All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

National Geographic {fail} and Fox Form a Commercial Media Company – The New York Times

Since 1888, the National Geographic Society has stood for science, discovery and storytelling. {Now it is just about the money and pimping for Fox}

Source: National Geographic and Fox Form a Commercial Media Company – The New York Times

Gaza sandstorm compounds Palestinian boy’s housing woes

A Palestinian boy lies on a mattress in what is left of his family’s home, which witnesses told Reuters was destroyed by Israeli shelling during the 50-day war in 2014.His housing problems have been compounded by a sandstorm that has swept Gaza and parts of the Middle East, killing two people and hospitalising hundreds.

Source: Gaza sandstorm compounds Palestinian boy’s housing woes

Female PKK fighters are also present in the combat line against ISIS in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Credit: Karlos Zurutuza/IPS

IPS Inter Press Service posted a photo:

Female PKK fighters are also present in the combat line against ISIS in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Credit: Karlos Zurutuza/IPS

In and Behind the Trenches Against ISIS
By Karlos Zurutuza

KIRKUK, Iraq, September 9, 2015 (IPS)—

Reminders of the last occupants of camp K1 in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk are only visible on the murals at the main gate leading into the compound: Iraqi soldiers saluting the flag, pointing their weapons or being cheered on by grateful families.

US Open tennis 2015

The US Open started August 31 and concludes this weekend in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. It is the fourth and final tennis competition that comprises the Grand Slam, in which Serena Williams has a chance to earn this calendar year. It would be the first time in 27 years this feat was accomplished for a singles player.

By Leanne Burden Seidel
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Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after defeating Venus Williams of the United States in their Women’s Singles Quarterfinals match on Day Nine of the 2015 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 8, in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.
(Mike Stobe/Getty Images for the USTA)

Lifeguards Rescued 5,000 Swimmers From Dangerous Rip Currents This Weekend: LAist

Across L.A. County, 2,036 swimmers were rescued—a big spike from last year’s Labor Day weekend, when 1,207 people needed help. The numbers could have been higher this weekend, but lifeguards warned or stopped 101,635 people from braving the rough waters. Strong rip currents were considered to be what led to the drowning of one swimmer last Thursday near Avenue 19 in Venice. Lifeguards were able to rescue two friends of the Venice swimmer who were out around 200 feet from shore when currents pulled them out further. They weren’t able to save one of them, a man whose body was pulled from the water an hour later.At Orange County beaches, lifeguards rescued 3,600 swimmers from beaches around the area, reports the OC Register. More than 1,700 of the rescues over the long weekend took place around Laguna Beach, while hundreds of others took place around Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. While many of them were considered “scary rescues,” there were no reported deaths related to the currents in the region. “A lot of people plan to go out and wade in the water, and the current affects them and they panic. A lot of people misjudge and overestimate their ability,” Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Mike Beuerlein told the Register. “A lifeguard has been there every time.”

Source: Lifeguards Rescued 5,000 Swimmers From Dangerous Rip Currents This Weekend: LAist

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Meets Tribal Leaders on Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State

In addition to the emergency declaration, FEMA has approved 11 Fire Management Assistance Grants to help with ongoing firefighting costs. They also sent an Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) that was deployed to the state’s Emergency Operation Center – while another team from FEMA’s Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) detachment – along with a liaison officer, who traveled to the Colville Reservation to provide support and communication capability to the tribes’ Emergency Operations Center.Jewell also met with tribal leaders from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The North Star Fire has burned more than 209,000 acres, primarily on the reservation, and approximately 3,000 single structures are threatened.

Source: Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Meets Tribal Leaders on Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State