Oct 01 2013
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Oct 01 2013
Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette
This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.
Find the past “On This Day in History” here.
October 1 is the 274th day of the year(275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 91 days remaining until the end of the year.
On this day in 1946, 12 high-ranking Nazis are sentenced to death by the International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg. Among those condemned to death by hanging were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi minister of foreign affairs; Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force; and Wilhelm Frick, minister of the interior. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. Three others were acquitted.
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military, held by the main victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany. The trials were held in the city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, in 1945-46, at the Palace of Justice. The first and best known of these trials was the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which tried 22 of the most important captured leaders of Nazi Germany. It was held from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946. The second set of trials of lesser war criminals was conducted under Control Council Law No. 10 at the US Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT); among them included the Doctors’ Trial and the Judges’ Trial.
The Main Trial
The International Military Tribunal was opened on October 18, 1945, in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg. The first session was presided over by the Soviet judge, Nikitchenko. The prosecution entered indictments against 24 major war criminals and six criminal organizations – the leadership of the Nazi party, the Schutzstaffel (SS) and Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the Gestapo, the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the “General Staff and High Command,” comprising several categories of senior military officers.
The indictments were for:
1. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace
2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace
3. War crimes
4. Crimes against humanity
Oct 01 2013
The Office of Management and Budget has released a memo telling agencies to “now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations”
This memorandum follows the September 17, 2013, Memorandum M-13-22, and provides an update on the potential lapse of appropriations.
Appropriations provided under the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-6) expire at 11:59 pm tonight. Unfortunately, we do not have a clear indication that Congress will act in time for the President to sign a Continuing Resolution before the end of the day tomorrow, October 1, 2013. Therefore, agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations. We urge Congress to act quickly to pass a Continuing Resolution to provide a short-term bridge that ensures sufficient time to pass a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, and to restore the operation of critical public services and programs that will be impacted by a lapse in appropriations.
Agencies should continue to closely monitor developments, and OMB will provide further guidance as appropriate. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and the work you and your agencies do on behalf of the American people.
The Panda Cam is off:
Annnnnd Pandacam is down. pic.twitter.com/M6xjMO10CV
– Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) October 1, 2013
Due to a lapse in government funding, this account will not be active until further notice.
– U.S. Capitol (@uscapitol) October 1, 2013
Oct 01 2013
Adapted from Rant of the Week at The Stars Hollow Gazette
New Rule: Conservatives Who Love to Brag About American Exceptionalism Must Come Here to California
Bill Maher, Huffington Post
New Rule: Conservatives who love to brag about American exceptionalism must come here to California, and see it in person. And then they should be afraid — very afraid. Because while the rest of the country is beset by stories of right-wing takeovers in places like North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, California is going in the opposite direction and creating the kind of modern, liberal nation the country as a whole can only dream about. And not only can’t the rest of the country stop us — we’re going to drag you along with us.
It wasn’t that long ago that pundits were calling California a failed state and saying it was ungovernable. But in 2010, when other states were busy electing whatever Tea Partier claimed to hate government the most, we elected a guy who actually liked it, Jerry Brown.[..]
Since then, everything Republicans say can’t or won’t work — gun control, immigration reform, high-speed rail — California is making work. And everything conservatives claim will unravel the fabric of our society — universal healthcare, higher taxes on the rich, gay marriage, medical marijuana — has only made California stronger. And all we had to do to accomplish that was vote out every single Republican. Without a Republican governor and without a legislature being cock-blocked by Republicans, a $27 billion deficit was turned into a surplus, continuing the proud American tradition of Republicans blowing a huge hole in the budget and then Democrats coming in and cleaning it up.
Oct 01 2013
The year is spinning out of control. It’s not even the end of September yet and we have playoff Baseball.
Or play-in, but who’s counting?
Tonight’s matchup is the Tampa Bay Rays at the Texas Rangers who finished with identical 91 – 71 records. The Rays closed the season with 7 wins including 7 – 6 over the Jays Sunday. They’ll be starting David Price (9 – 8, 3.39 ERA L) who is 1 – 2 with a 10.26 ERA at Arlington.
Team W (for steroids) will start rookie Martin Perez (10 – 5, 3.55 ERA L) who has been doing better than average down the stretch. The question for them is whether their big bat, Nelson Cruz who is finishing up a 50 game steroid suspension. He hasn’t played since August 4th at which time he had 27 HR and 76 RBI. Cruz is .429 v. Price, 9 for 12 with 3 HR.
As I’ve said many times, unless you’re extremely lucky, playoff Baseball is not about who you like. No, it’s about who you hate and in most cases who you hate less. Perhaps it will help you decide if I tell you the inoffensive Rays are an expansion team from 1999 and have hardly had any time to develop serious rivalries. They have 3 post season appearances, losing twice to Team W (for steroids).
Team W (for steroids) on the other hand, in addition to rampant drug abuse (Clemens, Pettite), have the misfortune of scorching your eyes with picures of W himself throwing out ceremonial first pitches and him and killer Laura sitting in the stands.
Not that magical thinking works, but I think you know what to do now.
The winner advances to face the hapless Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field in your “normal” one game Sudden Death Wild Card on Wednestday. Game time is 8:05 pm ET.
