "Global War on Fear (Terror)," and the NSA's massive spying ring were all founded on lies.

"The Tree of Life" (2011 film)

Brad Pitt stars in a new film from Terrence Malick -- the acclaimed director of Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line. The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern American family in the 1950's.

It follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn), through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years. He tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt).

Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world: He is seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.

• Justin Bieber's Mexican girlfriend, Jewish tattoo
• War-weary lawmakers push Obama to end Afghan war
  
• Student finds universe's "missing mass"
• US crime is down, but media wants fear in these cities
• High school graduation rates are up in US
• Obama admin. still trying to illegally kill Gaddafi
• War Powers Act: Obama can now be Dictator
• "1984" in 2011: U.S. House votes for "Patriot Act"
  

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act until June 1, 2015. The Senate voted earlier in the day to approve the extension bill. The House vote was 250 in favor, with 153 opposed. Oppositions to the bill said it was an invasion of privacy and had hoped to add language providing for further oversight and audits of the activities the law permits. The three provisions are as follows: One would enable law enforcement officials to conduct surveillance on suspects without a warrant who switch communication devices, such as using disposable cellular phones. A second would let officials conduct warrant-less surveillance on suspects not currently linked to any known terrorist organization abroad. The third would enable officials access to suspects' business transactions without a warrant. Pres. Obama signed the bill using an auto pen machine from France. Source

End of Organic Farming? (H.R. 875)

LINK or DOWNLOAD (iPod/PSP)

"The end of organic farming as we know it?"
The Accidental Yogist (April 10, 2009)

Recently there has been a flurry of messages about HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, and how it could criminalize organic farming. Here's one message:

Protect our organic foods!!!!
Let your voice be HEARD, SPREAD the word, and SPEAK UP NOW!

H.R. 875 Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, if passed, will criminalize organic farms, force ORGANIC farms to use pesticides and force us to use them in our own backyards. No surprise here as MONSANTO is one of the backers of this bill. Monsanto is the world's largest herbicide and pesticide company and the leading producer of genetically engineered seeds [GMOs] which are now causing unexpected diseases in humans and evil on many other levels. Watch the Future of Food.

• There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next two weeks before people realize what's happening.
• This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply."
• There are 40 co-sponsors to the bill and six of the 40 are from California.

Leavemyfoodalone.org talks about the consequences of the bill, which is currently under review:

In its current form, the bill could prevent small local organic farms and community gardeners from growing and selling you nutritious, truly fresh, organic produce. It would crush our small local food producers by imposing heavy government regulation that only large corporations could adhere to. Imagine:

• No more farmers markets.
• No more garden fresh, seasonal ingredients from the local farmer at your favorite restaurant.
• No more roadside stands with fresh picked sweet corn, juicy ripe tomatoes, or refreshing watermelons in the summer.
• Americans would essentially be forced to only eat corporately manufactured, chemically treated, hermetically sealed, irradiated fruits and vegetables.
• Stop this abomination now!

Always the skeptic, I've postponed signing any petitions until I've had a chance to learn more about the issue.

And on April 11th, on KCRW's Good Food, host Evan Kleiman talked with Tom Philpott of grist.org about the myths and facts of this bill. The interview is accessible from the archives and downloadable free for podcast from KCRW. More>>

• Would new food-safety legislation "criminalize organic farming"?

No? The Internets are abuzz with accounts of a House bill, allegedly sponsored by Monsanto and pushed through Congress by its lackeys, that would "criminalize organic farming" and even backyard gardening. "The bill is monstrous on level after level — the power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the prison terms, and confiscatory fines for farmers, the 24 hour GPS tracking of their animals, the easements on their property to allow for warrantless government entry, the stripping away of their property rights... There have been hysterical missives about H.R. 875. They are difficult to square with the text of the bill, which is admittedly vague. For example, the bill seeks to regulate any "food production facility" which it defines as "any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."