Month: November 2017

Bali Volcano Mount Agung, The Great Mountain, Moderately Active Again

Photo Credit: Kriss Sieniawski

Update 6.30.18 Mount Agung has been moderately active in the past few days, causing ash clouds that temporarily halted some air traffic and caused those closest to the volcano to self-evacuate. Meanwhile, this beautiful photograph has been shared on Twitter by Bali’s government representative.

English translation courtesy Microsoft: The beauty of the great eruption of Mount under the glow of a full moon on 28/6/2018. A rare natural phenomenon. Not all countries have such amazing nature in Indonesia. There is always a blessing of nature that human work but more hunting on news of the disaster. Always harmony.

Update: 2.23.18

Engish Translation: White smoke solfatara with medium intensity coming out of the crater of Mount Agung. Volcanic activity continues to decline. The standby status (level 3) with the dangerous zone is 4 km from the summit crater. The community safely back to his home. There is no neighborhood in within a radius of 4 km. Bali is safe.

UPDATE 2.13.18

English translation:

The eruption of Mount Agung earthquake occurred in 13/2/2018 at 11:49: with a high column of smoke and ash 1500 meters above the Summit. The standby status (level 3). Hazardous zones within a radius of 4 km from the summit crater. As much as 15,445 people still displaced scattered across 146 evacuation point.

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UPDATE: 1.21.18 New Drone Footage:

Update 1.14.18

Update 12.28.17

English Translation: The crater of Mount Agung Visual recorded tourists Russia entered a dangerous zone which breaks up to at the edge of the crater on the 28/12/2017 morning. The volcanic activity of Mount Agung is indeed still high. Blowing smoke accompanied abu slim still occurs. Status Warning (level 4).

Update 12.24.17

Bali Government Spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho has tweeted:

Again, Mount Agung eruption of smoke and volcanic ash with a high column of 2,000-2,500 metres at 10.05 p.m.: 24/12/2017. Stratocumulus cloud pushes the column tops. The Status Of Mount Agung, Beware. Bali is safe. The airport normally and safely.

UPDATE ON 12.24.17

 12.11.17

Erupsi Gunung Agung yang terpantau dari Desa Junggul Besakih pada 11/12/2017 pukul 05:49 WITA. Asap kawah kelabu tebal tinggi 2500 meter dengan tekanan sedang, asap condong ke arah barat. Status Awas. Di dalam radius 8-10 km dari kawah berbahaya. #Balivolcano #Bali pic.twitter.com/y0rShltynT

Translated from Indonesian by Bing

The eruption of Mount Agung observed from the village of Besakih on the Junggul 11/12/2017 at 05:49:. Smoke grey high thick crater 2500 metres with a pressure medium, smoke is leaning towards the West. The Status Of The Awas. Within a radius of 8-10 km from the crater is dangerous.

Courtesy Sutopo Purwo Nugroho 12.11.17

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State of emergency in Bali now extended until December 10, 2017. Evacuation area is 8-10 km from Mount Agung.

Status on 11.30.17: A continuous volcanic eruption has been observed at Mount Agung since 9:25 pm on 25 November 2017. Evacuations are occurring now and many tourists are currently stranded on the island. The Bureau of Meteorology is advising the aviation industry that the potential for a larger eruption of Bali’s Mount Agung volcano is high (11.29.17).

 

English Translation via Bing:

Mount Agung eruption continued issuing volcanic ash 2000 metres high. The Status Of The Awas. Ngurai Rai airport Bali is normal. Lombok airport closed until 24.00 o’clock: 30/11/2017.

Translation by BING:

The beauty of nature with the eruption of Mount Agung. There is a harmony between nature and human. Mount Agung is sure to erupt at any time. Let nature work. That’s when the man step aside to make room on the mountain erupted in order that humans survived. Volcanic activity report gives a blessing.

LIVE FEED:

BEWARE OF GUNUNG AGUNG, STATUS IS ALLOWED FROM ANYWHERE TO CA; 27 November 2017 06:05 WIB

Mount Agung eruption continues to increase. The rate of eruption of the Great Volcano now rises from the phreatic to magmatic phase (since the observation of the rays at the peak at night on 25/11/2017 at 21:00 WITA.) Until today the magmatic phase eruption accompanied by constant thick ash of ash reaches a height of 2,000-3,400 meters from the peak .

Continuous ash puffs are sometimes accompanied by explosive eruptions accompanied by a weak sound that sounds up to 12 km from the summit. The rays of fire are increasingly observed in the next night. This indicates the potential for a larger eruption is imminent.

To anticipate all possibilities and risks of disaster, PVMBG has raised the status of Gunung Agung from Siaga (level 3) to Awas (level 4) starting from 27/11/2017 at 06:00 WITA. Status Beware is the highest status in volcano status.

Mount Agung observation post in Rendang sub-district of Karangasem Regency reported that the visual visuals of the mountains are clear. Cold-pressure crater smoke is observed in gray with a thick intensity and height of 2,500-3,000 m above the top of the crater. Observed eruption with 3000 m high and gray smoke color. Visible light rays. Non continuous harmonic tremor amplitudes 1 – 10 mm (dominant 1 – 2 mm).

Communities around Mount Agung and climbers / visitors / tourists not to be on, do not climb and do not do any activity in the Estimate Zone of Hazard that is inside the crater area of ​​Mount Agung and in all areas within 8 km from the crater of G. Agung and added sectoral expansion to the North-Northeast and Southeast-South-Southwest as far as 10 km from the crater of G. Agung.

Estimated Zone The dangers are dynamic and continuously evaluated and can be changed at any time following the most recent / latest Gunung Agung observation data.

BNPB coordinates the national potential of TNI, Polri, Basarnas, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transportation, SOEs and others to assist the Local Government in handling eruption of Mount Agung. National Counseling Posts have been activated in Kabupaten Karangasem. BPBD together with other elements continue to perform emergency eruption of Mount Agung.

People within a radius of 8 km and 10 km of expansion are urged to immediately evacuate in an orderly and calm manner. Some people have been self-evacuating since 25/11/2017 night following the eruption of Mount Agung.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho

Head of Information Data and Public Relations Center of BNPB

Twitter has fun with Time Magazine and Donald Trump

Meanwhile, Twitter had a brief field day with mock covers. These are just a few of the tamer ones:

MISSING SUBMARINE ARA SAN JUAN: CTBTO DATA SUGGESTS EXPLOSION MAY HAVE OCCURRED

24 November 2017

Around 300 monitoring stations dotted around the globe (map) constantly monitor the planet for signs of nuclear explosions, using four complementary technologies: seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound, and radionuclide. The data from the stations is sent directly to Vienna from where they are shared in near real-time with all states signatories of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).  Data is shared constantly and equally with all states for experts to conduct analysis. CTBTO also analyses data and provides these reports to states signatories several times a day.

Courtesy BBC and CTBTO

What did CTBTO detect?

On 15 November 2017 two CTBTO hydroacoustic stations detected an unusual signal in the vicinity of the last known position of missing Argentine submarine ARA San Juan.

Hydroacoustic stations HA10 (Ascension Island) and HA04 (Crozet) detected a signal from an underwater impulsive event that occurred at 13:51 GMT on 15 November. The location of the event is as follows: Event Latitude: -46.12 deg; Event Longitude: -59.69 deg which is in the vicinity of the last known location of the ARA San Juan.

Details and data were made available to the Argentinian Authorities to support the search operations that are underway.

What are hydroacoustic stations?

The hydroacoustic stations are part of the CTBTO’s International Monitoring System (IMS) which monitors the globe continuously for signs of nuclear explosions. Low frequency underwater sound, such as the one that can be produced by a nuclear test, propagates very efficiently through water. Consequently these underwater sounds can be detected at great distances, even thousands of kilometres, from their source. This is why the IMS requires only eleven hydroacoustic stations to monitor effectively the world’s oceans.

Why did it take so long to report this signal?

Sound travels very efficiently under water and the oceans are very “noisy”. Our engineers had to sift through a very large volume of data from underwater hydrophones in far-reaching parts of the world, looking for signals which could be related to the submarine’s disappearance. Also, the IMS is designed to detect larger events: nuclear explosions. This means that a smaller signal such as the one that was detected in this case is much more difficult to isolate and locate.  Picking up evidence of a relatively small source of sound in the ocean requires manual analysis of data and custom-designed software. Many thousands of possible signals from sources of noise had to be sorted through and in some cases new algorithms and approaches were developed to filter out other noise and to find this signal.  This effort took considerable time by dedicated scientists.

Was this an explosion? How big was the explosion?

The system detected a short, impulsive, and broadband signal in a low frequency spectrum that is not audible to humans. The signal did not look like earthquakes or biological sounds that are commonly heard under water, but it has some characteristics in common with signals from underwater explosions.

How sure are you that this is from the missing submarine ARA San Juan?

We can only report that we found this signal that originated a few hours after the last known contact and in the vicinity of the last known reported location of the submarine, and which does not resemble to other natural sounds that are commonly recorded in the ocean.

How will this information help?

As soon as we were confident that our information was accurate, we informed the Argentinian authorities. Analysis of the data is still ongoing.  Our aim is to contribute to the search and rescue efforts currently underway.  We fervently hope for a positive outcome to this rescue effort.

What is the CTBT?

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground.

Headquarters in Vienna

Since the Treaty is not yet in force, the organization is called the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). It was founded in 1996, has over 260 staff from over 70 countries, and is based in Vienna. It is headed by the Executive Secretary, Lassina Zerbo from Burkina Faso.

The multi-national cooperative search for the missing sub continues.

WHOSE STREETS? Documentary Shows Ferguson, Missouri from New Perspective

Official Selection:

Sundance Film Festival 2017 – World Premiere (U.S. Documentary Competition)

Full Frame 2017

San Francisco International Film Festival 2017

http://www.magpictures.com/whosestreets/

http://www.whosestreets.com

SYNOPSIS

Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri. Grief, long-standing racial tensions and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. Empowered parents, artists, and teachers from around the country come together as freedom fighters. As the national guard descends on Ferguson with military grade weaponry, these young community members become the torchbearers of a new resistance. Filmmakers Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis know this story because they have lived the story. Whose Streets? is a powerful battle cry from a generation fighting, not for their civil rights, but for the right to live.

 

 

 

Update: Refusal to Make a Cake for a Gay Wedding: Discrimination or First Amendment Right?

Photo courtesy Masterpiece Cakeshop, Facebook.

UPDATE: Excellent summary of today’s events: 12.5.17

Recommended Citation: Amy Howe, Argument analysis: Conservative majority leaning toward ruling for Colorado baker (UPDATED), SCOTUSblog (Dec. 5, 2017, 12:18 PM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/12/argument-analysis-conservative-majority-leaning-toward-ruling-colorado-baker/

United States Supreme Court Docket, December 5, 2017

16-111 MASTERPIECE CAKESHOP V. CO CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION

QUESTION PRESENTED:
Jack Phillips is a cake artist. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that he engaged in sexual orientation discrimination under the Colorado Anti- Discrimination Act (“CADA”) when he declined to design and create a custom cake honoring a same-sex marriage because doing so conflicts with his sincerely held religious beliefs.
The Colorado Court of Appeals found no violation of the Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses because it deemed Phillips’ speech to be mere conduct compelled by a neutral and generally applicable law. It reached this conclusion despite the artistry of Phillips’ cakes and the
Commission’s exemption of other cake artists who declined to create custom cakes based on their message. This analysis (1) flouts this Court’s controlling precedent, (2) conflicts with Ninth and Eleventh Circuit decisions regarding the free speech protection of art, (3) deepens an existing conflict between the Second, Third, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits as to the proper test for identifying expressive conduct, and (4) conflicts with free exercise rulings by the Third,
Sixth, and Tenth Circuits.

The question presented is: Whether applying Colorado’s public accommodations law to compel Phillips to create expression that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage violates the Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.

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Courtesy ACLU:

On December 5, 2017, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether a business open to the public has a constitutional right to discriminate.

David Mullins and Charlie Craig visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in July 2012, with Charlie’s mother, to order a cake for their upcoming wedding reception. Dave and Charlie planned to marry in Massachusetts and then celebrate with family and friends back home in Colorado. But bakery owner Jack Phillips informed them that the bakery wouldn’t sell wedding cakes to same-sex couples.

Longstanding Colorado state law prohibits public accommodations, including businesses open to the public such as Masterpiece Cakeshop, from refusing service based on characteristics like race, religion, orsexual orientation. Dave and Charlie filed complaintswith the Colorado Civil Rights Division contendingthat the bakery violated

Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act. Following an investigation and hearings, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission determined that the bakery illegally discriminated against Dave and Charlie when it refused them service.

On August 13, 2015, the Colorado Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the Commission’s order, finding that the bakery discriminated because of sexual orientation in violation of state law. The court also concluded that application of Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act did not infringe the bakery’s freedom of speech or free exercise of religion. The Colorado Supreme Court denied review, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari on June 26, 2017.

Status: After victories for equality at every stage of the case, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral argument on December 5, 2017. In advance of oral argument, more than 40 friend-of-the-court briefs were filed in support of Dave and Charlie.

Political Irony & Sarcasm on Twitter: New Study Finds it Appeals to Followers of India’s ‘Twitter-in-chief’

“We try and explain what makes him popular,” said Joyojeet Pal, U-M assistant professor of information. “Modi’s irony provides a form of political spectacle and resonated on social media as shown by high retweeting of his sarcastically worded messages.”

India’s ‘Twitter-in-chief’: Decoding Modi’s social media brand

ANN ARBOR—With 36 million followers on Twitter, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the world’s No. 2 most popular politician in the Twittersphere after Donald Trump.

The way Modi uses sarcasm against his opponents is the focus of a new University of Michigan School of Information study that analyzed more than 9,000 tweets by Modi over a six-year period.

“We try and explain what makes him popular,” said Joyojeet Pal, U-M assistant professor of information. “Modi’s irony provides a form of political spectacle and resonated on social media as shown by high retweeting of his sarcastically worded messages.”

Published in the International Journal of Communication, the study examined the Twitter account of Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) to show how he used political irony and sarcasm to become broadly appealing and refashion his political style.

The researchers coded the tweets into nine broad themes: cricket, Rahul Gandhi (opposition leader), entertainment, sarcasm, corruption, development, foreign affairs, Hinduism, and science and technology.

After coding, they found that sarcastic tweets were closely concentrated around election and campaigning cycles.”

In many of Modi’s tweets during national elections, he referred to the main opposition party as corrupt and Ghandi, its rising leader who also has a huge Twitter following, as “Rahul Baba” or “Shahzada (prince).”

By using humor and sarcasm, he was signaling that the party was not in touch with its roots and letting his own followers get the inside joke, the researchers said.

Here is an example of a Modi tweet, which garnered 2,545 retweets: “The way Rahul Baba is making statements with a dash of comedy in them, I think the TV show of Kapil Sharma may soon have to shut shop.”

According to the U-M researchers, Modi’s use of sarcasm builds on a longer tradition of slogan humor during political rallies.

“There are plenty of attacks, rhetoric, cleverly worded jibes and jokes,” Pal said.

Although social media did not reach many of the traditional rural and peri-urban upper caste Hindu voters of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, they extended the prime minister’s appeal to a new young urban constituency.

“After the election, the sarcasm and mention of Gandhi disappears,” Pal said. “Instead, the celebrity mentions and tweets about foreign policy increase dramatically.”

According to the researchers, the sarcasm helped separate Hindutva-oriented content, which is traditionally more divisive than the pan-Indian patriotic rhetoric of “India First,” through which Modi has gained a more secular standing.

“The power of Modi’s message is in the juxtaposition of his past as a train station tea-seller alongside his present as a selfie-clicking leader of a strong aspirational but fundamentally nationalist state,” Pal said. “Sarcasm is as much a message from Modi as it is a message about him.”

Full study:

http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/6705/2163

Afghan, U.S. forces launch campaign to destroy Taliban funding networks: Opium Drug Labs

KABUL, Afghanistan (November 20, 2017) – Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan have launched a series of ongoing attacks to hit the Taliban where they are most vulnerable: their revenue streams.

U.S. and Afghan forces conducted combined operations to strike seven Taliban drug labs and one command-and-control node in northern Helmand province. Three of those strikes were in Kajaki district, four in Musa Qalah district and one in Sangin district.

While strikes targeted locations in Helmand where poppy is processed into illegal opiate drugs such as heroin, Gen. John Nicholson, commander, USFOR-A, said the strikes are just the beginning, and it represents the U.S. and global will to defeat terror and the criminals who support terrorists.

“We conducted strikes into Northern Helmand to hit the Taliban where it hurts: their financing,” Gen. Nicholson said. “Increasingly, the Taliban have become a criminal organization. They fight, so they can keep profiting from their criminal activities: narco-trafficking, illegal mining, kidnapping and murder for hire.”

A U.S. B-52 Bomber sits on a flightline with munitions loaded on a newly installed conventional rotary launcher in its bomb bay, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Nov. 17, 2017. The CRL will allow the B-52 to carry more smart bombs . The CRL upgrade was used in support of a new offensive campaign in Afghanistan Nov. 19, 2017.  (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Patrick Evenson)

Opiates have become a global health, economic and security problem, and the Taliban are responsible for up to 85 percent of the world’s opium production. It’s an illegal economy worth up to $60 billion in street value. It’s estimated that more than $200 million of this economy goes straight into the Taliban’s bank accounts.

“Our combined operations over the last 24 hours are a demonstration of our will to defeat terrorists and those who support them, especially the narcotics networks,” said Gen. Nicholson. “This operation involved thorough preparation to gain deep insights into Taliban narcotic processing labs and their locations. Never before have we had the kind of trust and cooperation that makes these types of strikes possible.”

USFOR-A started developing targets immediately after the U.S. policy  announcement this past summer that granted new authorities to the command. These strikes are the first use of those authorities that allow U.S. forces to actively pursue terrorist elements and attack them offensively in collaboration with Afghan forces. This illustrates a shift in operations as USFOR-A attacks insurgent network economic lines in previously un-targeted safe havens in the South and Southwest. This approach will not only weaken the Taliban’s financing and networks, but puts USFOR-A and ANDSF in an increasingly dominant position for continuing combat operations throughout the winter.

For the first time, U.S. Air Force F22A Raptors operated in Afghanistan, principally because of their ability to mitigate civilian casualties and inadvertent damage by employing small diameter bombs during U.S. airstrikes. Additionally, B52 bombers, Hellfire missiles fired from drones, and U.S. Marine Corps-operated High-Mobility Rocket Systems were all pivotal in the first night of strike successes.

“The Taliban failed to meet their military objectives in 2017. They suffered a significant amount of casualties from Afghan-led offensive operations,” Gen. Nicholson said. “This reveals their evolution into a narco-insurgency.

“I want to recognize the bravery and sacrifices of Afghan security forces. Our prayers go out to the families of the martyrs, and we pray that those wounded will fully recover. Let me be clear,” Gen. Nicholson said, “The U.S. is with you. The whole of the international community is with you – and we all believe that Afghanistan deserves security and lasting peace.”

“It is time for the Taliban to lay down their arms and reconcile,” said Lt. Gen. Yaftali. “If they do not come to the table seeking peace, the ANDSF will capture or kill them.”

A KC-10 Extender from the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, refuels an F-22 Raptor from the 95th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in support of a new offensive campaign in Afghanistan Nov. 19, 2017. Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) launched a series of ongoing attacks to hit the Taliban where they are most vulnerable: their revenue streams. Together, Afghan and U.S. forces conducted combined operations to strike drug labs and command-and-control nodes in northern Helmand province. These types of strikes represent the highest level of trust and cooperation between ANDSF and USFOR-A.  Photo by Tech. Sgt. Gregory Brook.

A KC-10 Extender from the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, refuels a B-52 Stratofortress from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing in support of a new offensive campaign in Afghanistan Nov. 19, 2017 (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Colton Elliott)

An F-22 Raptor assigned to the 95th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates taxis to the runway in order to participate in a new offensive campaign in Afghanistan Nov. 19, 2017. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr.)

A U.S. B-52 Bomber sits on a flightline with munitions loaded on a newly installed conventional rotary launcher in its bomb bay, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Nov. 17, 2017. The CRL will allow the B-52 to carry more smart bombs . The CRL upgrade was used in support of a new offensive campaign in Afghanistan Nov. 19, 2017. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Patrick Evenson)

Pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey: Official History

Photo courtesy Sarah Sanders, Twitter.
Story by Betty C. Monkman, Courtesy The White House Historical Association
Thanksgiving: President Kennedy Pardons a Turkey

President John F. Kennedy pardoned a turkey on November 19, 1963, stating “Let’s Keep him going.”John F. Kennedy Presidential Library/NARA

The official “pardoning” of White House turkeys is an interesting White House tradition that has captured the imagination of the public in recent years. It is often stated that President Lincoln’s 1863 clemency to a turkey recorded in an 1865 dispatch by White House reporter Noah Brooks was the origin for the pardoning ceremony.

Reports of turkeys as gifts to American presidents can be traced to the 1870s, when Rhode Island poultry dealer Horace Vose began sending well fed birds to the White House. The First Families did not always feast upon Vose’s turkeys, but the yearly offering gained his farm widespread publicity and became a veritable institution at the White House. At Thanksgiving 1913, a turkey-come-lately from Kentucky shared a few minutes of fame with the fine-feathered Rhode Islander. Soon after, in December, Horace Vose died, thus ending an era.

 

By 1914, the opportunity to give a turkey to a President was open to everyone, and poultry gifts were frequently touched with patriotism, partisanship, and glee. In 1921, an American Legion post furnished bunting for the crate of a gobbler en route from Mississippi to Washington, while a Harding Girls Club in Chicago outfitted a turkey as a flying ace, complete with goggles. First Lady Grace Coolidge accepted a turkey from a Vermont Girl Scout in 1925. The turkey gifts had become established as a national symbol of good cheer.

President George H.W. Bush Pardons a Turkey in the Rose Garden

With animal rights activists picketing nearby, President George H.W. Bush quipped “‘Reprieve,’ ‘keep him going,’ or ‘pardon’: it’s all the same for the turkey, as long as he doesn’t end up on the president’s holiday table.” George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA

Recently, White House mythmakers have claimed that President Harry S. Truman began the tradition of “pardoning” a turkey. However, the Truman Library & Museum disputes the notion that he was the first to do so. The focus on Truman stems from his being the first president to receive a turkey from the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation. From September to November 1947, announcements of the government encouraging “poultryless Thursdays” grabbed national headlines. Outrage from homemakers, restaurant owners, and the poultry industry was palpable in Washington. This came to a head when the poultry industry pointed out that the upcoming Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, the three big turkey holidays, happened to fall on Thursday.. The effort was deflated in time for Thanksgiving, but not before poultry growers had sent crates of live chickens— “Hens for Harry”— to the White House in protest. The turkey they presented to President Truman that December promoted the poultry industry and established an annual news niche that endures today.

While 1947 was the beginning of the official turkey presentation from the poultry industry, the turkey pardon remained a sporadic tradition. In December 1948, Truman accepted two turkeys and remarked that they would “come in handy” for Christmas dinner. There was clearly no plan for these birds to receive a presidential pardon. The Washington Post used both “pardon” and “reprieve” in a 1963 article in which President Kennedy said of the turkey, “Let’s keep him going.” During the latter years of the Nixon presidency, Patricia Nixon accepted the turkeys on behalf of the President and in 1973 sent the bird to the Oxon Hill Children’s Farm. The 1978 turkey, presented to Rosalynn Carter, met a similar fate when it was sent to Evans Farm Inn to live in a mini zoo.

After 1981 the practice of sending the presentation turkey to a farm became the norm under Ronald Reagan. The turkey ceremony also became a source of satire and humor for reporters. The formalities of pardoning a turkey gelled by 1989, when George H. W. Bush, with animal rights activists picketing nearby, quipped, “But let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy — he’s granted a Presidential pardon as of right now — and allow him to live out his days on a children’s farm not far from here.”

 

 

Neil Young Streams Worldwide December 1; Opens New Archives Site

 

TORONTO, Nov. 21, 2017 /CNW/ – CTV and Facebook in partnership with Shakey Pictures are pleased to present Canadian Music legend Neil Young as he comes home to spin some musical magic on Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. ET, live streaming in Canada on CTV.ca and around the world on Facebook. Neil Young’s performance will come from a Canadian hometown stage directly to you.

Courtesy Neil Young Archives.

December 1st also celebrates the launch of NYA –  The Neil Young Archives. http://www.neilyoungarchives.com/

NYA is a comprehensive chronological collection of Neil Young’s entire recorded music, films, videos and books, audio streaming in Master Quality via Young’s ‘Xstream by NYA’.

Courtesy Neil Young Archives.

December 1 marks the release of ‘The Visitor’ –  a new Reprise Records studio album by Neil Young featuring ten new songs, all written and recorded during the last tumultuous year and backed by his friends, the band ‘Promise of the Real’.