#whatadisaster

[simswoo-blog]

I-started-off-building-this-as-my-dream-starter-home-and-I-suppose-it-still-is-And-the-screenshots-off-the-living-room-wont-upload-And-the-space-key-isn't-working-on-my-laptop-so-yeah-this-post-is-bassicly-a-huge-fail

[nacho0man]

Sleepless nights and two nightmares.

[grainfreeandhappykitchen]

So this morning we made coffee in the electric coffee pot I got in Turkey last year and tonight it fell apart like an explosion, all over the cabinets and walls of the house were renovating in Bright. So tomorrow I’m going to look for another pot because I can’t go without my Greek coffee 😱😱 #whatadisaster #coffeepotfail #ineedmycoffee #coffee #greekcoffee #grainfreeandhappykitchen #houserenovation #brightvictoria (at Bright, Victoria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJDyEJXjKEz/?igshid=19a3iotok0d1o

[catastrophic-hollandiaz]

Day 4: Spell || #inktober2018 #spell #harrypotter #whatadisaster https://www.instagram.com/p/Bog4E2qBJF3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1fylaiwn2mwl6

[faisal-kaizen]

What can I say about this mother, OMG sad . #godbewithus #savethekids #ruthless #shame #whatadisaster #hobbypilots #muhammadfaisalarif #lifeovertechnology #whatalife #godgivehersense #mother #motherhood #lostmother #lostmotherhood (at Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

[newsnotes]

TRNS News Notes: OK botched execution: inmate writhes, dies / Sterling banned for life - no remorse

TRNS News Notes, begin your news day with TRNS News Notes. Victoria Jones brings you today's essential stories. View this email in your browser (http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=d6194d7846&e=0349316805) TRNS News Notes is brought to you by Victoria Jones (http://talkradionews.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=155dd96d30&e=0349316805) . Victoria Jones is the Chief White House correspondent and global analyst of the Washington DC based Talk Radio News Service, (http://talkradionews.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=ea716db66e&e=0349316805) where her insight and analysis are made available to over 400 news talk radio stations around the country and internationally. In the News * Botched OK execution: inmate writhes, dies * "Oh man" / controversy / review * Donald Sterling: banned for life * Minimum wage: Obama to weigh in * Wicked weather: 35 dead * Boehner: "there was no mocking" * Kerry: leave Ukraine in peace * Fed statement today: what to watch * New Benghazi email shows: not much * Afghan corruption rampant: report * SCOTUS: upholds EPA on coal rules * WH dinner: Host! Guests! Dress! Botched OK Execution: Inmate Writhes, Dies • The state of Oklahoma botched one execution and was forced to call off another Tuesday when a disputed cocktail of drugs failed to kill a condemned prisoner who was left writhing and gasping on the gurney after he had been declared unconscious and called out "oh, man" (Guardian, NYT, me) • The administering doctor intervened and discovered that "the line had been blown," said the director of corrections, Robert Patton, meaning that drugs were no longer flowing into Lockett's vein • After the failure of a 20-minute attempt to execute him, Clayton Lockett was left to die of a heart attack in the execution chamber at the OK state penitentiary. A lawyer said Lockett had effectively been "tortured to death." • Lockett was administered a secret, untried, three-drug cocktail. After the doctor administered the sedative intended to knock Lockett out and forestall pain, he started to administer the next two drugs, a paralytic and one intended to make the heart stop • Witnesses said that Lockett's body twitched, his foot shook and he mumbled. Then he tried to rise and exhaled loudly. At that point, prison officials pulled a curtain in front of witnesses. Without effective sedation, the second drugs are known to cause agonizing suffocation and pain Chaotic / Controversy / Review • OK Gov Mary Fallin (R) said late Tuesday that she had asked the Dept of Corrections to conduct a full review of execution procedures to determine what happened and why. She agreed to a 14-day stay in the execution of Charles Warner, the second execution scheduled for Tuesday night • It was a chaotic and disastrous scene. The double executions were scheduled after an unprecedented legal and political dispute. The inmates challenged the secrecy surrounding the source of the drugs, winning at the state district court level but two higher courts argued over which court could grant a stay of execution • When the state supreme court stayed their execution so that it could consider their constitutional claim, Gov Fallin (R) declared in a controversial statement that it had no authority to grant the stay. A House member said he would try to have the justices who wanted the stay impeached (extraordinary) • Amid accusations of undue political pressure (you think) the court then ruled against the prisoners and lifted the stay • European drug companies have refused to supply lethal execution drugs over opposition to the death penalty. Some U.S. drug companies, fearful of political and even physical attack, refuse to supply drugs. Many states scramble to find new sources and untested combinations. Several states have imposed secrecy on the suppliers, leading to court battles Donald Sterling: Banned for Life • Donald Sterling, longtime owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was barred from the NBA for life and may be forced to sell the team for making racist remarks, league commissioner, Adam Silver, announced Tuesday (WaPo, NYT, Politico, TPM, TRNS, (http://talkradionews.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=f4bb31aded&e=0349316805) CNN, FoxNews, AP, me) • Sterling would be barred from any contact with his team and the league and he would be fined $2.5 million, the max allowed. Silver said Sterling, in an interview, had admitted to him that he made the racist remarks and showed no remorse • The process of forcing a sale will begin immediately, Silver said. Sterling hasn't made any public statements or comments since the penalties were announced • "Sterling was taped (at length) by a female friend, V. Stiviano. "And don't bring him [Magic Johnson] to my games. Yeah, it bothers me a lot that you want to promo, broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?" About 75% of the league players are black &&& • On the day their team's owner was banned for life, the LA Clippers beat Golden State 113-103 in their NBA playoff game • Sterling stands to make a killing on the team, which he bought in 1981 for $12.5 million and is likely to carry a $1 billion price tag (gross) • By Monday, the Clippers were losing lucrative sponsorships, with Virgin America, CarMax, Samsung, Burger King, Mercedes-Benz and the Chumash Resort Casino bailing and other companies, including State Farm, Kia, Red Bull, Sprint, Lumber Liquidators, Corona and more suspending their involvement • Tuesday, Oprah Winfrey told TMZ, "We're off the plantation. The plantation days are over." Spike Lee attended Silver's presser after saying Monday that Sterling has the "mentality of a slave master." • Screenshot: Following the NBA's decision to ban Sterling, the LA Clippers blacked out its website with just the phrase:"We are one" (http://talkradionews.us6.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=c5b93c6dae&e=0349316805) Players, Coaches: Reax • Magic Johnson tweeted: "Commissioner Silver showed great leadership in banning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life." (NYT) • LeBron James of the Miami Heat tweeted: "Commissioner Silver thank you for protecting our beautiful and powerful league!! Great leader!!!" • Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, tweeted: "I agree 100% with Commissioner Silvers findings and the actions taken against Donald Sterling" • J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks tweeted: "Great move by the @NBA today! • Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) acknowledged Tuesday he's receiving what he called "ugly, vile, vulgar" threats after he labeled armed militia supporters of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy "domestic terrorists last week (surprise?) (CNN, me) Minimum Wage: Obama to Weigh In • President Obama will deliver remarks this afternoon on what the WH views as the importance of Congress passing legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 from $7.25, as the Senate takes the first procedural vote today on whether to advance debate of a bill to do just that • Sen Tom Harkin (D-IA), the sponsor, said Tuesday, "I am mystified by how vehemently my Republican colleague oppose this modest increase - I just don't understand it. I hope my colleague will do the right thing." • Republicans argue that Harkin's bill would harm job growth, citing a CBO report that suggests the bill would cost the economy 500,00 jobs. The same report says the increase would lift 900,000 Americans out of poverty • But Democrats know that women and young people make up disproportionate portions of the 3.3 million people who earned $7.25 or less last year. Even if they can't get the votes, they would love to make this an issue at the polls in November - if they can get Democratic voters to turn out (hmmm) • Embattled kissing kongressman Vance McAllister (R-VA) is refusing to resign his seat after meeting with House Majority Leader Eric Canter (R-VA), who told him he should step down. "I'm not going to run away." But he won't run again (Politico, TRNS, (http://talkradionews.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=d3ec3fbb54&e=0349316805) me) Wicked Weather • At least 35 people were killed in tornadoes that ravaged neighborhoods across six states, but Mother Nature was not done yet and was threatening to unleash hail the size of baseballs. Severe thunderstorms were expected in eastern and southern MS, western AL and extreme eastern Louisiana (AFP, AP) • In NC, the National Weather Center reported tornado touchdowns in five counties Tuesday, with only moderate damage. One of the hardest hit areas in Monday's barrage of twisters was Tupelo MS, where a gas station looked as if it had been stepped on by a giant • By the govt's preliminary count, 11 tornadoes - including one that killed 15 people in AR - struck the nation's midsection on Sunday, and at least 25 ravaged the South on Monday, the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center said • Among those killed was 21-year-old University of AL swimmer and dean's list student John Servati, who was taking shelter in the basement of a Tuscaloosa home when a retaining wall collapsed on him •Vid: WTVA-TV in Tupelo (http://talkradionews.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=7294d57572&e=0349316805) chief meteorologist evacuates newsroom live on air due to approaching tornado Boehner: "There Was No Mocking" • Um, yes there was. Oh! Maybe it was just teasing. But House conservatives have zero sense of humor about themselves. And so Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) apologized in a closed-door meeting Tuesday for comments over the recess about immigration reform (Roll Call, Hill, NYT, me) • "Here's the attitude. 'Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard,'" Boehner said in a mockingly high-pitched voice at a local OH Rotary Club chapter last week, as he explained that many of his colleagues don't like to take on difficult issues like immigration reform • Tuesday, Boehner told reporters after the meeting, "There was no mocking. You all know me. You tease the ones you love, alright?" He said the "biggest impediment" to immigration reform is people "don't trust the president to enforce or implement the law that we may or may not pass." • Boehner told his members in the closed-door meeting that there's no "secret conspiracy" to bring a bill to the floor despite their objections • Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said in a press briefing Tuesday, "The bill would pass if he put it on the floor. There is significant sentiment for doing this, not just on our side of the aisle, but on their side of the aisle, as well." • The U.S. is on the brink of losing its status as the world's largest economy and is likely to slip behind China this year, sooner than widely anticipated, according to the world's leading statistical agencies (FT) Kerry: Leave Ukraine in Peace • SecState John Kerry urged Russia to "leave Ukraine in peace" and warned that "every inch" of NATO territory will be defended if threatened. He said that Russia had failed to abide by the terms of a de-escalation agreement (BBC, me) • Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that his country had no troops in Ukraine. The comments came after pro-Russian activists stormed several most buildings in eastern Ukraine • Kerry said, "Not one single step has been taken by Russia in any public way that seriously attempts to live by the spirit or the law of what was signed in that agreement." He said that NATO was facing a "defining moment" in the strength of its alliance in the face of Russian actions • Putin said, "I solemnly declare that there are no Russian instructors there, nor any special forces there, not troops." Putin also warned that new U.S. and EU sanctions against Russia could impact on the work of Western energy firms • Pro-Russian activists continue to detain some 40 people, including seven military observers linked to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) seized last week • Kerry said in a closed-door meeting Friday, "It's not an accident that you have some of the same people identified who were in Crimea and in Georgia and who are now in east Ukraine. This is insulting to everybody's intelligence." (Daily Beast) Fed Statement Today: What to Watch • Tweaks to the economic outlook. Any changes are likely to be modest. Look to see if Fed officials downgrade their description of the housing market. In March, officials acknowledged that recovery in the housing sector "remained slow." (WSJ, me) • Inflation language unlikely to change. Most Fed officials - including chair Janet Yellen - continue to say they expect inflation to gradually return to 2%. Likely to stick to language that too-low inflation "could pose risks to economic performance" and that it's watching the inflation situation carefully • Taper will remain on track. They've been very clear that they plan to continue winding down the Fed's bond-buying program in measured steps at each meeting this year provided the economy performs as they expect. Expect another $10 billion cut down to $45 billion • Forward guidance remains intact. At their last meeting, they dropped language saying they wouldn't consider raising rates from near zero until unemployment fell below 6.5%. They're unlikely to want to fiddle further at this meeting • The VP of the International Olympic Committee says preparations for the Rio Olympics are the "worst" ever seen. "We have become very concerned. They are not ready in many, many ways." (BBC) Benghazi Email Shows: Not Much • New WH emails made public Tuesday by conservative Judicial Watch further support that the Obama team wanted then-UN Ambassador Susan Rice to stress that a video disparaging the Prophet Muhammad was the catalyst for attacks across the Muslim world, including the deadly Benghazi attack (WaPo, Reuters) • In an email with subject line: "PREP CALL with Susan," deputy national security adviser for strategic communications Ben Rhodes wrote that one of the goals before Rice went on the Sunday shows was "to underscore these protests are rooted in an internet video, and not a broader failure of policy." • This collection of emails was left out of the emails released in May 2013 that showed the back and forth within the administration over talking points. The new Rhodes email helps fill in a gap in the timeline as the WH scrambled Friday night to articulate its position • Judicial Watch's Tom Fitton said in a statement, "Now we know the Obama WH's chief concern about the Benghazi attack was making sure that President Obama looked good." Expect fun questions at today's WH briefing! • Rhodes' email also "made clear the administration's primary goals involved protecting people in the field and bringing to justice those responsible for the attacks," said WH NSC spox Bernadette Meehan. "Our focus remains on ensuring that a tragedy like this isn't repeated in Libya or anywhere else in the world," Meehan said • SecDef Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of the new controversial grooming policies that ban twists and other natural hairstyles popular among African-American women - was insensitive at best, and showed racial bias at worst(TRNS, (http://talkradionews.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=31406c9493dd20026a9c16307&id=1fb452c014&e=0349316805) me) Afghan Corruption Rampant: Report • More than a decade of work financed with American tax dollars is at stake if bribery and theft are left unabated in Afghanistan, according to a quarterly report released today by the top auditor of U.S. reconstruction spending in the impoverished nation (AP, me) • SIGAR says corruption is affecting all levels of customs collection. Between Dec 2012 and Dec 2013, Afghanistan missed its $2.4 billion revenue collection target by nearly 12% and reportedly could miss this year's target by as much as 20%, the report said - depending on the international community for the rest • "Criminal networks use intimidation to smuggle commodities, resulting in the estimated loss of approx $25 million annually for wheat and rice imports at a single customs location," the report said. Afghan officials listening to U.S. advisers are being kidnapped and intimidated &&& • Customs fees continue to be collected in cash. So customs brokers have to travel long distances with large quantities of cash to pay the fees, leaving brokers vulnerable to theft and increasing opportunities for corruption • The Afghan AG's office declined offers from U.S. State Dept to train prosecutors on investigative methods and canceled several meetings with State officials, who say that the AG is refusing to pursue corruption cases • While Afghanistan's High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption has adequate administrative and technical capabilities, it suffers from a "lack of political will ... in fighting corruption, especially when it involves the powerful and political elite." () • Iraqis are voting amid tight security in the first parliamentary elections since the withdrawal of U.S. troops three years ago. At least 160 people have been killed in the past week alone (BBC) SCOTUS: Upholds EPA on Coal Pollution Rules • In a major environmental victory for the Obama administration, the court ruled 6-2 Tuesday to uphold the EPA's authority to crack down on coal pollution that wafts across state lines, known as "good neighbor" rules. Justice Antonin Scalia recused (NYT, TPM, me) • The regs have pitted Rust Belt and Appalachian states like OH and KY against East Coast states like NY and CT. In its arguments, the EPA said the rules were necessary to protect the health and environment of downwind states • In her decision, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg noted that in reining in interstate pollution, regulators must account for the vagaries of the wind. She even quoted from the Book of John: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou heareth the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth." • The utilities and 15 states on the other side of the issue argued that the rules gave the EPA too much authority and placed an unfair economic burden on the polluting states. To comply with the regs, electric utilities are expected to have to install costly pollution control equipment at coal plants or just shut them down • A majority of justices seems inclined to give Americans who are arrested some protections against warrantless searches of their smartphones, but there was no clear agreement Tuesday about when and how those added safeguards should apply (Politico) WH Correspondents Dinner: Host! Guests! Dress! • Joel McHale says just about everything's fair game when he takes the podium as the headliner (not quite, Joel - Barack's usually funnier than the comic) of the annual black tie gala this Saturday. "Jokes that aren't funny are off limits. My goal is to write funny jokes and to make funny jokes." (Hill, me) • The 42-year-ol host of E!'s "The Soup" and star of NBC's "Community" won't say if Democrats or Republicans will be skewered more. "Hopefully, it'll be an equal opportunity for people to be made fun of." • There's also the chance that President Obama might unknowingly swipe some of McHale's best wisecracks. "There's a chance of crossover, so if we have a similar joke I'm not going to tell that same joke again." • Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, declared the "World's Most Beautiful Person" by People magazine, will attend, along with "Dallas's" Patrick Duffy, "Scandal's" Scott Foley, "True Blood's" Joe Manganiello,"NCIS's" David McCallum, Julianna Marguiles, Spike Jonze, Jeff Goldblum, Jessica Simpson - and more to be named • And then there's Which Dress to Wear. The navy or the gold? It's going to be an epic decision... • J.J. Abrams finally announced the cast for next "Star Wars" film Tuesday, due out Dec 2015. Along with Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca - yaaaay), expect to see Max von Sydow and "Lord of the Rings" star Andy Serkis, plus several others new (NYT, me)