The City of Light

The Oriental Pearl tower in Shanghai

The Angel de la Independencia monument in Mexico City

Auckland Museum.

Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil

Trafalgar Square

Jerusalem's Old City Ottoman Walls

Thank you...!

Two Boston police officers are being praised for coming to the aid of veteran after a city bus driver sought help with a rider holding a hatchet to his neck and threatening to kill himself.
An officer identified by the Boston Herald as Capt. Haseeb Hosein was working a construction detail when the driver got his attention. Hosein called for back-up, boarded the bus and started talking to the troubled passenger.

Another officer, identified by the Herald as patrol officer David Godin, joined in the effort to talk the man out of killing himself, according to the station.

When he opened up and told them he was a veteran, Godin said: "Thank you for your service."
At those simple words, the man dropped the hatchet and eventually walked off the bus to a waiting ambulance.
"The goal on a call like this is for everyone to go home safe and, thankfully, today everybody did," police said in a statement.

Just a thought.

SNL-Pres. Election

Taran Killam and Cecily Strong as Donald and Melania Trump.

Saturday Night Live" political skits may actually have an influence on voters.
William Horner, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, has studied the influence of SNL on voters. When the show debuted in 1976, Jimmy Carter was running to unseat Gerald Ford. Because of incidents in which Ford tripped and fell on the stairs of Air Force One, twice, SNL's version using Chevy Chase portrayed Ford as a clumsy person.

It is a popular belief that Sarah Palin actually said "I can see Russia from my house." In fact, the quote came from an SNL skit in which Tina Fey played the Alaska governor.

"The perception is that there’s an audience that cites its primary news source as predominantly entertainment shows and, if valid, this certainly would have an impact on the presidential election," Saltzman said. 

Larry David made his comeback as Bernie Sanders  “I didn’t need no fancy introduction,” he said. “I’m not Elvis Presley.”

 “We need to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. It’s crumbling. That’s why I no longer drive on bridges or through tunnels. It’s too risky. Instead, I keep a kayak strapped to the top of my car.”

“The other candidates, they’re taking millions of dollars from the Koch brothers and Exxon Mobil. But not me. I only accept coins.........  

Donald Trump also is having a large segment of SNL in a good and funny way.

These skits may improve someone's image or undermine it. For Trump it has been funny and positive. He will build a wall .... Chinese people say "wow that's a wall".  For Sanders, it is extremely funny but it highlights a not so positive side of his message.

Just a thought.

New Security...?

While Russia had earlier suggested that the UK was acting prematurely in halting flights to the Red Sea resort over terrorism fears, Vladimir Putin ordered even wider restrictions on Friday, including halting all flights from Cairo. The head of his federal security services said it would be expedient to suspend flights until they had discovered why the Airbus A321 had crashed last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the US announced new security measures including tighter screening for flights from some airports in the Middle East. Jeh Johnson, the homeland security secretary, said that the move was motivated by “an abundance of caution”.

Russia initially dismissed claims by Islamic State of responsibility for downing the Metrojet flight, which came weeks after threats of retaliation for Russian planes bombing Syria, and Moscow reacted angrily after David Cameron said it was “more likely than not” a bomb.

There is a new concern of what terrorist were able to do, did, or acquired when it comes to the Russian Jet. That concern is new to aviation in general and represent a new escalation in the threat to aviation. 

Tourists flew out from the Egyptian resorts without their luggage's which indicates the new concern related to what these luggage's may have even without the knowledge of the passengers themselves. It is not just security at the airports but also security at the Resort.

Just a thought.

Ben, Ben, Ben....

Ben Carson faced growing questions about key aspects of his personal narrative that he has discussed publicly over several decades. Carson himself acknowledged that a scholarship offer from West Point military academy was "informal." 
  

His personal narrative, a centerpiece of his campaign and star power, has long revolved around his accounts of his violent past and descriptions of the healing powers of his faith.

"As a teenager, I would go after people with rocks, and bricks, and baseball bats, and hammers. And, of course, many people know the story when I was 14 and I tried to stab someone," Carson said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

CNN reported that childhood friends of Carson were surprised about violent incidents and had no recollection of such events.

"Guy comes in, put the gun in my ribs," and I just said, 'I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,'" Carson said on Sirius XM Radio. "I redirected him. ... The resolution was, [the gunman] said, 'Oh, sorry,' and then he went to the appropriate person behind the register who gave him the money, and he left the store running before the police got there." The police didn't find any report about this incident.

In a “Faith & Liberty” interview posted,  Ben Carson discussed his rejection of the theory of evolution, arguing that the science of evolution is a sign of humankind’s arrogance and belief “

Carson told the graduates of Andrews University in Michigan that it is his "personal" belief that the pyramids were built as storehouses for grain and not, as archaeologists say, for the interment of dead pharaohs.

Donald Trump is looking Fantastic by now, thanks to Carson.

Just a thought.

Video Taping?

A Taco Bell executive who lost his job after allegedly beating an Uber driver was slapped  with further criminal charges that put him at risk of spending up to a year behind bars.

Benjamin Golden, 32, Newport Beach, California, was charged with four misdemeanor counts by the Orange County District Attorney's office.

 "Given the behavior of the individual, it is clear he can no longer work for us," Taco Bell said in a statement. "We have also offered and encouraged him to seek professional help."

The video reveals the driver repeatedly and unsuccessfully asking Golden for driving directions. He flips his camera around to show the inside of the car, and Golden topples over in the back seat with an audible thud as the driver makes a left turn. The video has seen by 1.3 million times on YouTube.

Golden was arrested on July 8, 2012, in Louisville, Kentucky, on charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.  

Golden's license was also suspended for one month, the prosecutor's office said.
Golden's LinkedIn account is no longer available, and his Twitter link was blocked from public sight, but on a cached version of his Twitter page, he describes himself with a simple statement: "Sushi lover. Bourbon drinker. The end."

Not sure the driver has the right to video tape any passenger without a consent. The passenger could be a woman breastfeeding a child, a sick patient, etc.. He should be sued on this ground......

Just a thought.

Oh Mai...

Jacqueline Eide was out celebrating early Sunday morning when she got the brilliant idea to pet a big cat. [don't we all get bright ideas]. So she broke into the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska, and approached a tiger believed to be Mai, an 18-year-old female who was brought to the zoo after losing one leg to a snare. [felt he needed more support from the public]

Unsurprisingly, Mai wasn't happy being pet, and attacked Eide's hand. A friend transported Eide to Creighton University Medical Center, where police were called after she became disruptive.
"Eide was aggressive toward staff and showed signs of intoxication of alcohol and/or drugs," the police said in a release.

In the meantime, the zoo released a statement reassuring the public that safety at the park is of the utmost priority. [During the business hours.........?].

Just a thought.

The End of the Bushys

Working to reinvigorate his sagging presidential campaign, Jeb Bush spoke at the Tampa Garden Club and took shots at President Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham-Clinton, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.
Bush alluded to 44-year-old Rubio when he said, "The challenges we face as a nation are too great to roll the dice on another presidential experiment. To trust the rhetoric of reform over a record of reform."


Here is the text of Bush's Tampa speech:
“The story of a big, diverse state, shaped by conservative, results-oriented leadership.
“Reforming government.  Disrupting the status quo. Challenging the special interests. Restoring opportunity. Refusing to compromise in the defense of freedom. Lifting people up, not tearing them down.
“Standing up for everyone.
“Our story is about action.
“Doing, not just talking.
“Listening, not just lecturing.
“That is my story.  

  “Our economy has suffered its slowest recovery since the Great Depression.
“One in ten able-bodied Americans can’t find full-time work, or have given up looking altogether.
“One in seven Americans lives in poverty.
“One in five children is on food stamps.

So What are you Going to do?????????????????????????????? 
This is it, the End of  a Dynasty.

Just a thought.

Not Going...

 

In a scathing critique of the Republican presidential candidate, The New York Times calls on Chris Christie to exit the race. Stat.

“The point is that New Jersey is in trouble, and the governor is off pursuing a presidential run that’s turned out to be nothing more than a vanity project,” the editorial board wrote. “Mr. Christie’s numbers are in the basement, and he’s nearly out of campaign cash. This is his moment, all right: to go home and use the year left in his term to clean out the barn, as Speaker John Boehner would say.”

The editorial comes the day after the third Republican debate where Christie is widely considered to have had a good debate performance, but he is struggling with low poll numbers in the crowded field. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this month showed Christie receiving just 1% support.

Christie responded via Twitter, saying he’s “Not Going Anywhere.” And so is Fiorina, Huckabee, Rand Paul, and Kasich.

What is the point of spending money, traveling, making empty speeches, have no solutions, and getting no where?

Just a thought.

New York City Marathon

A few days before last year’s New York City Marathon, this 94-year-old race participant insisted to USA TODAY, “This is it – the last hurrah.”
As it turns out, Mendes does not tell the truth. Now, a year after promising his children he would stop this business of taking on the biggest marathon in the world, Mendes will once again be the oldest entrant in the race of 50,000. 

Hadley, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, could be one of the best collegiate distance runners in the country, racing with a team and the backing of an NCAA athletic department. Instead, she runs 120 miles a week in obscurity. She’s been rising at 5:30 a.m. every morning to run 5 miles, the first of two solitary workouts each day, around the campus so she can be back at her dorm by 6:40 a.m. and showered in time for her 8 a.m. writing class.

All this in preparation for the first day of November and the New York City Marathon. For Hadley, Sunday’s marathon isn’t just about competition or ambition. 

50,000 participant in this Marathone and I am proud to say Four Runners are my Co-Worker.

Just a thought.