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 we hang out and talk about the goings on here and everywhere.
We chat about our lives, our health, our families, our social circles, our pets, etc. We welcome links to your writings here on dkos or elsewhere, posts of pictures, music, etc.
Just about anything goes, but attacks and pie fights are not welcome here. This is a community diary and a friendly, peaceful, supportive place for people to interact.
Everyone who wants to join in peaceful interaction is very welcome here.
|
Good Morning!
Drop in
any time
day or night
to say hello.
What is true of individuals is true of nations. One cannot forgive too much. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
~Mohandas Ghandi April, 1931 (Source)
News
North Korea gives Kim Jong Eun new title, symbol of smooth power transfer
North Korea on Wednesday further burnished the credentials of Kim Jong Eun, its young and untested leader, bestowing upon him the newly created title of first secretary of the Workers’ Party.
The move came as the reclusive communist country held a rare Workers’ Party meeting to kick off a pivotal week in which Pyongyang plans to celebrate the birth of its founder and launch a rocket in defiance of the West.
Robert Mugabe strikes secret deal to hand Zimbabwe power to Emmerson Mnangagwa
Insiders say that Mr Mugabe, aged 88 and now in office for three decades, will stand as Zanu PF's candidate in elections one last time before handing over to Mr Mnangagwa, a former spy chief nicknamed "The Crocodile" for his ruthless reputation.
In the clearest sign yet that he is being groomed for the top job, Mr Mnangagwa, 65, was recently dispatched to Tehran where he met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a key anti-Western ally.
Having another Zanu-PF strongman succeed Mr Mugabe would help ensure that other powerful party members avoid any future scrutiny about wealth gained through illegal land seizures, and avoid possible prosecution at The Hague.
UCLA sends mistaken congrats to 894 applicants and then apologizes
Congratulations, you’re in! Oops, nevermind. That was a mistake.
In an email about financial aid awards, UCLA told 894 high school seniors last weekend that they were admitted to the highly competitive campus. Those students actually remain on the waiting list for the Westwood school.
UCLA is apologizing for the error. Officials, however, are not yet moving anyone into the admitted category.
Creationism bill becomes Tenn. law
Tennessee will now allow the discussion of creationism theory in its classrooms.
The controversial legislation — known as the “Monkey Bill” by those who said it attacked teaching evolution — became law on Tuesday without Gov. Bill Haslam’s signature, Reuters reported. The Republican governor said he allowed the legislation encouraging classroom debate about evolution to become law despite his misgivings because he thinks it will not significantly affect the state’s science curriculum.
“I do not believe that this legislation changes the scientific standards that are taught in our schools or the curriculum that is used by our teachers,” Haslam said in a statement. “However, I also don’t believe that it accomplishes anything that isn’t already acceptable in our schools.”
Gay rights group sues Nevada for same-sex marriage
LAS VEGAS — A national gay rights advocacy group took its state-by-state fight for same-sex marriage equality to a federal court for the first time Tuesday, filing a lawsuit in a bid to force Nevada to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund lawsuit focused on the differences between rights granted by a domestic partnership law passed by the state Legislature in 2009 and a gay marriage ban made part of the state constitution by voters in 2002.
Mississippi has highest teen birthrate in U.S.
Mississippi has the nation’s highest teen birthrate, while New Hampshire has the lowest, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday, following up on a report that found the incidence of pregnancy among U.S. teens was falling.
Mississippi reported 55 births per 1,000 teenage girls ages 15 to 19 in 2010, more than 60 p ercent above the U.S. average, according to state data released yesterday. New Hampshire’s rate was less than half the national average, at 15.7 births for the same age group.