From Spaceweather: What a difference a few days can make. Earlier this week, sunspot AR2396 was completely invisible. Now it has grown into a behemoth more than 120,000 km wide. Francois Rouviere sends this picture from Mougins, France. All by itself, the primary dark core in Rouviere's image is twice the size of Earth.
NOAA forecasters say there is a 70% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Aug. 7th as a high-speed solar wind stream buffets Earth's magnetic field. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras, especially during the hours around local midnight. With an unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic field, it is crackling with C-class solar flares and could unleash an even stronger M-flare as it approaches the center of the solar disk. Any such eruption in the days ahead will almost surely be geoeffective. As you know this affects communication, global weather patterns, as well as the behavior of all sentient life forms.
There was something for everyone - including insights on many issues. Trump clearly ruled though there was no winner. Personally, I still go with Trump for the same reasons most people would vote for him at this point - he comes across as a man not caught up in the political machine/regime and can make a difference because of it. That's all people want. The man has balls - he has chutzpah. Will he f**k up again? Yes. We all know his flaws, but appreciate his honesty and determination to get the job done. Positive or negative - Trump knows how to captivate an audience which goes a long way. I don't think he could win as an Independent candidate but as a Republican he has a chance as our political system continues to show us over and over again that it is broken and unjust.
Underneath it all ... you know the president doesn't really run things which takes us to the truth behind the illusion. I hope Trump understands that, too, and on some level, I think he does. Todays news will be filled with stories about the debate along with commentary about how things went down. Trump makes the game more interesting as other candidates state their views - many of which I found outdated and offensive. Stay tuned for more...
Republican presidential debate: 8 takeaways CNN - August 7, 2015
Republican 2016 debate: Who were the winners and losers? BBC - August 7, 2015
Defiant Donald Trump dominates US Republican TV debate BBC - August 7, 2015
Everything about Jon's Stewart series finale was memorable, including Bruce Springsteen's performance at the end. On the night of the first Republican debate, Jon Stewart is credited with strongly influencing US public opinion on many issues. His sense of humor - and often use of bleeped out profanity - is the way most of us talk - or think as we go through the craziness of reality. Throughout the day, news and magazine shows honored Jon with clips from his past - really funny stuff. He'll be back doing other projects.
11 Video Highlights from the Jon Stewart Show CNN - August 7, 2015
Jon Stewart signs off 'The Daily Show' with a 'love fest' CNN - August 7, 2015
Jon Stewart bows out of The Daily Show BBC - August 7, 2015
Jon Stewart, in his own words CNN - August 6, 2015
A look at memorable moments in his career.
Jon Stewart looks back at his 'Daily Show' tenure: 'The world is worse!' CNN - August 6, 2015
Goodbye Jon Stewart. It was fun being a guest on your show.
Jon Stewart was on the air 16 years.
On August 25, 2015 Crystalinks turns 20. How many blogs have I written?
