The news for Minnesota today, and over the last few days, is unbelievable. Here in the twin cities, the body of a guy who police think was killed by his girlfriend was found in a swamp. She’s in prison serving time for a different crime but now the investigation may move towards charging her with homicide. Just earlier this week the body of a man who authorities say may have been killed by his wife was found in the Mississippi river. Originally police had been searching a lake near Saint Paul but it turns out his body had been dumped elsewhere, presumably by his homicidal wife. And this weekend there will be a major volunteer effort to expand the search for a young man in Eden Prairie, and I’ll bet we’re going to find out that he was killed by his girlfriend too. And of course, a few weeks ago we heard about the North Saint Paul 17 year old boy who’s body was “found” by his “girlfriend,” but then it turns out that he was killed by that very same girlfriend, who eventually admitted it.

And this all comes at the same time as news of that horrific thing in Cleveland, where three young men were kidnapped nearly 10 years ago by some woman who was a sexual predator, who then raped them again and again and …

…. hey, wait a minute …

We have a big race coming up in the Twin Cities. The local news just reported that “in light of the events that happened in Boston, runners are encouraged to pack light when they go to the race.”

The death toll in Bangladesh has gone to 1,000 as one person was pulled out alive after 17 days.

Today, the atmospheric concentration of CO2, which should be about 280 ppm, reached 400 ppm. It will fluctuate a bit below and above 400 over the next couple of years, then stay above 400 for the long term, certainly over the life time of any infants born today. This is all going to look pretty silly when sea levels rise 9 feet. Which will just be the beginning.

As I write this hipsters are being interviewed about the shooting that just happened in South Minneapolis. They were hyped.

The news reporters can no conceive of an address in the 2700s would be near the corner of 28th street. This is what happens when we let suburbanites handle our news reports. Also, yes, it matters if it is “N” or “S” because almost every avenue in the city has a North and a South part.

That is all for now.

As you know, Genie Scott of the NCSE will retire this year. Here is her story.

This is interesting and important.

Hello Bethany, I’ve always been a huge fan.

In the united states, bee keepers lose a certain number of colonies over the winter. This is normal, but bee keepers maintain that losses of about 15 percent or less are “acceptable.” I don’t know what the logical or empirical basis for that number is, however.

Yesterday, the results of a report that surveys bee keepers in the US came out, and the total loss rate over the 2012/2013 winter was 31.1%. That’s a lot more than last year’s loss rate, but within the range of variation of loss over the last few years, as shown on this graph provided by “bee informed”:

This is not exactly the same thing as Colony Collapse Disorder, but overwintering loss is a different measure than overall colony loss. (It’s all related of course.)

The reason why this is important is that many crops rely on these honey bees for pollination.

The report cited here is preliminary, and there will be a more detailed version available in the near future.

This is fairly amazing. Watch: Continue reading How to pass a secret life saving message to abused children →

From Wikipedia: “The National Rifle Association gives him a A- and the American Civil Liberties Union gives him a 0%. Some other rankings include 0% from Clean Air Flow Energy, 100% from National Right to Life, 0% from the Human Rights Coalition, 17% from the National Educational Association, 5% from the League of Conservation Voters, 92% from the United States Border Control and 10% by the Alliance for Retired Americans.”

And now, the Congressman from Virginia is messing around with, and the key word here is “mess,” national security:

After a dramatic airport arrest by the FBI, which had been tipped off by a Republican congressman, the data concealed by a former NASA scientist with a one-way ticket to China has been revealed as pirated porn, not the secrets to the next interstellar drive.

In March Dr. Bo Jiang, 31, a former employee of the National Institute of Aeronautics (NIA) at NASA’s Langley Research Centre, was arrested just before he could board his flight to Beijing. He lied to investigators about what he was carrying – trying to hide the fact he had a spare laptop and old hard drive in his bags.

Jiang had been named by congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, as a suspect in the theft of the space agency’s sensitive secret research.

At a press conference after Jiang’s arrest, Wolf said he had called the head of the FBI personally to warn him of the danger the Chinese man posed, kickstart an investigation, and said Jiang could be involved in a serious security breach.

What is it with these Republicans? Do they not know that they have a serious job to do?

Two young boys are having an argument while their fathers, resting in hammocks, look on. The argument is over something silly but escalates until the dads decide to intervene. They equip each boy with a small pole and position them face to face, explaining the rules of the game. Each child has the opportunity to whack the other with the stick, in turn. The boys can continue to carry out this ritualized but stingingly painful combat until one of them gives up, handing victory to his opponent. Eventually, these boys will grow into men, and this sort of combat, using either long poles borrowed from the nearby dwellings or bare fists pounded on chests, will become a normal (though infrequently used) way to settle significant disputes between men. Dueling is part of the culture in which these children are being raised. Those who demonstrate the most bravery will likely rise in status, perhaps take on a leadership role, have a better choice in marriage partner, and perhaps have more than one wife.

Thousands of miles away, …

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