Welcome! "What's Happenin'?" is a casual community diary (a daily series, 8:30 AM Eastern on weekdays, 10 AM on weekends and holidays) where you can hang out, talk about what is going on with you, listen to music, talk about the news and the goings on here and everywhere.
Maybe you have seen some news stories that you think are not receiving enough attention and you'd like to post links to them. Maybe you'd like to just chat among friends about your life, your health, your family or social circle, your pets, etc. You can also post links to your own writings here on dkos or elsewhere. Perhaps you want to share some pictures or music or links to other things. This is your kind of place to talk about what's happening.
Just about anything goes, but attacks and pie fights are not welcome here. If that is what you want, find another place to do it. This is a community diary and a friendly, peaceful, supportive place for people to interact. This diary series is produced by the TeamDFH group but anyone who wants to join in peaceful interaction is welcome.
Good Morning!
|
Drop in any time of day or night to say hello. |
|
Oh Who Is That Young Sinner
A.E. Housman
Oh who is that young sinner with the handcuffs on his wrists?
And what has he been after that they groan and shake their fists?
And wherefore is he wearing such a conscience-stricken air?
Oh they're taking him to prison for the colour of his hair.
'Tis a shame to human nature, such a head of hair as his;
In the good old time 'twas hanging for the colour that it is;
Though hanging isn't bad enough and flaying would be fair
For the nameless and abominable colour of his hair.
Oh a deal of pains he's taken and a pretty price he's paid
To hide his poll or dye it of a mentionable shade;
But they've pulled the beggar's hat off for the world to see and stare,
And they're haling him to justice for the colour of his hair.
Now 'tis oakum for his fingers and the treadmill for his feet
And the quarry-gang on Portland in the cold and in the heat,
And between his spells of labour in the time he has to spare
He can curse the God that made him for the colour of his hair.
|
|
|
|
News
Syrian protesters call for foreign help
President Bashar al-Assad's opponents have appealed for foreign help to stop the killing of civilians by regime forces after six months of anti-government protests.
In a first direct call by the opposition for foreign intervention, Syria's underground opposition said a rise in the number of protesters killed during the revolt had won over many reluctant Syrians to the need for outside help.
The Syrian Revolution General Commission umbrella bloc of activists appealed to the international community on Thursday to send in human rights monitors to help deter military attacks on civilians in the increasingly bloody crackdown.
Two stories to remind us that war is hell...
Army suspends Baha Mousa soldiers as more prosecutions are considered
The army has suspended a number of soldiers after the publication of a damning report into the "violent and cowardly abuse" by servicemen that led to the death of an Iraqi detainee in British military custody.
There have been widespread calls for further prosecutions and the defence secretary, Liam Fox, disclosed that Ministry of Defence inquiries "are revealing evidence of some concern" in other Iraqi abuse cases.
Fox acknowledged for the first time that there could be more prosecutions. "If any serviceman or woman, no matter the colour of uniform they wear, is found to have betrayed the values this country stands for and the standards we hold dear, they will be held to account," he said.
NATO says mistakenly killed BBC Afghan reporter in July
A U.S. soldier killed an Afghan reporter working for the BBC, mistakenly believing him to be a suicide bomber about to detonate his explosives during an attack in July, a NATO-led alliance said on Thursday.
The death of Omed Khpalwak, who also worked for the Afghan news agency Pajhwok, during a suicide bombing and a gun battle in the southern Uruzgan province prompted calls by the BBC and a local media associations for an investigation.
The International Security Assistance Force said an army investigation into the circumstances of the reporter's death found that soldiers believed him to be a militant who had infiltrated the building of Radio Television Afghanistan in Tarin Khot on July 29.
I wonder if she put this out here now, so she could clear a path to be the VP nominee next year.
N.M. governor says grandparents came to USA illegally
Faced with 1930 Census records, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez acknowledged that her grandparents illegally came to the USA from Mexico.
Martinez, a Republican who took office in January, has been outspoken in a bid to repeal what she has called "the dangerous practice" of granting driver's licenses to undocumented migrants to "protect the people of New Mexico." It's not immediately clear whether her grandparents ever had driver's licenses.
She put the issue on the agenda for a special session that opened Tuesday. Two other states -- Utah and Washington -- do not require proof of citizenship to get a license.
But let's scare the shit out of people, anyway! And while we're at, remember when we said we were going to "leave" Iraq at the end of the year....
Anniversary terror threat unconfirmed
U.S. intelligence agencies have received information about a "specific, credible" but unconfirmed terrorism threat tied to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said late Thursday.
"It's accurate that there is specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information," said Matt Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. "As we always do before important dates like the anniversary of 9/11, we will undoubtedly get more reporting in the coming days."
Neither team had much of a defense and the Saints nearly pulled into a tie in the final seconds. But lets just talk about how awesome the Packers are anyway.
Rodgers throws 3 TDs, Packers outlast Saints 42-34
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A Super Bowl hangover and the NFL lockout weren't about to slow down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The New Orleans Saints just couldn't keep up.
Rodgers came out on top in a memorable opening-night duel with Drew Brees, and the Packers made a goal-line stand on the final play of the game to beat the Saints 42-34 on Thursday night.
Packers rookie Randall Cobb caught a touchdown from Rodgers and ran a kickoff back 108 yards for a score in the third quarter — tying an NFL record for the longest kickoff return in history.
NASA Ship Discovers New 'Invisible' Planet [VIDEO]
An invisible planet, which has not yet been glimpsed (since it's... invisible), has been definitively discovered by scientists using NASA's crafty Kepler spacecraft.
The discovery was possible thanks to a companion of the unseen planet.
According to scientists, the planet named Kepler-19c that comes after Kepler-19b, really cannot be seen, but it makes itself known by the way it influences other planets through force. The "invisible" planet has tugged at the Kepler-19b, slowing it down and then speeding it up in its transition.
A step in the right direction...
Gay men can donate blood as health experts lift controversial ban
Gay men will soon be able to give blood after a ban on them donating, dating back to the emergence of HIV and Aids in the mid-1980s, was scrapped by ministers.
The ban, which permanently prevented gay men from being donors, was lifted after a team of experts said it was no longer required to stop the spread of infection through blood.
The change – agreed by health ministers in England, Scotland and Wales – means gay men who have not had sex with another man for at least a year can donate from 7 November, as long as they have not taken part in other behaviour that might constitute a risk to patients receiving blood.