Hi, I'm Chitown Kev and I am substituting for annetteboardman this evening for the Overnight News Digest.
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Doctor RJ, rfall, JML9999 and Man Oh Man with guest editors annetteboardman and Chitown Kev. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00AM Eastern Time.
With a few exceptions, I will stick with the international theme beginning with the international story of the day: The historic and catastrophic Hurricane Patricia made landfall earlier this evening in Mexico.
Weather Underground: Catastrophic Hurricane Patricia Makes Landfall in Mexico
Hurricane Patricia became the strongest hurricane ever known to make landfall on the Pacific coast of Mexico after the center of its eye crossed the coast of Jalisco state early Friday evening. Catastrophic damage is expected along a narrow path as the eye slices into the interior of southwest Mexico Friday night.
Earlier in the day, Patricia became the most powerful tropical cyclone ever measured in the Western Hemisphere as its maximum sustained winds reached an unprecedented 200 mph (320 kph) and its central pressure fell to 879 millibars (25.96 inches of mercury).
At 6:15 p.m. CDT, the eye of Hurricane Patricia made landfall near Cuixmala in Jalisco state of southwest Mexico. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated at 165 mph. While those were off from Patricia's extraordinary peak intensity, they still make Patricia a Category 5 hurricane capable of catastrophic wind damage in the immediate vicinity of the eye.
In addition to its unprecedented 200-mph (320-kph) sustained winds earlier Friday, Hurricane Patricia now holds the record for lowest pressure in any hurricane on record. With a minimum central pressure of 880 millibars (25.99 inches of mercury) at the 4 a.m. CDT advisory, Patricia broke the record of 882 millibars set by Wilma almost exactly 10 years ago. At the 1 p.m. CDT advisory the minimum central pressure was lowered to 879 millibars (25.96 inches of mercury).
Data from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter airborne reconnaissance mission late Thursday night provided critical data demonstrating the extreme intensification of Hurricane Patricia in near-real time. A new NOAA reconnaissance aircraft reached the eye of Patricia early Friday afternoon to gather additional direct measurements of the storm's intensity.
UPDATE: For some of the latest information on Hurricane Patricia, have a look at my buddy
terrypinder's diary posted 15 minutes before tonight's OND.
Associated Press: Why did Hurricane Patricia become a monster so quickly? by Seth Borenstein
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hurricane Patricia zoomed from tropical storm to record-beater in 30 hours flat like a jet-fueled sports car.
Why? The Pacific storm had just the right ingredients.
Plenty of warm water provided the energy for what meteorologists call explosive intensification. The air was much moister than usual, adding yet more fuel. And at the same time, upper-level crosswinds — called shear — that restrain a hurricane from strengthening were missing for much of Thursday, meteorologists said.
"I was really astounded," said MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel. "It was over the juiciest part of the eastern Pacific."
El Nino's fingerprints are all over this, meteorologists agreed. And while it fits perfectly into climate scientists' theories of what a warming world will be like, they say global warming can't quite be blamed — yet.
At 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Patricia was a tropical storm off Mexico with 65 mph winds that forecasters expected to intensify rapidly. In fact, one forecast gave it a 97 percent chance of getting stronger fast.
But it strengthened so quickly that many were surprised, said Robert Rogers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Research Division.
By 4 a.m. EDT Friday Patricia's winds were a record for hurricanes: 200 mph.
"Incredible. You don't see many like this," said former hurricane hunter meteorologist Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private Weather Underground. "In fact in the Western Hemisphere, we've never seen anything like this."
In the Eastern Hemisphere, satellite estimates measured Typhoon Nancy at 215 mph in 1961 and Typhoon Violet at 205 mph also in 1961, but satellite measurements aren't as precise, Masters said. (Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are all the same thing with different names.)
Super Typhoon Haiyan that devastated the Philippines in 2013 was measured at 195 mph via satellite. However, most storms don't have accurate measurements because most don't get planes flown into them unless they are a threat, Emanuel said.
Satellite image f Hurricane Patricia taken at 10:45 am EDT Friday, Oct.23
The Root:
Calif. Cop Who Threatened Activists Online No Longer on Force by Stephen A. Crockett, Jr.
The San Jose, Calif., police officer who posted threatening comments on social media no longer works with the police force.
According to the Associated Press, a spokesman confirmed that Phillip White no longer works for the San Jose Police Department, but would not confirm whether White had been fired or had resigned.
White gained national attention last year after he tweeted, "Threaten me or my family and I will use my God given and law appointed right and duty to kill you," along with the hashtag #CopsLivesMatter.
Shortly after the tweet went viral, White then tweeted: "By the way if anyone feels they can't breathe or their lives matter I'll be at the movies tonight, off duty, carrying my gun."
When I do the OND, I do like to feature one story from college and university newspapers. Tonight, I am featuring a story from my alma mater's newspaper.
Loyola Phoenix: Open House Chicago Shows Off Best of City’s Architecture by Olivia McClure
More than 20 years ago, London started allowing civilians behind-the-scenes access to the city’s historic buildings featuring breathtaking architecture, such as the Custom House and the Roca London Gallery. In 2011, Chicago implemented its own version of the attraction with Open House Chicago, a two-day experience that allows participants to view the most beautiful architectural feats around the city.
This year’s Open House Chicago took place Oct. 17 and 18 and featured 200 of the city’s most beautiful historic buildings. The Phoenix had the chance to visit several of Chicagoland’s best examples of world-renowned architecture, particularly ones located in Evanston, while getting to know the history that makes such places unforgettable attractions for tourists and locals.
Among the several sites visited was the Frances Willard House and Museum (1730 Chicago Ave.), also known as Rest Cottage. Frances Willard, a radical social progressive, lived in the house — which also served as the headquarters for the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union — from the time it was built in 1865. The house was built by Willard’s father, Josiah Willard, in the Gothic-Revival style and features various aspects of this type of architecture, including decorative carved bargeboards, which are delicate wooden pieces of roof trimming, and vertical board-and-batten siding, which are vertical boards with the joints covered by narrow wooden strips.
During her lifetime, Frances Willard successfully challenged gender inequality, serving as a model of the modern, forward-thinking woman. Together, the artifacts and the well-preserved architecture of the building celebrate the life of one of the most prominent social reformers of the 19th century.
The Frances Willard House and Museum in Evanston, IL
BBC News:
Sweden school killings: Attacker 'had racist motives'
Police chief Niclas Hallgren said they had based their conclusion on what was found at the killer's apartment and "his behaviour during the act".
Media reports suggest the 21-year-old attacker had far-right sympathies.
Armed with a sword and wearing a helmet and mask, he stormed a school in Trollhattan, near Gothenburg, before being shot dead by police.
Police found a suicide note revealing that the attacker had meant to target "foreigners" and believed "Sweden should not take in so many immigrants", Swedish TV reported.
The helmet he wore was similar to German World War Two soldiers' helmets.
He posed for a photograph with students, who thought he was dressed for Halloween, before going from classroom to classroom at the Kronan School.
But investigators believe he acted alone and there was no indication of any group involvement, Aftonbladet newspaper reports.
"He marches through the corridor with his weapons - a large sword and a large, sharp knife. He chose his victims. Those with dark-skin were attacked. He met with lighter-skinned people who were not attacked," police investigator Thord Heraldsson told Aftonbladet.
The Guardian:
Uzbekistan accused of brutal crackdown on activists investigating forced labour by Annie Kelly
Human rights activists in Uzbekistan have reported increasing levels of violence and harassment by police and government agencies as they attempt to document the alleged use of forced labour in the annual cotton harvest.
Local activists said there has been an escalation in attacks on human rights workers and local residents, including beatings and intimidation, arrests and the subjection of female activists to humiliating and intrusive body searches.
Uzbekistan, the fifth-largest cotton producer in the world, has faced sustained criticism and accusations of state-sponsored forced labour over its use of mandatory manual labour in the annual cotton harvest.
Dmitry Tihonov and Elena Urlaeva, prominent campaigners from the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan, claim they faced multiple arrests, physical violence and constant police surveillance while trying to monitor the conditions facing workers in the fields this year.
Tihonov said he was detained and beaten by police last month, after trying to document government buses taking teachers and industrial workers to pick cotton in the fields of the Buka region.
On 29 September, Urlaeva and Malokhat Eshankulova of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan were arrested and detained alongside two local residents in the Khorezm district. The women claim they were taken to a police station where they were strip-searched before police ordered a gynaecologist to conduct a cavity search with medical instruments, which was done in the presence of male police officers. The activists say their request to be examined in the privacy and safety of a hospital was declined.
The Wall Street Journal:
Australia Weighs Regional Military Role, Economic Priorities by Bob Taylor
CANBERRA, Australia—Just a month into his new job, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull finds himself in unfamiliar territory as he faces high-stakes decisions over costly military modernization and mounting concerns about China’s muscle-flexing in the South China Sea.
Mr. Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott as conservative leader by arguing he could more effectively turn around a stuttering A$1.6 trillion economy threatened by worries of possible recession.
But Mr. Turnbull, a wealthy former banker, must weigh what role Australia should play in respect of regional security and China’s rise versus the imperative to reduce Australia’s spending at home. Australia has seen a drop in resource exports, while businesses and consumers turn more cautious.
So far, Australia has backed chief ally Washington’s criticisms of China’s artificial-island building in the South China Sea. But while agreeing to intensify exercises alongside the U.S. Navy regionally, it has declined to challenge Chinese claims.
Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne, appointed by Mr. Turnbull, told lawmakers this week that the fourth change in leader in as many years would delay an already-overdue strategic blueprint laying out how the U.S. ally would approach regional security challenges, and fund almost A$300 billion in projected defense-spending over the next two decades.
Speigel Online International:
Populist, Pernicious and Perilous : Germany's Growing Hate Problem
Germany has a hate problem -- one that is growing.
"You're as big of an asshole as that idiot Ralf Stegner," a certain Birgit M. recently wrote in a letter to Thomas Kutschaty, justice minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was a referrence to the deputy party leader of state chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who recently said the organizers of the weekly Pegida marches in Dresden and elsewhere should be investigated by intelligence services. "You should all be put in a sack and have a hammer taken to you," Birgit M. wrote in her tirade.
Then there was the man who called Dorothea Moesch, a local SPD politician in Dortmund, late in the evening on June 30. "We're going to get you," he threatened. "We're at your door."
Another local SPD politician in Hesse, district administrator Erich Pipa, has been similarly threatened. "We can have you taken out at any time," he was informed in a letter.
And in Bernau in the eastern state of Brandenburg, graffiti scrawled on the wall of a warehouse namechecking the local mayor reads, "First Henriette Reker (the mayoral candidate stabbed in Cologne last weekend), next André Stahl."
These are but a few examples -- four politicians who have taken a stand, and, if the threats are to be taken seriously, may now need to fear for their lives. Kutschaty fell into the crosshairs for saying, "Pegida is not about protecting the Western world, it's about its demise." Moesch, for her part, attracted ire because she organized a protest against right-wing extremism. Pipa became the target of hatred because he was recently awarded a Federal Cross of Merit, Germany's highest civilian honor, for his longtime lobbying work on behalf of refugees. Finally, Stahl was the subject of denigration because of his public declaration that he wants refugees to feel welcome in his city.
The Guardian: Tolkien's annotated map of Middle-earth discovered inside copy of Lord of the Rings by Alison Flood
A recently discovered map of Middle-earth annotated by JRR Tolkien reveals The Lord of the Rings author’s observation that Hobbiton is on the same latitude as Oxford, and implies that the Italian city of Ravenna could be the inspiration behind the fictional city of Minas Tirith.
The map was found loose in a copy of the acclaimed illustrator Pauline Baynes’ copy of The Lord of the Rings. Baynes had removed the map from another edition of the novel as she began work on her own colour Map of Middle-earth for Tolkien, which would go on to be published by Allen & Unwin in 1970. Tolkien himself had then copiously annotated it in green ink and pencil, with Baynes adding her own notes to the document while she worked.
Blackwell’s, which is currently exhibiting the map in Oxford and selling it for £60,000, called it “an important document, and perhaps the finest piece of Tolkien ephemera to emerge in the last 20 years at least”.
A JRR Tolkien-annotated map of Middle-Earth
AlJazeera:
Israeli settler attacks rabbi protecting Palestinian farmers by Ehab Zahriyeh
A knife-wielding Israeli settler on Friday attacked a peace activist in the West Bank, where the activist was volunteering to protect Palestinian farmers from such assaults during the ongoing olive harvest season. The attack, captured on video, underscores longtime complaints by Palestinians of harassment and assaults by Israeli settlers.
Rabbi Arik Asherman, president of Rabbis for Human Rights, was returning from helping farmers in the Palestinian village of Awarta, near the Israeli settlement of Itamar, when he spotted settlers stealing olives and burning groves that belong to local villagers. After he confronted the settlers, one of them assaulted him with stones and a knife.
Asherman was not stabbed and only suffered minor injuries.
Yariv Mohar, a representative of Rabbis for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that the attack was only the “tip of the iceberg of what Palestinians are going through.”
“If [Asherman] wasn’t a Jew, then the attack might have been much more severe,” Mohar said. “But for Palestinians, this is daily or weekly way of life especially.”
Mohar said that members of his organization, as well as other Israeli and international peace activists, regularly volunteer to accompany Palestinian farmers as they work on their lands. The activists’ presence often serves as a deterrent to would-be Israeli attackers who are wary of being captured on film. The activists are also able to access Palestinian-owned lands that the Israeli military has designated as off-limits to Palestinians, which helps the farmers fully harvest their crops.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem. All settlements are illegal under international law.
The Times of India:
Writers condemn assault on dalit activist
NEW DELHI: A literary body comprising leading writers Nayantara Sahgal, K Satchidanandan and Romila Thapar among others on Friday strongly condemning the attack on dalit writer-activist Huchangi Prasad for his "anti-Hindu" writings.
"The Indian Writers' Forum strongly condemns the attack on a young dalit writer, Huchangi Prasad, for his writings against the caste system," it said.
Prasad, a 23-year-old journalism student in Davanagere, Karnataka and author of a book 'Odala Kichchu' which speaks against the caste system, alleged that he was assaulted on Wednesday and was threatened that his fingers would be cut for writing against Hinduism.
"If this is how disagreement is to be expressed, how can we call India a democracy? The recent writers' protests, and the setting up of a forum that will support all writers and other cultural practitioners, is precisely to resist such attempt to muzzle the voices of all writers, whichever community or region they come from, and whichever language they write in," the statement said.
Dalit writer Huchangi Prasad in the hospital after alleged attack on Wedensday
And don't neglect to read the
very related (and personal) diary by Kossack subir:
Why are dozens of Indian authors returning the country's most prestigious literary award?.
Subir's diary is now being featured in the Community Spotlight section.
The Guardian: South African students score tuition fee protest victory by Simon Allison
South Africa’s student movement has scored a big victory after plans to raise university fees were scrapped following weeks of nationwide protests that culminated in a mass gathering outside the main government offices.
The largest demonstration took place at the Union Buildings, South Africa’s seat of government in Pretoria. More than 10,000 people gathered on Friday to demand that proposed fee rises be scrapped, and called for the president, Jacob Zuma, to personally address their concerns.
It was the largest single student protest since the 1976 Soweto uprising – an iconic moment in the fight against South Africa’s apartheid regime – and participants represented a broad cross-section of the country’s racial groups and political parties.
Although the presidential podium was erected twice, Zuma never appeared, choosing instead to make the announcement in the press room inside the main building.
“We agreed that there will be a zero increase of university fees in 2016,” he said after a meeting with student leaders. Universities had proposed fee rises of up to 11.5% next year, arguing they need higher fees to keep up standards.
Zuma’s non-appearance infuriated protesters. A small minority tore up security fences, burned portable toilets and threw rocks at police. The police responded forcefully, using teargas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. Running battles between small groups of protesters and police continued after sunset, damaging several vehicles.
The Toronto Star:
Meet China's most in-demand Obama impersonator by Emily Rauhala of
The Washington Post
BEIJING—For Xiao Jiguo, a Chinese Obama impersonator, it’s all about the eyebrows.
The migrant-worker-turned-actor lacks the U. S. president’s stature and, with limited English, can’t easily mimic the stop-and-start cadence of his speech.
So when Xiao, 29, wants to channel his muse, he must focus on the face: A forceful furrow. Narrowed eyes. That contemplative, commanding frown.
“It’s a look you can use all the time,” Xiao said on the set of a movie Tuesday, shifting from serious to skeptical with a signature tilt of the jaw.
A beat.
More brow.
“Pause like this if you run out of things to say.”
Xiao has never met the man he calls “Brother Obama,” or “Brother Ma” for short. He hears about the United States on television, and he’s seen a few Hollywood films — The Mummy (1999) came to mind.
But America’s 44th president has had an outsized influence on Xiao’s life.
When, in 2008, a friend said he looked like Obama, Xiao, then working as a security guard, thought, “Who?” Seven years later, he spends most of his working life pretending to be the man, whether it’s for television, an ad or the opening of a shopping mall in Hefei.
Xiao Jiguo, a Chinese Obama impersonator and...yeah, I can see it.
Associated Press:
Plague spread 3,000 years earlier than 1st thought: 2,800 BC by Maria Cheng, AP Medical Writer
LONDON (AP) -- The plague was spreading nearly 3,000 years before previously thought, scientists say after finding traces of the disease in the teeth of ancient people - a discovery that could provide clues to how dangerous diseases evolve.
To find evidence of the prehistoric infection, researchers drilled into the teeth of 101 individuals who lived in Central Asia and Europe some 2,800 to 5,000 years ago. The drilling produced a powder that the researchers examined for DNA from plague bacteria. They found it in samples from seven people.
Before the study, the earliest evidence of the plague was from A.D. 540, said Simon Rasmussen of the Technical University of Denmark. He and colleagues found it as early as 2,800 B.C.
"We were very surprised to find it 3,000 years before it was supposed to exist," said Rasmussen, one of the study authors. The research was published online Thursday in the journal, Cell.
The primary image (A) features a Map of Eurasia indicating the position, radiocarbon dated ages and associated cultures of the samples in which Y. pestis were identified. Dates are given as 95% confidence interval calendar BC years (B) Burial four from Bulanovo site. Picture by Mikhail V. Khalyapin
Cell: Early Divergent Strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 Years Ago
Reuters:
Cuba launches initiative to protect sharks by Daniel Trotta
Cuba on Wednesday launched an initiative to protect sharks in some of the most pristine habitat for the predators whose populations have been in steep decline.
The action plan, reached through two years of collaborative research with the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), will impose size and capture limits on fishermen, set aside protected areas and create closed seasons for shark-fishing, officials said.
The Cuban government has recognized its special place in the world of sharks as scientists believe nearly 100 of the world's 500 shark species swim in Cuban waters, sustained by a relatively healthy coral reefs, the EDF says.
Protecting shark populations also makes business sense for the fishing and tourism industries. Scuba divers travel from around the world to swim with Cuba's sharks.
"Cuba is considered the crown jewel of the Caribbean, principally because of its incredible coral reef ecosystems, its mangroves, its sea grasses," said Daniel Whittle, EDF's Cuba program director. "Healthy sharks mean healthy corals. Healthy corals mean healthy sharks."
Cubans fish sharks for their meat, and more aggressive overfishing and environmental degradation elsewhere in the Caribbean have taken their toll, which is why conservation needs to be international, Whittle said.
And don't forget that
(ahem!) Mr. Meteor Blades hosts an
Open Thread for Night Owls tonight.