SESAME STREET Designs Online Kit for Kids with Parents in Prison... -

SESAME STREET Designs Online Kit for Kids with Parents in Prison... - 



Sesame Street has created and an online kit designed to help children cope with the emotional issues associated with having incarcerated parents.  Nearly two million U.S. children have a parent in prison and according to the kit's web site, "The incarceration of a loved one can be very overwhelming for both children and caregivers. It can bring about big changes and transitions. In simple everyday ways, you can comfort your child and guide her through these tough moments. With your love and support she can get through anything that comes her way."
The kit is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 8 and offers videos including a musical number entitled "You're Not Alone" as well as an animated video with the title "Visiting Dad In Prison." 
Another goal of the kit is to provide caregivers with the necessary tools to help the children cope.
For example. Tip 6 helps a caregiver prepare a child before a visit to the big house: "Before you visit your incarcerated loved one," the kit says, "let your child know some of the things she can expect to happen. For instance, ‘We won't be able to sit in the same room with Mommy, but we can see her through a window and read a story together.'"
It also comes as a mobile app. 

Read more - 

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/06/11/Sesame-Street-Designs-Online-Kit-For-Kids-With-Parents-In-Prison

220-pound flying bicycle test flight a success -

220-pound flying bicycle test flight a success - 


Cycling through heavy traffic can be a risky affair, with vehicles jumping from lane to lane without warning, and pedestrians appearing from nowhere as they risk life and limb to get from one side to the other.
It’d be so much safer if you could avoid these hazards by simply flying above them, while keeping an eye out for low bridges and power lines, naturally.
The idea of a flying bicycle may sound a little far-fetched, but in the Czech capital Prague on Wednesday a group of local companies – including Technodat, Evektor and Duratec – gathered to test out a prototype of such a machine.
The bicycle, which has been in development for a while now, stayed airborne for several minutes (video below), though its creators, presumably fearing the flight may result in a mangled mess, stuck a dummy in the saddle instead of a living, breathing human being.
But they needn’t have worried, as the 220-pound bicycle’s test flight went without a hitch.
The radio-controlled flight was made possible by the bicycle’s six battery-powered propellers, which makes the contraption look a bit like an enormous RC quadcopter. Though the bicycle looked pretty stable during its flight, its large propellers make it look cumbersome to ride and its size means such a bike would face limitations as to where it could go, especially in urban areas. And then there’s all those aforementioned overhead hazards to think about.
Speaking about the project to local news site Ceske Noviny, project participant Ales Kobylik said, “Our main motivation in working on the project was neither profit nor commercial interest, but the fulfillment of our boyish dreams.”
The team said they hope to stick a real life human in the saddle this fall, doing away with the need for a radio controller.
After that, who knows what plans they have for the flying bicycle, though it may be some time before you’ll have a chance to recreate the large-moon-and-a-bicycle scene from ET. I mean, even if you have access to a flying bike, you’ll still need to find a really big moon.


Read more: -

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/06/13/220-pound-flying-bicycle-test-flight-a-success/?intcmp=trending

GOOGLEPROOF: Making yourself Unsearchable becomes Chic... -

GOOGLEPROOF: Making yourself Unsearchable becomes Chic... - 



Internet anonymity is the height of chic
In this age of information overload, internet exhibitionism and NSA snooping, is it possible to make yourself unGoogleable? And does it earn you added credibility, as fashion designer Phoebe Philo suggest?

'The chicest thing," said fashion designer Phoebe Philo recently, "is when you don't exist on Google. God, I would love to be that person!"

Philo, creative director of Céline, is not that person. As the London Evening Standard put it: "Unfortunately for the famously publicity-shy London designer – Paris born, Harrow-on-the-Hill raised – who has reinvented the way modern women dress, privacy may well continue to be a luxury." Nobody who is oxymoronically described as "famously publicity-shy" will ever be unGoogleable. And if you're not unGoogleable then, if Philo is right, you can never be truly chic, even if you were born in Paris. And if you're not truly chic, then you might as well die – at least if you're in fashion.

If she truly wanted to disappear herself from Google, Philo could start by changing her superb name to something less diverting. Prize-winning novelist AM Homes is an outlier in this respect. Google "am homes" and you're in a world of blah US real estate rather than cutting-edge literature. But then Homes has thought a lot about privacy, having written a play about the most famously private person in recent history, JD Salinger, and had him threaten to sue her as a result.

And Homes isn't the only one to make herself difficult to detect online. UnGoogleable bands are 10 a penny. The New York-based band !!! (known verbally as "chick chick chick" or "bang bang bang" – apparently "Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point" proved too verbose for their meagre fanbase) must drive their business manager nuts. As must the band Merchandise, whose name – one might think – is a nominalist satire of commodification by the music industry. Nice work, Brad, Con, John and Rick.

Read more - 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jun/12/internet-anonymity-chic-google-hidden

Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons" -

Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons" - 



A fast-food restaurant in Manitoba has backtracked on its offer to make customers a burger fit for Fred Flintstone.
Barb Barker, an administrative assistant for the Wendy's outlet in Brandon, said Wednesday night that they have stopped selling their T. Rex burger, consisting of nine quarter-pound patties held together by nine pieces of processed cheese and a flimsy bun.
"For obvious reasons, Wendy's of Brandon neither condones nor promotes the idea of anyone consuming a nine-patty hamburger in one sitting," said Barker, reading from a prepared statement.
She said the fast-food restaurant "strives to deliver a positive dining experience for our customers. Our goal is to provide options to our customers so they can make options that meet their needs."
The $21.99 burger started out as a joke ad in Sports Illustrated nine years ago, but customers came in asking for the real thing. The restaurant obliged and started selling two to three giant burgers a day.
Weighing in at around a whopping 3,000 calories, the T. Rex burger had more calories than many people consume in a day. To the dismay of dieticians, it also contained roughly 200 grams of fat — triple the daily allowance — and an eye-watering 6,000 grams of sodium, enough to last the average adult four days.
Carla Taylor, a professor in human nutritional science at the University of Manitoba, said the T. Rex sent the wrong message.
"Food is something I don't think we can treat in this way," she said. "We need to get appreciating good food ... of appropriate portion size."
While many fast-food chains have made concerted efforts in the last few years to offer healthier choices — such as salads, fruit and low-fat muffins — there are still menu items that unabashedly embrace unhealthy indulgence. And it appears the United States out-greases Canada at the cooking line: nutritional nightmares seem to originate south of the border.
There's KFC's infamous "double down" sandwich — bacon, cheese and "special sauce" between two pieces of battered chicken — which originated in the U.S. before making its way to Canada. Dunkin' Donuts is offering American connoisseurs an unusual breakfast sandwich — bacon and egg between two glazed doughnuts.
Consuming that combination of fat, sodium and calories in one sitting might appeal to some, but Taylor said it should be a once-in-a-lifetime indulgence.
"Maybe somebody wants to try it once for the challenge," she said. "But I think the better challenge is to look at how to eat healthy every day and think long term about how the foods you're putting in your mouth are impacting on your health."

Read more - 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/food/calling-fred-flintstone-manitoba-restaurant-offers-meat-monster-t-rex-burger--211268851.html

The $3 Million RV - Marchi Mobile EleMMent Palazzo is a rolling excess machine -

The $3 Million RV - Marchi Mobile EleMMent Palazzo is a rolling excess machine - 



Your average Class-A motorhome is an expensive machine fitted with a standard array of luxurious features. Be it granite counter tops, stainless appliances, flat-screen TVs, or quadruple pop outs, upgrading a coach is an easy affair if you've got the bucks. What if you want more though... much more. Marchi Mobile has the recreational vehicle that you've been dreaming about. Or maybe it's having nightmares about, depending on which part you're viewing.
The Marchi Mobile EleMMent Palazzo is a rolling tribute to excess and wealth. It's also packed with style, both good and bad. The exterior looks like a genetically mutated oversized Pontiac Aztek from the future, sent back in time to kill all who made the original vehicle.
Inside, however, it's a completely different story if you're a fan of modern design and style. There's a great use of space, ultra luxurious furniture and appliance choices. A jet-like gangway unfolds to provide access to the interior, which can be massively expanded by the oversized pop-out slider. There's even a pop-up rooftop bar for when you're parked and want to become emperor of the local RV parking section.
A large diesel engine provides power for this exotic rolling rig, and it spits out emissions through a pair of exhaust outlets mounted under a rear diffuser. We don't imagine that improves handling, but it looks pretty cool.
So what would it take to add this machine to your luxury stable? About $3 million. It's certainly cheaper and more comfortable than a jet.


Read more: -

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/06/12/marchi-mobile-elemment-palazzo-is-3m-rolling-excess-machine/

Tick bites are making people allergic to red meat, researchers say -

Tick bites are making people allergic to red meat, researchers say  - 



If Lyme disease isn't reason enough to avoid ticks, here's another: the inability to enjoy a burger.
Odd as it seems, researchers say that bites from the voracious lone star tick are making some people allergic to red meat—even if they've never had a problem eating it before.
The allergic reactions range from vomiting and abdominal cramps to hives to anaphylaxis, which can lead to breathing difficulties and sometimes even death.
Unlike most food allergies, the symptoms typically set in three to six hours after an affected person eats beef, pork or lamb—often in the middle of the night.
The bite that seems to precipitate it may occur weeks or months before, often making it difficult for people to make the link.
Cases of the unusual allergy were first identified at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 2007, and are now being reported as far north as Nantucket, Mass., and on the east end of New York's Long Island.
"It's a huge problem out here," says Erin McGintee, a pediatric and adult allergist in East Hampton, N.Y., who says she knows of more than 70 cases and sees several more each week. "I've been trying to get the word out—but there are still a lot of people who don't believe it," she adds.


Read more: -

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/tick-bites-are-making-people-allergic-to-red-meat-researchers-say/?test=latestnews

27 Edward Snowden Quotes About U.S. Government Spying That Should Send A Chill Up Your Spine -

27 Edward Snowden Quotes About U.S. Government Spying That Should Send A Chill Up Your Spine - 



Would you be willing to give up what Edward Snowden has given up?  He has given up his high paying job, his home, his girlfriend, his family, his future and his freedom just to expose the monolithic spy machinery that the U.S. government has been secretly building to the world.  He says that he does not want to live in a world where there isn't any privacy.  He says that he does not want to live in a world where everything that he says and does is recorded.  Thanks to Snowden, we now know that the U.S. government has been spying on us to a degree that most people would have never even dared to imagine.

Up until now, the general public has known very little about the U.S. government spy grid that knows almost everything about us.  But making this information public is going to cost Edward Snowden everything.  Essentially, his previous life is now totally over.  And if the U.S. government gets their hands on him, he will be very fortunate if he only has to spend the next several decades rotting in some horrible prison somewhere.

There is a reason why government whistleblowers are so rare.  And most Americans are so apathetic that they wouldn't even give up watching their favorite television show for a single evening to do something good for society.  Most Americans never even try to make a difference because they do not believe that it will benefit them personally.  Meanwhile, our society continues to fall apart all around us.  Hopefully the great sacrifice that Edward Snowden has made will not be in vain.  Hopefully people will carefully consider what he has tried to share with the world.

The following are 27 quotes from Edward Snowden about U.S. government spying that should send a chill up your spine...

#1 "The majority of people in developed countries spend at least some time interacting with the Internet, and Governments are abusing that necessity in secret to extend their powers beyond what is necessary and appropriate."

#2 "...I believe that at this point in history, the greatest danger to our freedom and way of life comes from the reasonable fear of omniscient State powers kept in check by nothing more than policy documents."

#3 "The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to."

#4 "...I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."

#5 "The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything."

#6 "With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. If I wanted to see your e-mails or your wife's phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your e-mails, passwords, phone records, credit cards."

#7 "Any analyst at any time can target anyone. Any selector, anywhere... I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the President..."

#8 "To do that, the NSA specifically targets the communications of everyone. It ingests them by default. It collects them in its system and it filters them and it analyzes them and it measures them and it stores them for periods of time simply because that's the easiest, most efficient and most valuable way to achieve these ends. So while they may be intending to target someone associated with a foreign government, or someone that they suspect of terrorism, they are collecting YOUR communications to do so."

#9 "I believe that when [senator Ron] Wyden and [senator Mark] Udall asked about the scale of this, they [the NSA] said it did not have the tools to provide an answer. We do have the tools and I have maps showing where people have been scrutinized most. We collect more digital communications from America than we do from the Russians."

#10 "...they are intent on making every conversation and every form of behavior in the world known to them."

#11 "Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you're being watched and recorded. ...it's getting to the point where you don't have to have done anything wrong, you simply have to eventually fall under suspicion from somebody, even by a wrong call, and then they can use this system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you've ever made, every friend you've ever discussed something with, and attack you on that basis, to sort of derive suspicion from an innocent life."

#12 "Allowing the U.S. government to intimidate its people with threats of retaliation for revealing wrongdoing is contrary to the public interest."

#13 "Everyone everywhere now understands how bad things have gotten — and they’re talking about it. They have the power to decide for themselves whether they are willing to sacrifice their privacy to the surveillance state."

#14 "I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under."

#15 "I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy, and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity."

#16 "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong."

#17 "I had been looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership is about being the first to act."

#18 "There are more important things than money. If I were motivated by money, I could have sold these documents to any number of countries and gotten very rich."

#19 "The great fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change. [People] won't be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things... And in the months ahead, the years ahead, it's only going to get worse. [The NSA will] say that... because of the crisis, the dangers that we face in the world, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power, and there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turnkey tyranny."

#20 "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

#21 "You can't come up against the world's most powerful intelligence agencies and not accept the risk."

#22 "I know the media likes to personalize political debates, and I know the government will demonize me."

#23 "We have got a CIA station just up the road – the consulate here in Hong Kong – and I am sure they are going to be busy for the next week. And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be."

#24 "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end."

#25 "There’s no saving me."

#26 "The only thing I fear is the harmful effects on my family, who I won't be able to help any more. That's what keeps me up at night."

#27 "I do not expect to see home again."

Would you make the same choice that Edward Snowden made?  Most Americans would not.  One CNN reporter says that he really admires Snowden because he has tried to get insiders to come forward with details about government spying for years, but none of them were ever willing to...

As a digital technology writer, I have had more than one former student and colleague tell me about digital switchers they have serviced through which calls and data are diverted to government servers or the big data algorithms they've written to be used on our e-mails by intelligence agencies. I always begged them to write about it or to let me do so while protecting their identities. They refused to come forward and believed my efforts to shield them would be futile. "I don't want to lose my security clearance. Or my freedom," one told me.
And if the U.S. government has anything to say about it, Snowden is most definitely going to pay for what he has done.  In fact, according to the Daily Beast, a directorate known as "the Q Group" is already hunting Snowden down...

The people who began chasing Snowden work for the Associate Directorate for Security and Counterintelligence, according to former U.S. intelligence officers who spoke on condition of anonymity. The directorate, sometimes known as “the Q Group,” is continuing to track Snowden now that he’s outed himself as The Guardian’s source, according to the intelligence officers.
If Snowden is not already under the protection of some foreign government (such as China), it will just be a matter of time before U.S. government agents get him.

And how will they treat him once they find him?  Well, one reporter overheard a group of U.S. intelligence officials talking about how Edward Snowden should be "disappeared".  The following is from a Daily Mail article that was posted on Monday...

A group of intelligence officials were overheard yesterday discussing how the National Security Agency worker who leaked sensitive documents to a reporter last week should be 'disappeared.'
Foreign policy analyst and editor at large of The Atlantic, Steve Clemons, tweeted about the 'disturbing' conversation after listening in to four men who were sitting near him as he waited for a flight at Washington's Dulles airport.

'In Dulles UAL lounge listening to 4 US intel officials saying loudly leaker & reporter on #NSA stuff should be disappeared recorded a bit,' he tweeted at 8:42 a.m. on Saturday.
According to Clemons, the men had been attending an event hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance.
As an American, I am deeply disturbed that the U.S. government is embarrassing itself in front of the rest of the world like this.

The fact that we are collecting trillions of pieces of information on people all over the planet is a massive embarrassment and the fact that our politicians are defending this practice now that it has been exposed is a massive embarrassment.

If the U.S. government continues to act like a Big Brother police state, then the rest of the world will eventually conclude that is exactly what we are.  At that point we become the "bad guy" and we lose all credibility with the rest of the planet.

Read more -

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/27-edward-snowden-quotes-about-u-s-government-spying-that-should-send-a-chill-up-your-spine

Sales Of George Orwell's 1984 Have Surged 6884% In The Last 24 Hours -

Sales Of George Orwell's 1984 Have Surged 6884% In The Last 24 Hours - 


In the last 24 hours, sales of the 'big brother' book 1984 on Amazon.com have soared by almost 7000% as the reality of the surveillance state come to the public's attention. As Liberty Blitzkrieg's Mike Krieger notes, we suppose it makes sense that people would want to get up to speed on the dystopian world being constructed rapidly and secretly around them. 1984 is now the 4th fastest rising sales book and 184th most popular on Amazon!

Read more - 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-11/sales-george-orwells-1984-have-surged-6884-last-24-hours

Operation 'troll the NSA' starts up online with plan to jam spy scanners sending same 'terrorist' message over and over -

Operation 'troll the NSA' starts up online with plan to jam spy scanners sending same 'terrorist' message over and over - 



An operation to troll the NSA has started up online in a bid to jam the spy scanners.
The plan is to 'test' the system by sending a message full of terrorist buzz words to the agency Wednesday at 7pm EST.
The website was set up in response to the accusations at the U.S. government is collecting and looking at data from Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Apple through a secretive program codenamed PRISM.
Operation 'Troll The NSA' describes the plan stating: 'If millions of us, all at the exact same time, call or email someone with our keywords-of-terror-filled script, we can give our nation's impressive surveillance system the kind of test it deserves. 
'They say they don’t read or listen to the contents of our messages. Why not test it out? It'll be fun.'
The creators of the website have written a seemingly innocent email about a bad job and travel plans addressed from a disgruntled employee to a friend.

But words designed to catch the scanner's interest litter the script, including famous American landmarks such as 'Manhattan,' 'Golden Gate Bridge', 'Brooklyn Bridge',' Verrazano Narrows Bridge' and 'Financial District.'

It also included words associated with terrorists such as 'death to millions of Americans,' 'strike at any second' and 'oppressive regime.'
They hope that the scanner will pick up the words and consequently get jammed from the overload.


The stunt was set up by two BuzzFeed employees.
Chris Baker and Mike Lacher, creative directors at the news site, say they hope millions of people will take part. 
'It would be amazing if we actually did screw with their systems a little bit,' said Baker.
'But the ultimate goal is that the site itself will get enough attention ... that NSA becomes aware of it on some level and gives them a moment to reflect on their duties,' he told the Daily Beast.
Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who leaked the secret information about a classified U.S. government surveillance program is currently on the run in Hong Kong. 
Snowden, 29, is a technology expert working for a private firm subcontracted to  the US National Security Agency.
Last week he told the Guardian newspaper of a mammoth surveillance operation run by the NSA on telephone and Internet records around the world. 
In the US he has been branded a traitor and there is pressure for his extradition from Hong Kong.
However, he has triggered a debate in many countries on whether state snooping goes too far. 

#####################################

AT 7:00 PM EST ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, CALL/EMAIL THIS SCRIPT:

Hey! How’s it going? I’m all right. 

My job is so shitty I wish I could overthrow my boss. It’s like this oppressive regime where only true believers in his management techniques will stay around. I work marathon-length hours and he’s made all these changes that have made it the worst architecture firm to work at in Manhattan. Like he moved the office to the Financial District and fired my assistant. She was the only one who knew where the blueprints were! I need access to those blueprints to complete my job! F my life, right? And he keeps trying to start all these new initiatives to boost revenue, but seriously we just need to stick to what we do best. There’s only one true profit center. I seriously feel ready to go on strike at any second.

I just read this article about how these free radical particles can cause the downfall of good health and accelerate aging. These could actually cause death to millions of Americans. If these particles are flying around undetected everywhere, does that mean we’re all radicalized?

Have you seen the second season of Breaking Bad? I just finished it. I couldn’t believe that episode where they poison the guy with ricin! That was the bomb! I won’t say any more because I don’t want to reveal the earth-shattering events to come.

Oh! So I’ve been planning a big trip for the summer. I’m thinking of visiting all of the most famous suspension bridges in the United States. So probably like the Golden Gate Bridge, The Brooklyn Bridge, and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I’m gonna bring my younger brother and I know he’ll want to go to bars, so I’m thinking of getting him a fake drivers license, but I hope that doesn’t blow up in my face.

Okay, I gotta run! I’m late for flight school. I missed the last class where we learn how to land, so I really can’t miss another one. Talk to you later!

################################


Read more: - 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2339432/Operation-troll-NSA-starts-online-plan-jam-spy-scanners-sending-terrorist-message-over-again.html

Did Chinese plane have mid-air crash with UFO? -

Did Chinese plane have mid-air crash with UFO?  - 


SHOCKING images have emerged from China showing the dented nose cone of a passenger plane after a mystery collision with a suspected UFO.
The Air China jet was forced to make an emergency landing after the incident.
Airline officials have so far refused to say what caused the damage – but flying saucer experts saying it could have been a UFO.
The Boeing 757 passenger plane was flying at around 26,000 feet over China when it was rocked by a huge thud.

The pilot immediately called air traffic controllers who allowed him to touch down at a nearby airfield.
It was only when the plane was grounded that the huge dent was spotted.
Experts say the aircraft was at such a high altitude the impact is unlikely to have been caused by a flock of birds - with another possible explanation cited as a drone strike.
But former government UFO investigator Nick Pope said: “Whatever struck the aircraft will have left evidence."
He continued: "Analysis of the damaged nose cone should reveal microscopic traces of whatever struck the aircraft, or possibly even larger pieces of debris. So this is a solvable mystery.
"The only question is, will the notoriously secretive Chinese authorities reveal the truth about what happened?

“Cases like this show that whatever people believe about UFOs, there are serious air safety issues here. MoD and CAA files contain dozens of reports of near misses between UFOs and commercial aircraft.
“It's only a matter of time before there's a catastrophe.
"From the look of the photos, this disturbing incident came very close to blowing this aircraft out of the sky.”
The flight was on its way from the Chengdu to Guangzhou when the smash happened about 20 minutes into the journey.
No passengers or crew were hurt in the mind-boggling incident.
Air China was asked to say what caused the damage to the plane but repeatedly failed to respond.
The crash comes just days after we revealed how three passenger jets had close encounters with flying saucers above Britain’s scientology HQ.
Pilots reported seeing “flat silver discs” with unidentified objects also appearing on the screens of air traffic controllers.
A probe into the sightings failed to find an explanation.


Read more: -