The Overlooked Big Stories of 2012 December 29, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Geopolitics, In The News, News and politics.Tags: Geopolitics
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Andres Oppenheimer is a Miami Herald syndicated columnist and a member of The Miami Herald team that won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize, has a nifty list of 5 important, but overlooked stories that will have big implications in the years ahead.
- In 2017, US becomes World’s biggest oil producer
- Corruption’s threat to China’s Leadership’s legitimacy
- The Trans Pacific Trade Partnership
- Secessionist movements shaking Europe
Oppenheimer: The really important news of 2012 – Andres Oppenheimer – MiamiHerald.com.
The Coming Surge of Cuban Refugees December 29, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in In The News, News and politics.Tags: Cuba, Refugees
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In October, the Cuban government announced that it would no longer require the much-hated exit visa for anyone wishing to travel abroad. All a Cuban citizen will need is a passport and a visa for the country he plans to visit. This new Cuban policy takes effect January 14th.
The problem is, under current American law, a “visit” to the United States can immediately award a Cuban full refugee status, then permanent residency and citizenship, under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966.
For decades, Cubans have been trying to sail to the US and then dock or swim ashore before immigration agents catch up with them. For those who made it past the US Coast Guard gauntlet, once their feet touched the beach they were given legal admission. During the fiscal year that ended in September, the Coast Guard said it caught 1,275 Cubans trying to arrive by boat—the highest total since 2008. Uncounted others made it ashore, where they immediately received their unique American embrace.
Starting January 14th, however, Cuba will allow them to leave by any means of their choice. And all they’ll have to do is walk off the airplane in Miami or anywhere else in the US to be awarded refugee status. The change could lead to many thousands of new Cuban refugees every month, joining the two million Cubans and their descendants already here. But you don’t hear anyone in Washington even mentioning this problem, given the urgent concerns about Iran, North Korea, the fiscal cliff, and so much else.
via The Coming Surge of Cuban Refugees | World Affairs Journal.
Documentary Storm – Watch Free Documentaries Online December 29, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool Sites, In The News, Life, Video.Tags: Documentary, spread ideas, Video
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DocumentaryStorm
We believe that documentaries are meant to be shared and debated. The formula for a great documentary is: half Hollywood blockbuster and half Ivy League Education. A documentary is the love child of both.
We are dedicated to finding you free, full-length documentaries lovingly chosen from around the web. The main goal of this website is to share knowledge, spread ideas, and have fun. We invite you to stroll through DocumentaryStorm: click around. Get lost. Pause. Learn. Speak. Listen.
Knowledge is power.
DocumentaryStorm adds a new documentary EACH and EVERY DAY!
Extreme Firewood Stacking December 29, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Enviroment, Lifestyle.Tags: Environment, Lifestyle, Nature, outdoors, winter
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Firewood keeps you warm, when you’re cutting, hauling, splitting and stacking it, in addition to when you actually burn it. Now that the Winter weather is really here, it is time to reflect on how some other folks have gone beyond just stacking up wood to keep warm. .
How To Properly Stack Firewood – Yellow Bullet Forums. Click for more examples of Extreme Firewood Stacking
More Deaths Caused by Obesity than Hunger December 29, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Enviroment, health, In The News, Lifestyle.Tags: Environment, excess body weight, health, Hunger, Lifestyle, Obesity
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Obesity has become a bigger threat to global health than child hunger, according to a major study.
More than three million deaths in 2010 were attributable to excess body weight, three times the death toll due to malnutrition.
The largest investigation of disease ever undertaken, published yesterday, also found that high blood pressure, smoking and drinking alcohol have become the world’s biggest health risks.
So-called diseases of the western industrialised nations have become more prevalent as developing nations become more affluent. Fewer infants are dying of starvation in the poorest countries while a fast expanding middle-class in the emerging economies. 
Obesity kills more than hunger in march of ‘progress’ | The Times.
Apocalypse Later December 22, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Enviroment, Humor, In The News.Tags: Humor
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via http://allthingsd.com/20121221/apocalypse-later-comic/
Behind The Mayan Calendar December 19, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Humor.Tags: Humor, In the News
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What are the most surreal places one can ever visit? – Quora December 19, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Lifestyle.Tags: Cool photos, memorable places, outdoors, travel
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Travelers from all over the world post their most memorable places here.
(1) Travel: What are the most surreal places one can ever visit? – Quora.
Mt. Everest – In Incredible Composite Detail December 18, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: Cool photos, Environment, Everest, Extreme Sports, Nature, outdoors
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This gigapixel image of the Khumbu glacier was captured by David Breashears during the spring of 2012, from the Pumori viewpoint near Mount Everest. The Khumbu Icefall is clearly visible here, and one can easily see the hustle and bustle of Everest Base Camp below.
Click the image to enter gigapixel navigation, then use the controls at the bottom of the screen to zoom and pan and find climbers on the glacier and around the base camp tents, which will give you perspective on the scale of what you are viewing.
via Khumbu Glacier – Mt. Everest – The Glaciers of the Himalayas.
Arctic Ocean Flowers December 15, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment, Science & Technology.Tags: Arctic Ice, climate, Cool photos, Environment, Nature, Science
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These spiky little bunches of ice form on thin and new ice in the Arctic Ocean. But these badboys can only form under very special conditions:
1) Calm winds. We can’t have these beauties blown away can we?
2) Cold, cold air. It has to be about 20C less than the water and since seawater freezes around -2C, that means the air must be about -22C or -7.6F. BRRR.
Frost flowers form when newly formed ice sublimates, that is ice changes directly from a solid to a gas totally bypassing the liquid stage. Initially, the water vapor formed by sublimation is the same temperature as the sea ice, but gets quickly cooled by the cold air. The air is then becomes supersaturated with water vapor, which means the air has too water much in it. Air really doesn’t want to hold all that excess water vapor, so when the supersaturated air touches another ice crystal the water vapor quickly turns back into ice. (Click the image to enlarge)
Mystery of the Mayan Calendar Solved December 14, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Humor, In The News.Tags: Mayan Calendar, Twinkies
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Video – Southern Lights From Space Station December 9, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Science & Technology, Video.Tags: Aurora, Space
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Video of the Aurora Australis taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. This sequence of shots was taken September 17, 2011 from 17:22:27 to 17:45:12 GMT, on an ascending pass from south of Madagascar to just north of Australia over the Indian Ocean.
30 Baby Animals That Will Make You Go ‘Aww’ December 8, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Lifestyle.Tags: Animals, Babies, Cute, Productivity
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I’m posting this link in the hopes that it will improve the economic productivity in our offices; based on this study
Over-the-Top Christmas Light Displays December 8, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Humor, Lifestyle.Tags: Christmas
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The Griswolds have nothing on these folks. Click on the red arrow to start the slide show from the link below
via Over-the-Top Christmas Light Displays! – iVillage.
Explore A Virtual Human Body With Stunning Graphics December 6, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool Sites, health, Science & Technology.Tags: Anatomy, Education, medical, Science
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In the old days, learning about the components of the human body meant poring over a copy of Grey’s Anatomy. Or, if you were studying medicine, you could take a scalpel to a real cadavre of course.
Now, thanks to a fabulous web site at www.biodigitalhuman.com, you can learn about the makings of the human body without having to resort to boring textbooks or a lab.
With nothing more than a web browser and a decent internet connection you can browse the virtual skeleton. You can choose between male and female, zoom and rotate the skeleton, and turn on/off the display of specific bodily systems such as reproductive, cardiovascular and so on. You can also view the location and symptoms of hundreds of common diseases.
Scared of Santa: Scenes of Terror in Toyland December 5, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Humor, Lifestyle.Tags: Christmas
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Watch “NASA | Earth at Night” on YouTube December 5, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Enviroment, Science & Technology, Video.Tags: Space
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