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What’s My Line? aired on CBS from 1950 to 1967, making it the longest-running game show in American television history. During its eighteen seasons, the show featured hundreds of celebrities & VIPs. Above, you can watch Salvador Dali in action. You can also rewind the video tape and check out Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Lloyd Wright, , , Carl Sandburg, among others. For more oldies and goodies, check out Orson Welles Vintage Radio & The War of the Worlds on Podcast: How H.G. Wells and Orson Welles Riveted A Nation http://youtu.be/iXT2E9Ccc8A

COPEMISH, Mich. (AP) -- A team led by a nurseryman from northern Michigan and his sons has raced against time for two decades, snipping branches from some of the world's biggest and most durable trees with plans to produce clones that could restore ancient forests and help fight climate change. Now comes the most ambitious phase of the quest: getting the new trees into the ground. Ceremonial plantings of two dozen clones from California's mighty coastal redwoods were taking place Monday in seven nations: Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Germany and the U.S. Although measuring just 18-inches tall, the laboratory-produced trees are genetic duplicates of three giants that were cut down in northern California more than a century ago. Remarkably, shoots still emerge from the stumps, including one known as the Fieldbrook Stump near McKinleyville, which measures 35 feet in diameter. It's believed to be about 4,000 years old. The tree was about 40 stories high before it was felled. "This is a first step toward mass production," said David Milarch, co-founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit group spearheading the project. "We need to reforest the planet; it's imperative. To do that, it just makes sense to use the largest, oldest, most iconic trees that ever lived." Milarch and his sons Jared and Jake, who have a family-owned nursery in the village of Copemish, Mich., became concerned about the condition of the world's forests in the 1990s. They began crisscrossing the U.S. in search of "champion" trees that have lived hundreds or even thousands of years, convinced that superior genes enabled them to outlast others of their species. Scientific opinion varies on whether that's true, with skeptics saying the survivors may simply have been lucky. The Archangel leaders say they're out to prove the doubters wrong. They've developed several methods of producing genetic copies from cuttings, including placing branch tips less than an inch long in baby food jars containing nutrients and hormones. The specimens are cultivated in labs until large enough to be planted. In recent years, they have focused on towering sequoias and redwoods, considering them best suited to absorb massive volumes of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas primarily responsible for climate change. "If we get enough of these trees out there, we'll make a difference," said Jared Milarch, the group's executive director. Archangel has an inventory of several thousand clones in various stages of growth that were taken from more than 70 redwoods and giant sequoias. NASA engineer Steve Craft, who helped arrange for David Milarch to address an agency gathering, said research shows that those species hold much more carbon than other varieties. The challenge is to find places to put the trees, people to nurture them and money to continue the project, Jared Milarch said. The group is funded through donations and doesn't charge for its clones. "A lot of trees will be planted by a lot of groups on Arbor Day, but 90 percent of them will die," David Milarch said. "It's a feel-good thing. You can't plant trees and walk away and expect them to take care of themselves." The recipients of Archangel redwoods have pledged to care for them properly, he said. The first planting of about 250 took place in December on a ranch near Port Orford, Ore. Others were being planted during Earth Day observances Monday at the College of Marin in Kentwood, Calif., and in parks and private estates in the other six countries. "I know the trees will thrive here," said Tom Burke, landscape manager at the College of Marin. "We've had redwoods in this area since God planted them." --- © 2013 The Associated

Bill Iffrig, the 78-year-old Lake Stevens man caught sprawled on the ground in the Boston Marathon bombing photo, has returned home. The picture went around the world, but he never saw it until Friday morning. Now it’s back to mowing the lawn. By Erik Lacitis Seattle Times staff reporter PREV 1 of 3 NEXT Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times Bill Iffrig was blasted to the ground in Boston. Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times Bill Iffrig discusses the past week’s ordeals as his wife, Donna, waves to a neighbor through their living-room window in Lake Stevens on Friday. John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe In the photo that went viral, Bill Iffrig, of Lake Stevens, lies on the ground as police officers react to a second explosion at the Boston Marathon on Monday. Related LAKE STEVENS — The man who was in this week’s most iconic photo in the world finally got back home early Friday afternoon. And it turns out that Friday was the first time Bill Iffrig — the 78-year-old Boston Marathon runner in the orange vest, knocked to the ground by the shock wave from the first blast — saw the picture that went viral around the world. During all those TV interviews, the photo was on the screen for viewers to see, but Iffrig was standing on a street corner; he didn’t see it. Since the bombings Monday, his name has appeared in at least 20,000 online news articles, in languages ranging from English to Chinese to Arabic to Spanish, about the white-haired man who got up after the blasts and ran the few yards left to the finish line. It was while he and his wife, Donna Iffrig, also 78, were waiting early Friday morning at the gate for their Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle at Boston’s Logan International Airport that an employee for the airline handed him a copy of the latest Sports Illustrated. There he was, on the cover. “It’s beautiful,” Iffrig says about the photo. “It’s almost like it was staged, it’s so real.” Maybe Iffrig isn’t quite explaining it in art-review language, but you get the idea. It is a photo that viscerally grabs you. Iffrig didn’t even know his name had been invoked by President Obama during the interfaith service Thursday in Boston: “Like Bill Iffrig, 78 years old — the runner in the orange tank top who we all saw get knocked down by the blast — we may be momentarily knocked off our feet, but we’ll pick ourselves up.” But then, this week has been one big media blur for the Iffrigs, who, after the race, ended up spending a lot of time in their hotel room. Iffrig walked back to the hotel with only a scraped knee. Their cellphone filled up with messages, as did their home phone. The hotel suggested they simply turn off their room phone at night so they could get some sleep. Still, Iffrig isn’t complaining about his moment as a media star. “It wasn’t too bad. A few took us to out dinner,” he says. “Nice Italian,” recalls his wife about one of the dinners. There was that one incident in which a producer kept begging Iffrig to do a live interview at a street corner where all the TV vans were parked. “She told me she’d pay for my cab,” says Iffrig. Oh, OK. So he got a cab to the corner in question. The producer wasn’t there when he arrived, he had to pay the $10 fare himself, and then had to go from van to van to find the right crew. Iffrig laughs when remembering how cutthroat some of the TV producers were in trying to get exclusives, asking him not to talk to anybody else. Sheesh, he can’t even remember who he talked to. Well, he remembers Anderson Cooper. “He was real nice.” Other CNN crew members conducted interviews, but Cooper “shook my hand, and I told him I watch him every day, and he thought that was OK.” The Iffrigs have been married 58 years, had three kids and have lived in the same home Iffrig himself built 50 years ago. He is a retired carpenter and mason. He took up running more than three decades ago to stay in shape, and he certainly looks that way, slim and nimble. This was the most notoriety he’s had in his life, says Iffrig. And it was all due to Boston Globe photographer John Tlumacki, a 32-year veteran of the paper. “I really was kind of floored,” says Tlumacki about why the picture resonated with so many people. But then he took a longer look at the image. “You have three police officers running, pretty much startled. You have smoke from the explosion, and debris on the track. You have a runner down. You have that female police officer with her handgun drawn, which suggests violence. Your eye goes around the photo and sees all that,” says Tlumacki, 55. “That picture says it all in one photo.” This Boston Marathon was Iffrig’s third. He finished fourth in his category, the 75-79 age group. He isn’t planning to run the marathon next year, but not because of anything to do with the bombings. It’s because in 2014, he’ll be 79, and fears he’ll be beaten by some 75-year-old upstart. But in 2015, when he’s 80, he’ll be running in the 80-plus group. “I’ll be the youngest one, and have a better chance,” says Iffrig. Now it’s back to normal life for him, although outside his home there are the American flags and “Welcome Home” balloons left by neighbors. All those messages on his home phone? Erased. Try calling again, media types, if you’re still interested and haven’t gone on to the next trending story. Time for everyday life to resume. “I still mow my own lawn,” says Iffrig, “I’ve got a lot of yard work to do.” Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com More Local News

A really powerful microscope is the sort of thing nobody would buy for entertainment, yet we can't shake the feeling that if we had one, we'd use it all the time. That's because, as we've proven several times over, the most mundane crap in your house is transformed into surreal, freaky, trippy, and sometimes terrifying works of art when viewed at a microscopic level. It's like seeing into an alternate universe. Don't know what we mean? Well, check out the mind-blowing close-up views of ... #8. ChalkStockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images At Normal Size: For decades, chalk was used in classrooms to spread knowledge to large groups of students, and in recess to spread the myth that hopscotch was fun. It turns into powder when you use it, so up close it probably just looks like, what, sand or something? It can't be too exciting ... But Up Close: PLOS Biology It kinda looks like we should be worshiping it. Huh. Apparently, chalk is a bunch of tiny little soccer balls ... if soccer balls were made out of dead bodies, that is. Yes, those yarmulke-looking things are actually the shells of dead microscopic organisms like foraminifera mixed with the corpses of sea algae. So the next time you see a chalk outline of a murder victim, just know that it was created with the help of about a billion teeny-weeny corpses. It's pretty much the ultimate counter to that circle-of-life crap that Disney likes to shove down our throats. #7. Kosher SaltPhotos.com At Normal Size: Kosher salt is the slightly chunkier cousin of regular salt, so named due to its ability to soak up the blood of various meats, rendering them kosher. It's pretty much Dracula in salt form. But Up Close: Museum of Science, Boston The microscopic ancient Mayans sacrificed many innocents here. Wait, when did Dracula leave Transylvania and move to an ancient temple? Because that's exactly what a crystal of kosher salt looks like. This isn't food; this is something a tiny little Indiana Jones would invade while searching for long-lost religious artifacts that will melt Nazis' faces off. Dr. Gary Gaugler / Science Photo Library We'll be shocked if that thing isn't filled with wee little Predators and Aliens. And here's another shot, lest you think the first one was just a lucky angle. Nope: Kosher salt, across the board, is made out of tiny pyramids. So the next time the office racist starts ranting and rambling about some vast Zionist conspiracy, show them these pictures as proof that, if they've ever ingested kosher salt, they now have little Illuminati pyramids floating around inside them. Then take cover, because exploding heads tend to be quite messy and sticky. #6. Orange JuiceHemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images At Normal Size: No false advertising here: This is juice, and it is very much orange. No other juice is that straightforward. If you ever call tomato juice "red juice," for example, you're either a baby, insane, or a straw man we just created for the sake of this joke. But Up Close: FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY/BARCROFT This is what a screwdriver looks like if you replace the vodka with LSD. As it turns out, orange juice only contains the slightest hint of orange. In fact, it looks more like Jackson Pollock's busted windshield than something you pour down your gullet whenever you're sick with the flu. This picture is courtesy of our old friends at Bevshots, who magnify dried droplets of various drinks and then photograph the results. They tend to stick to alcoholic drinks mainly, but occasionally venture into the world of non-booze, as long as you can easily mix it with booze, as is the case here. So now you know; enjoy a tall glass of yellow-purple-blue-green-red-pink-orange-brown-silver glass shards, liquefied into juice form and then turned solid orange somehow, in the morning. It's part of a complete breakfast. #5. SnowEmmanuel Boutet At Normal Size: Beautiful, precious, unique specks of icy poetry, perfect to romp around in with childlike joy. Or miserable little tundras that cause mass chaos at the grocery store, back up traffic for miles upon miles, and force you to waste precious hours shoveling out your driveway. Take your pick. But Up Close: Science Musings That big one in the center has acne. Oh, bullshit; no way that's real. That's one of those construction-paper deals that schoolchildren make when the teacher has a migraine or a hangover, right? Nope, it's very much an actual snowflake in all its microscopic glory. But here's the kicker: It doesn't even look like a good snowflake. Seriously, you'd think a real snowflake, even up close, would still look the friggin' part. Instead, it looks like something little Johnny crapped out in two minutes so he could get back to eating the clay. We all know nature isn't perfect, but we're shocked that something so beautiful and crystalline would actually garner us a C-minus in art class. U. S. Department of Agriculture "Now, Creation, you can do better than that. No recess for you today." Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_20386_8-ordinary-things-that-look-insanely-cool-under-microscope.html#ixzz2RAcJn1fM

Sitck tothe music, and why don't you to inprove your contry in Italy.

http://youtu.be/ZtyTH4kKWME

Video Deleted -

http://youtu.be/uyJz7zpWCqA

Thanks Umbertino your the man.

I will go out and buy all the dinar I can and be in bank line first thing monday, RIGHT, LOL

Wayne Allyn Root Wayne Allyn Root is a Capitalist Evangelist, entrepreneur, and Libertarian-conservative Republican. He is a former Libertarian vice presidential nominee. […] Wayne Allyn Root is a Capitalist Evangelist, entrepreneur, and Libertarian-conservative Republican. He is a former Libertarian vice presidential nominee. Wayne's latest book is out on April 15, 2013: "The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide: Secrets to Protecting Your Family, Your Finances, and Your Freedom." The economic news has gone from bad to worse. First we found out the jobs numbers are collapsing. Then retail sales figures were released- they showed across the board contraction. Next we found out U.S. business inventory figures were a disappointment. Finally consumer confidence not only collapsed, but it was the largest miss from expectations in U.S. economic history. What exactly is our president’s plan? Because it’s certainly not working. Or is it? It depends on what the plan is. My new book is out, “the Ultimate Obama Survival Guide.” Shouldn’t the American people have a right to know what our president’s real economic agenda is? Is he out to help us, or hurt us? With things getting worse, don’t we have a right to ask these questions? I have a story that sheds light on that life or death question. President Obama and I were college classmates at Columbia University, class of ’83. I know all too well how mindlessly leftist the students and faculty of that institution can be, and Barack Obama is certainly no exception. My time at Columbia made it crystal clear: leftists always believe they are morally superior. While they publicly state that their mission is to save the world from prejudice, patriotism, racism, greed, and inequality, they are, in fact, hostile and resentful towards anyone who has achieved self-made success through American values. It is in this cesspool of intolerance that Obama and his Marxist cronies hatched their plan to destroy our country <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/prnd/prn-theblaze;prntype=web;prngenre=conservative_talk;prnpage=interior;pos=bottom;sz=300x250;u=prntype*web!prngenre*conservative_talk!prnpage*interior!pos*bottom!sz*300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" ><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/prnd/prn-theblaze;prntype=web;prngenre=conservative_talk;prnpage=interior;pos=bottom;sz=300x250;u=prntype*web!prngenre*conservative_talk!prnpage*interior!pos*bottom!sz*300x250;ord=123456789?" border="0" alt="" /></a> There are two things you need to know about Obama at Columbia University. First, he was Pre -law and a Political Science major- just like me. I thought I knew everyone studying Political Science during my four years at Columbia. Not Obama. I never met him, never saw him, never even heard of him. Strange. Same major, same career path, and graduated on the same day– where was he? Was he busy attending communist party meetings? No need to guess. In his autobiography he proudly admits attending Socialist Party meetings at Cooper Union in downtown Manhattan. He also admits publicly in his own book to not wanting to meet or befriend anyone at Columbia who wasn’t black, Hispanic, ***, or a Marxist professor. His words- in print. So it’s possible he was so busy attending communist meetings and trying to avoid guys like me (white, straight, a guy who loved America) that our paths never crossed. Unlikely, but possible. But, it’s the second thing you really need to know about Obama at Columbia. He says he graduated Class of ’83. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. I always have. Well then Obama had to attend the same Political Science classes as me. I can tell you, almost to a man, my classmates in the Class of ’83 proudly called themselves Marxist, communist or socialist. They bragged of being “radical” like a badge of honor. They openly hated America- calling it racist. They hated capitalism- and vowed to bring “the system down.” In my class the typical Columbia political science student vowed to destroy capitalism, bankrupt business owners, and vaporize what they called “the white power structure.” For the most part these were spoiled brat white students of privilege and power. They were children of wealth, given everything on a silver platter and all they felt was anger and guilt. Their goal was to destroy their own fathers. They talked about it all day long. So let me tell you a story that says it all. Back in 1981 I was sitting in a political science class. The president at the time was Ronald Reagan, a man reviled by the left just as viciously as any Republican is today. Suddenly our lecture was interrupted by a door swinging open violently—whereupon a breathless fellow student raced into the room screaming, “The president has been shot! They’ve just assassinated President Reagan.” Ronald Reagan was my hero. The news hit me like a ton of bricks. I instantly felt sick to my stomach, and tears flowed down my cheeks. But it was the response of the rest of the class that I will remember for the rest of my life. They cheered. They clapped, they yelled, they high-fived, and whooped in sheer unadulterated joy. My fellow classmates, the ones I was naively trying so hard to befriend despite their radical leftist views, were HAPPY that my hero President Ronald Reagan was dead (or so they thought). They were celebrating what they thought was the assassination of America’s president. Incidently, if Obama actually went to Columbia, he’d almost certainly have to have been in that class leading the cheers. Feel like you need a shower yet? Lest you think I’m exaggerating, British leftists just celebrated and cheered upon hearing of the death of Margaret Thatcher only days ago. It was all over the news. Some Brits held parties celebrating her death. This is revolting and disgusting. But wait, the most frightening and eye-opening revelation is still to come. You see political science students at Columbia were taught a detailed plan designed by two former Columbia professors named Cloward and Piven to bring down “the system,” destroy capitalism, and turn America into a socialist state. We discussed it in class, wrote about it, and debated it outside class. It was a hot topic of discussion around the halls of Columbia for four years. The plan was revolting, but brilliant. Cloward and Piven taught that America could only be destroyed from within. Only by overwhelming the system with debt, welfare, and entitlements could capitalism and the America economy be destroyed. So the plan was to make a majority of Americans dependent on welfare, food stamps, disability, unemployment, and entitlements of all kinds. Then, under the weight of the debt, the system would implode and the economy collapse, bankrupting business owners (i.e. conservative donors). Americans would be brought to their knees, begging for big government to save them. Voila – you’d have a new system. A system based on fairness, equality and social justice. It’s called Socialism. Sound familiar? Lo and behold, one of my classmates was elected as president and it’s clear as a bell that he is using that plan to destroy America, capitalism, and the U.S. economy right in front of our eyes. It’s the exact plan hatched at Columbia University in our college days. Exact in every way. Under Obama, 660,000 Americans dropped off the job rolls…just last month. 90 million working-age, able-bodied Americans are no longer in the workforce. 90 million. The workforce participation rate is the lowest since 1979. For men it’s the lowest since 1948 (when record keeping began). New economic numbers were out last Friday. Retail sales contracted. Business inventories were disappointing. Consumer confidence collapsed- the worst miss in the history of the U.S. economy. This economy isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse by the day. Obama isn’t “saving” us, he’s destroying us with every move he makes. Almost 50 million Americans are on food stamps (20% of all eligible adults). Fourteen million are on disability. Millions more are on welfare, unemployment, housing allowances, aid to dependent children, or 100 other free government programs. Now, add in free healthcare plus 22 million government employees. Record-setting numbers of Americans are emptying their retirement accounts to survive. Student loan debt is a national disaster- with defaults up 36% from a year ago. Over 16 million Americans live in poverty…in the suburbs. Every day under Obama the private sector shrinks, while the government grows like a toxic malignant tumor. Obama promised to cut the deficit in half; instead he gave us five consecutive trillion dollar deficits. He promised to spend responsibly; instead now owns the title of biggest spender in world history. He called Bush’s $4 trillion in debt over 8 years reckless, then proceeded to pile on $6 trillion in only 4 years. He swore to be on the side of small business, but he added 6,118 new rules, regulations and mandates in just the last 90 days. He claimed taxes are low, yet he just raised taxes to the same level as bankrupt EU countries like Greece, Spain, Italy and France. Our federal income taxes are now far higher than former Soviet Republics. Now I ask you- Does this sound like a man trying to “save” us? Folks, this is Cloward and Piven. This is Karl Marx, who despised the middle class and vowed to wipe it out. This is Saul Alinsky,who dedicated his book (Obama’s favorite book) to Lucifer, the devil. This is no accident, or the work of an economically inept liberal. This is a purposeful plan to drown the nation in debt and hook a majority to government handouts, happening in front of our eyes. It’s crystal clear Obama’s plan was hatched in our college days, at Columbia, Class of ’83. While I never met Obama at Columbia, I can certainly put him at the scene of the crime. He either went to Columbia, or he didn’t. If he didn’t, he’s a fraud. If he did, he knew the Cloward and Piven plan like the back of his hand. He studied it and his goal- like almost all my classmates- was to use it to bring down the U.S. economy and destroy capitalism to create what they consider to be “equality, fairness and social justice.” Why would anyone want to purposely collapse the economy you might ask? Saul Alinsky taught the ends justify the means. A bankrupt America wipes out the middle class and small business. That wipes out the majority of donors to conservatives causes- meaning Obama has no opposition. It creates “equality”- by putting everyone on equal footing (shared misery). It causes panic- and in panic, voters often make hasty decisions- like choosing big government to save them. The destruction and devastation we see happening right now is classic Cloward and Piven. It’s the plan we learned, studied, and discussed day and night at Columbia. This is no coincidence. This is the Marxist attack from within. This is a purposeful attempt to take down the economy, collapse the middle class, wipe out small business, bankrupt the wealthy (conservative donors), and addict the country to big government Nanny State socialism. And it’s working. I believe it’s now clear that Obama has been working on his plan for 30 years (our 30th Columbia class reunion is next month). Now it is time for us to get to work- to save America and to save ourselves. My new book, “The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide” came out this week. Inside you’ll find a detailed 18-point plan called Y-PODS that empowers anyone to deal successfully with Obama’s plan as it unfolds. Y-PODS stands for “Your Personal Obama Defense Shield.” Let the battle begin.

I will be so glad when I don't have to try and read one of these ass backword articles.

ESCALATING uncertainty on the Korean peninsula has set off a stream of sarcastic commentary in the Arabic-speaking quarters of Twitter. Other media outlets however, have taken a more sober tone, drawing parallels with the Arab world’s experience of both militaristic, dictatorial regimes and the nuclear tensions between Iran, its neighbouring states, and the international community. In an article for the Emirati newspaper Al Bayan, also published on the pan-Arab Al Arabiya website, Mohammed Bin Huwaidin highlights the similarity between the showdown on the Korean peninsula and the ongoing nuclear drama in the Persian Gulf. Insisting that the region must remain free of nuclear weapons, he writes: The responsibility has fallen on everyone’s shoulders to take this matter under consideration and to deal with it seriously. International efforts to convince Iran to halt its suspect nuclear programme are of the highest importance. Conditions must be created that support their success so that we don’t arrive one day and find the North Korean scenario replaying itself in the Gulf, with the language of nuclear blackmail becoming the dominant language of the region. Writing in the pan-Arab daily Al Sharq Al Awsat, Samir Atallah posits that the most ridiculous aspect of the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula is that “we have to take the boy seriously. He has a nuclear button that he could fiddle with, just like he fiddles with the buttons on the military jacket that he wears.” Following a survey of the poverty and militarism of North Korea, he concludes: This, then, is the country of the supreme leader and his funny hair and the picture of him in the artillery emplacement pondering which nations to strike with his nuclear missiles. Don’t joke. There are many like him who repress and oppress and incinerate, then smile for the camera, enjoying the limelight. Like you, I think about this world and tremble. It has become full of nuclear-armed children. A ruler no longer needs to accomplish anything: every time he desires extra aid, he merely lays his nuclear pistol on the table. Writing for the Jordanian website Ammon News, Batir Mohammed Wardam reflects on the Arab public’s reaction to the situation. Sarcasm and apathy have been the main response, he says, because the scenario in North Korea is a familiar one in the Middle East. We have in the Arab world too many political problems, military conflicts, and internal wars to really worry about the situation in Korea. But what we are hearing in Pyongyang’s rhetoric is exactly what we are hearing from Damascus, and what we have heard previously from Baghdad and Tripoli and all the other backward regimes that brought nothing to their peoples and neighbours except tragedy. While the world remains on edge regarding what is happening, we paradoxically react primarily with sarcasm, perhaps knowing that these kind of regimes don’t affect the United States or combat colonialism to the same extent that they bring destruction to their peoples, and ultimatel

Baghdad (CNN) -- A bomb exploded on Thursday night in a popular coffee shop in western Baghdad, killing at least 27 people and wounding 51 others, city police officials said. The bomb was hidden in a plastic bag and then put in a cafe in the Iraqi capital's al-Amriya neighborhood, where it detonated around 10 p.m. (3 p.m. ET), according to police. They estimated the device contained about two kilograms of highly explosive material. The explosion ripped through the three-story building, which also includes an ice cream parlor on the first floor and medical offices on the second floor. The coffee shop was on the third floor. Deadly wave of bombings across Iraq Most of those killed and hurt were young men, though four children were among the dead, police said. Mostly Sunni Muslims live in the neighborhood, which is surrounded by walls except for one checkpoint staffed by Iraqi soldiers. The violence follows a spate of attacks preceding the country's provincial elections, set for Saturday. On Wednesday, three people died and 16 were wounded in four explosions in and around Baghdad, according to police. There is concern that the security situation could affect the outcome of the vote, especially if Iraqis don't participate because of fears that polling stations may come under attack. U.N. official Martin Kobler appealed Thursday for security forces to be on "heightened alert" so that citizens can vote "in a safe environment without fear of violence." In the same statement, Kobler -- the special representative in Iraq for the U.N. secretary-general -- stressed that Iraqi leaders must "collectively endure a transparent and peaceful election, free of intimidation or political interference." And he urged Iraqis to vote, casting it as their patriotic duty. "I am calling on all women and men to cast their ballots for a better future for them and their children," Kobler said. "My appeal goes particularly to young Iraqis, because you are the future of this country." CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq reported from Baghdad and Greg Botelho wrote this story from Atlanta. Reddit StumbleUpon Delicious

UPDATE 1:36 a.m. — CNN’s Gabe Ramirez is apparently reporting that police are saying at least one of the suspects matches description of Boston Marathon suspect. This has not been confirmed. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/18/mit-reports-gunshots-on-campus-police-officer-may-be-down/#ooid=Y5dGoyYjpLLn_TwGTl_mHm_YOwgQ1lyk UPDATE 1:36 a.m. — CNN’s Gabe Ramirez is apparently reporting that police are saying at least one of the suspects matches description of Boston Marathon suspect. This has not been confirmed. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/18/mit-reports-gunshots-on-campus-police-officer-may-be-down/#ooid=Y5dGoyYjpLLn_TwGTl_mHm_YOwgQ1lyk

Adam Clark Estes Apr 18, 2013 Updated 12:52 a.m.: MIT issued an emergency alert at 10:48 on Thursday night reporting shots fired on the university campus. MIT's school newspaper, The Tech, reports, "Shots fired near 32 Vassar St (Stata Center), police officer down. Please stay inside." That report is backed up by CBS News's Bonney Kapp who reports hearing "officer down" on the police scanner just before the MIT alert went out. The Tech followed up a few minutes later, reporting that the injured officer was a member of the MIT campus police and was taken to Mass. General Hospital. According to the Massachusetts State Police, the officer died from his wounds just before midnight. Not long after midnight, there were reports of a car jacking at a gas station on Memorial Drive. The suspects took a Mercedes SUV. Minutes later there were shots fired in Watertown. Then an officer said "they have explosives and grenades." After the exchange of fire, police scanners reported an officer down. The suspect remains on the loose and considered armed and extremely dangerous. Meanwhile the university's ordered all students and staff to remain indoors

Creamed Eggs Here something my family likes and is fast and easy. Serves 4 people 1, 8 boild eggs choped up 2, half cup butter 3, 1 cup butter 4, milk 5, salt to as needed 6, toasted bread In a large frying pan melt the butter and add half the flour, wisk and keep adding till it is very thick. Then add the milk put alot in at one time and wisk till all the lumps are gone, You will have to keep adding milk because it will get to thick, It should be as thick as gravy, Now remove from heat and add eggs mix as little as posible. so the yoke doesen't break up Ti's ready !

At 10:48 PM today gunshots were reported near Building 32 (Stata) which is currently surrounded by responding agencies. The area is cordoned off. Please stay clear of area until further notice. Unknown if injuries have occurred.. Although the situation is considered active and extremely dangerous, an investigation is underway. Updates will be provided at this site when more information becomes available.

Just heard this on raido I might involve the two bombers. Time 10:17 AM

Fired-Up GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy Takes Apart Argument That Voter ID Laws Are Racist During House Hearing http://youtu.be/q127wuWffVo

Days before Progress Kentucky launched a Twitter offensive against Mitch McConnell, its executive director met with White House officials. posted on April 17, 2013 at 4:16pm EDT Alleged McConnell Bugger Visited White House WASHINGTON — The head of a group accused of illegally taping private meetings of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign visited the White House days before the group's Twitter account began actively attacking the Kentucky Republican, according to White House visitors logs. White House logs and the Twitter feed of Shawn Reilly, one of two men at the heart of the McConnell wiretapping scandal, show he met with White House officials on Dec. 5, just days before his organization Progress Kentucky began a messaging blitzkrieg against the Republican leader. Reilly and Curtis Morrison are currently under investigation by the FBI for illicitly taping a campaign conversation between McConnell and a handful of his advisors. During the conversation McConnell and his aides discussed the potential candidacy of actress Ashley Judd — including using her mental health problems against her. For days, Democrats in the state and nationally have sought to cast the duo as a pair of bungling amateurs who simply got in over their heads and made a series of bad decisions. But the White House visit suggests the distance from Reilly to his party's leaders may not have been quite that far. The White House visitors log, showing Reilly met with administration officials Dec. 5th, appears to have been signed in by Victoria McCullough, a staff assistant to Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett. View this image › According to Reilly's Twitter feed, his trip to Washington included stops at the White House to discuss the fiscal cliff and a meeting at the Center for American Progress, a left leaning think tank.

Baghdad (newsletter). There is no doubt that the national economy is surrounded by many potential challenges as declining oil sales or security tensions, but experts in finance and economy dissipated such fears two documents that the Central Bank has a large reserve of hard currency and gold being able to confront the mightiest economic shocks anticipated and curb inflation. He said financial expert Samir Al-nasiri (News Agency): the Central Bank can maintain the stability of the national economy through its financial reserve, noting that the Central Bank’s reserves record over the past year 2012 top the Bank on Iraq and is 67 billion dollars, so there is no doubt the Central Bank’s capacity to deal with any economic fluctuations. He said: despite our confidence in the Central Bank to control the stability of the market, but we pray that there is a rational exploitation of Central Bank reserve through autonomous monetary policy led by the Central Bank in accordance with the law. Others questioned the possibility of the Central Bank of reserve units in maintaining the stability of the Iraqi economy, saying that you should count as economic reserve is oil and gas stocks. Accordingly, the financial expert said Bassem Jamil Antoine (News Agency): the Central Bank of reserve funds went not equal oil exports for one year, indicating that the main possible reserve to protect the economy of Iraq is oil and gas stocks located in the ground. The oil Ministry statistics indicate that oil reserves reached nearly 150 billion barrels of oil and 19 billion cubic meters of gas, up to February of this year, indicating that these precautions are big and bulky that protects the Iraqi economy and not the other. According to statistics of the Central Bank of Iraq in August of last year, Iraq remains ranked 44 among the more than 115 State list gold holdings, ranked 52 among the more than 102 countries on a list of foreign currency account of the International Monetary Fund.

An official source at the Oil Ministry, the Egyptian “The first shipment of crude Iraq will arrive in Egypt during the first week of next May, in quantities of up to 2 million barrels of crude are refined in laboratories Egypt, where it was agreed to supply 4 million barrels of crude per month on shipments, and prices are according to the quoted market indicators from the Iraqi government. ” The source said that “the signing of a contract import large quantities of Iraqi crude is scheduled to be in the coming days, especially as the negotiations between the Egyptian and Iraqi nearing completion, pointing out that the Iraqi delegation is visiting today Sidi Kerir in Alexandria scheduled to meet Thursday morning with Ministry officials, to negotiate on other terms of the agreement, and on how to repayment. ” The ministries of Iraqi oil and the Egyptian had signed, in the fourth of last March, signed an agreement with the consent of the Iraqi side to meet the Egyptian request to supply the Egyptian Petroleum four million barrels per month of crude oil Basra, and through the Iraqi oil marketing company for refining in the oil refineries of Egypt and brought back to Iraq .