Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Stuff below the fold

Family news: Party last night at Angie's home. Slept in late this morning (got up at 7 am instead of 5 am)..

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Another day another typhoon...due to south of here tonite.

Since the cities empty out and everyone goes home for Christmas, it means lots of stranded ferry and air passengers...they are getting stricter about ferries since the last disaster, when they okayed a ferry which was supposed to take a longer route, but then took a "short cut" into the eye of the storm to save money.

It should hit a bit further north than the previous typhoon last month, but the survivors of the last typhoon are still in need of help rebuilding.

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Our cook found two beautiful white mice munching in our garbage can. I don't know if she'll sell them as pets or just feed them to the cats.


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I've written about this before but the dirty little secret is that most gun crimes are gang related (by gangs or of gang members) and those who die are often poor or minorities so the press ignores them.

The WAPO article finally gets around to noting the problem.
Since Jan. 1, Chicago police have recorded 2,364 shooting incidents and 487 homicides, 87 percent of them gun-related. Shootings have increased 12 percent this year and homicides are up 19 percent...
Chicago has strict gun control laws: They just don't bother to enforce them.

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Another "Lost Tribe" returns to Israel. wikipedia discussion

"lost Tribe" or just Christian converts who noted how their tribal customs were similar to those of ancient Judah and converted to Hinduism?

Unlike the BeneIsrael group in India, whose DNA shows Jewish ancestry, there is a question if the tribe is descended from the Jewish diaspora.
DNA discussion suggests more work needs to be done, but if a gentile converts, is he Jewish?

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Recording of a family's Christmas dinner...110 years ago.

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The 100 days of Philippine Christmas: it's about the family.

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Martinez essay on the Hobbit: Film vs book.

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