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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Secret shrub/cabal memos made public by Obama

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration determined that certain constitutional rights would not apply as the U.S. stepped up its response to terrorism, according to documents released to the public for the first time.

In nine legal opinions disclosed Monday by the Obama administration, the Justice Department under President George W. Bush claimed exceptional search-and-seizure powers. Within two weeks of the 2001 attacks, government lawyers were discussing ways to wiretap U.S. conversations without warrants.

Also revealed by the Obama administration in court documents Monday: The CIA destroyed nearly 100 videotapes - far more than previously known - of interrogations and other treatment of terror suspects.

Read the rest here.

Long Haired County Boy


Charlie Daniels

Indonesian robbers steal condoms, pills, cash

Indonesian police are scratching their heads after six armed men stole thousands of condoms and birth control pills from a women's reproductive health office.

Local police official Made Suharya said the masked men knocked a guard on his head Wednesday morning before ransacking the office on the main island of Java.

They grabbed several thousand condoms and other contraceptives from the shelves and then cracked open a safe deposit box, fleeing the scene with around $1,000.

Suharya said police in the town of Pekalongan are still investigating the unusual theft.

Birth control is legal and available in most parts of Indonesia.

School district mistakenly sells trailer for one dollar

And these people are educating our children?

Officials in one eastern Pennsylvania school district are red-faced after a costly mistake on eBay. The East Stroudsburg School District was attempting to sell seven used classroom trailers, but an error in its ad on the online auction site allowed someone to bid and buy one trailer for only a dollar.

The district had purchased the trailers three years ago for about $46,000 each. With transportation and setup costs, the total came to around $60,000.

Officials say they were expecting to get around $5,000 to $10,000 per trailer on eBay.

District superintendent Rachel Heath says officials tried to back out of the eBay sale but couldn't.

Heath says the remaining trailers won't be sold on eBay.

Man uses debit card to buy drink in holdup

Crooks really are dumb ... but then again it was in West Virginia.

Would-be robbers take note: Don't use your debit card during a holdup.

A West Virginia man who police say attempted to rob a convenience store instead ended up buying a soft drink with his debit card - ultimately leading to his arrest.

Shawn Thomas Lester, 33, told the store clerk Monday he had a gun and wanted all the money in the register, police said.

But the suspect got flustered when a customer walked in and the clerk told him to pay for the soft drink.

Lester handed over his debit card, then signed the receipt "John Doe" and left without any cash.

Police traced the debit card and found Lester, of Charleston.

He told police he was only joking when he said he had a gun and demanded money.

He was charged with armed robbery in Kanawha County, according to a criminal complaint.

Mayor scales ladder to 'rescue' sunbathing dog

A South Texas mayor became so concerned about reports of a Great Dane being stuck on a second-story balcony that he alerted emergency workers, went to the location himself, scaled a fire department ladder and entered the apartment to help the dog. The problem was, the dog wasn't in distress. The bigger problem came when the surprised dog owner found Mayor Pat Ahumada standing in his kitchen Tuesday.

"He broke into my house," the owner, who asked not to be identified, told the Brownsville Herald. "My dog is very well taken care of. He shouldn't have done that."

Ahumada, a dog lover whose zeal for the animals has caused problems before, said a local TV station called him to say a dog was stuck. Ahumada called animal services, the fire department and the police.

"He looked to be stuck on the balcony," Ahumada said. "I didn't know the condition of the dog or if the building was abandoned. ... The animal's paws were hanging out from the railing and he was struggling to get up."

The dog's owner explained that the 14-year-old dog has little mobility, and one of its greatest pleasures is passing the day on the balcony where it can watch the passing traffic.

In 2007, the city informed Ahumada that his six dogs doubled the city's legal limit for one home. That same year, Ahumada picked up a dog thinking it was stray and gave it to a family. When the original owner asked for the dog back and the family refused, the issue ended up in court.

Two years earlier, before he was elected mayor, Ahumada was charged with theft after taking a dog from the Brownsville Animal Shelter. He claimed the dog was not being properly cared for and the charge was dismissed.

Man angry about being put on hold threatens worker

A 69-year-old man in Keene, New Hampshire, angry about being put on hold has been charged with threatening to kill a Social Security Administration worker.

Police said the man called a Social Security answering service in New York because he was upset about not receiving his check.

He told police he was on hold for more than 30 minutes, and when a supervisor finally told him she couldn't help, he said he was going to kill the first person he met at the Social Security office in Keene.

The office was closed as a precaution. The man was arrested at his home and charged with criminal threatening. He said he was frustrated and said something stupid.

*****

" ...he was frustrated and said something stupid", No shit ... in today's climate of rampant paranoia, you better believe it - though I known the feeling when dealing with breaucrats.

I'm No Angel


Gregg Allman

Teen escapes injury after listening to dad

A Bangor Township, Michigan father's decision to tell his 17-year-old son to get off the floor and lay down on a couch may have saved the boy from injury when a suspected drunken driver crashed into their Michigan home.

Roy Rabadue said he was watching television Monday night in their home in Bay County's Bangor Township, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit, when he decided to make cookies.

He told Joseph to move, and his son complied. Shortly afterward, a pickup smashed into the home. The crash tossed their 52-inch television across the living room, landing where Joseph had been on the floor.

The couch overturned along with a chair where Rabadue's 12-year-old son, Jacob, was sitting. Both escaped injury.

The pickup driver was arrested.

Man trying to save spot for wife gets run over

Some people ...

Authorities in Lehigh Acres, Florida said a man intentionally ran over another man who was trying to save a parking spot at a gas station on Monday. The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported that the victim was standing in a spot to reserve it for his wife at the Murphy USA gas station.

The man saving the spot told deputies that he held up his hands when another man pulled up to the line, but the man drove forward and hit him in the knees.

When the victim yelled at the man to stop, authorities said the suspect pulled forward and hit the man again, causing bruising and swelling. Other witnesses backed up the victim's story.

The suspect was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery.

Warning: Reading About Exercise Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Whatever you do, don't read the poster below. Just scanning an entreaty to exercise, it seems, encourages the innocent to help themselves to another helping. It's true. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that people who viewed posters suggesting that they “join a gym” or “take a walk” aExercisete more food after looking at the posters than people who saw similarly designed posters prompting them to “make friends” or “be in a group.” Lead scientist and psychology professor Dolores Albarracín reports that study participants ate one-third more when exposed to the exercise ads, and those exposed to subliminal words about activity during a computer task ate about 20 percent more than those exposed to neutral words.
Read more from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mars Volcano Could Harbor Life

Ancient water may lie hidden within the largest volcano on Mars, researchers now say, and they speculate that such a setup could also harbor life.

While there is no firm evidence that Mars does or ever has hosted life, one of the prerequisites would be water. The surface of the red planet is bone dry, but several studies have shown liquid water may once have flowed on Mars and could still exist in pockets below the surface.

The Martian volcano Olympus Mons is about three times the height of Mount Everest, with gentle slopes that sprawl across more than 150 miles of the planet surface. The widespread volcanic material suggests the presence of water-formed clay which can reduce friction — an effect seen on Earth at volcanoes in Hawaii.

Olympus Mons soars 15 miles (24 km) above the surface, dwarfing the largest terrestrial volcano, Mauna Loa, which is just 6 miles (9 km) high, including the portion of the volcano that extends underwater to the sea floor.

Read the rest at LiveScience.

More Science News

More Science News:

Jellyfish sushi: Seafood's slimy future

A bizarre universe may be lurking in the shadows

Two black holes tango inside distant quasar

Ghost Riders in The Sky


Duane Eddy

Notificator: the original Twitter from 1935

1935 twitter notificator

From a 1935 issue of Modern Machanix

Robot Messenger Displays Person-to-Person Notes In Public

TO AID persons who wish to make or cancel appointments or inform friends of their whereabouts, a robot message carrier has been introduced in London, England.
Known as the “notificator,” the new machine is installed in streets, stores, railroad stations or other public places where individuals may leave messages for friends.

The user walks up on a small platform in front of the machine, writes a brief message on a continuous strip of paper and drops a coin in the slot. The inscription moves up behind a glass panel where it remains in public view for at least two hours so that the person for whom it is intended may have sufficient time to observe the note at the appointed place. The machine is similar in appearance to a candy-vending device.

Modern Mechanix

Just in case you missed it ...

Surprise Asteroid Buzzed Earth Monday

Sky-watchers in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands welcomed a surprise guest Monday: an asteroid that passed just 41,010 miles above Earth.

Discovered only days ago, asteroid 2009 DD45 zipped between our planet and the moon at 13:44 universal time (8:44 a.m. ET). The asteroid was moving at about 12 miles a second when it was closest to Earth.

“We get objects passing fairly close, or closer than this, every few months,” Timothy Spahr, director of the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts, said in an email.

“Also, though, note these are only the ones that are discovered. Many more pass this close undetected”—as asteroid 2009 DD45 nearly did.

Full Story in National Geographic

Peter Gunn


Duane Eddy

Police seek man's stolen medicinal weed

A 42-year-old man in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada called police to report that he had been robbed of almost an ounce of pot.

From the North Bay Nugget:
The man has a certificate from the federal government to possess and use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

He told officers that he noticed his drugs were missing after a number of friends left his home.

Gandhi's eyeglasses and other items up for bid

Tomorrow, Antiquorum Auctioneers will put some of Mahatma Gandhi's few personal possessions on the auction block, including his eyeglasses, pocket watch, and sandals.
Naturally, India wants the items for public display and if eleventh-hour negotiations with the collector don't end well, the country might bid on the objects.

From the AFP:
Aleqm5Hs10A2L7 4Yuwmu8Rjbi9Bryo 1G"We have asked our embassy in Washington and Consulate General of India in New York to do everything that is required through the bidding process or otherwise," junior foreign minister Anand Sharma said.

Antiquorum has insisted the sale will go ahead and put an estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 dollars on the items, which will sell as a single lot.

The final price is expected to be considerably higher, partly thanks to the publicity generated by the row in India over the sale.

*****

Gandhi would not be pleased with the prices his belongings are expected to fetch they go against everything he stood for.

Scared to death

Earlier this year, Larry Emanuel Whitfield of Charlotte, North Carolina broke into a woman's home and literally scared her to death. Mary Parnell, 79, died of a fear- and stress-induced heart attack. Scientific American asked Martin A. Samules, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, to weigh in on the story.

From Scientific American:
How does that (someone get scared to death)?
The body has a natural protective mechanism called the fight-or-flight response, which was originally described by Walter Cannon [chairman of Harvard University's physiology department from 1906 to 1942]. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, dilating the pupils, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from, say, an aggressive jaguar. This process certainly would be of help to primitive humans, but the problem, of course, is that in the modern world there is very limited advantage of the fight-or-flight response. There is a downside to revving up your nervous system like this...

What other emotional states besides fear could lead to these fatal heart rhythms? Any strong positive or negative emotions such as happiness or sadness. There are people who have died in intercourse or in religious passion. There was a case of a golfer who hit a hole in one, turned to his partner and said, "I can die now"—and then he dropped dead. A study in Germany found an increase of sudden cardiac deaths on the days that the German soccer team was playing in the World Cup. For about seven days after the 9/11 terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon there was an increase of sudden cardiac death among New Yorkers.

Science News

In today's Science News:

Ancient supernovae may be recorded in Antarctic ice

Inbreeding sabotages rare species' sperm

Spectacular spectrum reveals Sun's chemistry

Lazy spider steals from the mouths of ants

The woman in charge of the world's biggest experiment

Formula 1 technology spins off into the real world

More peanuts

Dead mice and rodent droppings were found throughout a Texas plant run by a company whose peanut products caused one of the biggest food recalls in U.S. history, food inspectors reported on Tuesday.

More in Reuters

A wingnut answer to Kosher salt

A retired barber named Joe Godlewski wasn't happy with all that 'Kosher salt' TV chefs use, so he's selling sea salt, blessed by an Episcopalian priest and marketing it as 'Christian Salt'.

You know, of course, most chefs use Kosher salt because of its properties, and not because of any blessing which may have been given by a rabbi.

But when has that stopped a wing-nut?!

Keith Olbermann on Comedian Rush Limbaugh at Cpac


Keith Olbermann

Amazing Accidents


A slide show of some pretty amazing accidents set to the music of Billy Idol.

Oregon arsonist targets 1990s green Ford Escorts

Talk about fetishes:

An arsonist in Medford, Oregon is apparently on the prowl for green Ford Escorts from the 1990s.

Three of them have been burned in recent weeks, a series that Medford police Sgt. Mike Budreau described as "pretty bizarre."

A 1995 green Ford Escort was destroyed by flames early Sunday morning after someone broke a window and poured flammable liquid into it.

A similar fire was set in a 1993 green Ford Escort parked in a driveway on February 22nd.

Investigators have also uncovered a February 2nd case of a 1992 green Ford Escort damaged by a plastic container filled with flammable liquid placed next to a tire that burned without setting the car afire.

Budreau said, "I think this person really doesn't like Ford Escorts."

*****

OK, this is wierd, but I can understand about the Ford Escorts or any Ford for that matter.

Driver adjusts mirrors and roughs up McGruff

From the "Swift move there, Sherlock" Department:

A Washington, D.C., bus driver thought it would be funny to take the bite out of McGruff the crime dog by punching the mascot, but police said children who witnessed the stunt were horrified.

Metro bus driver Shawn Brim, 38, climbed off a bus, adjusted his side view mirrors and then punched officer Tyrone Hardy, who was handing fliers to children on a Washington street while dressed as the crime dog, police said.

After the punch, Brim got back on the bus and drove away, but was quickly pulled over Saturday.

Hardy had a swollen right cheek, but seemed more concerned the attack upset the kids, police said.

Brim later told a supervisor he was trying to be funny when he punched McGruff, who urges kids to "take a bite out of crime."

"But nobody here finds it funny, believe me," Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said. "That kind of behavior is not tolerated."

Brim was charged with simple assault. He will also undergo drug and alcohol testing and his future with the agency is under review, Smith said.

Wisconsin student accused of urinating in drink

For the second time in three months, police are investigating whether a high school student urinated in a drink before someone took a sip.

Police said Tuesday a 16-year-old boy at Hartford Union High School urinated in a drink and offered it to his basketball teammates in November.

A 15-year-old boy took a sip and stopped when other boys laughed.

The basketball coach said he suspended the older boy and called his parents.

The incident came to light as police investigated a complaint last month that two other junior boys at the school put urine in a soda at a basketball game.

In that case, an administrator received an e-mail the boys sent to students who tasted the drink.

Florida woman calls 911 three times over McNuggets

From the "Give it a rest, it's only Mickey D's" Department:

Fort Pierce, Florida authorities say a Florida woman called 911 three times after McDonald's employees told her they were out of McNuggets.

A police report said 27-year-old Fort Pierce resident Latreasa L. Goodman told authorities she paid for a 10-piece last week but was later informed the restaurant had run out.

She says she was refused a refund and told all sales were final. A cashier told police she offered Goodman a larger portion of different food for the same price, but Goodman became irate.

Police say Goodman was cited on a misuse of 911 charge.

A McDonald's spokesman says Goodman should have been given a refund, and she's being sent a gift card for a free meal.

*****

It's only Micky D's so why are you even trying to eat there in the first place!

Southern Spring Show

The Southern Spring Show begins today (March 4th), just in time to rouse Carolinians from their winter torpor as it has for decades.
We'll be there Saturday ourselves. If, I can get out for less than a grand I'll be lucky. The Mrs., and her decorating makeovers and new plantings, you know.

Schizophrenic Weather

The return of winter will last one more night, and it could be a record-setter.

Forecasters predict a morning low of 14 degrees in Charlotte, a reading that would eclipse the current mark for March 4.

But the mass of unseasonably cold air parked across the Southeast is on the way out.

Meteorologists say temperatures Wednesday afternoon will climb into the upper 40s, and a high of 60 degrees is forecast Thursday in Charlotte.

Then, they add, Charlotte-area residents will enjoy highs of 70 degrees or warmer from Saturday into early next week.

*****

Update: It was 24 degrees Fahrenheit when I first posted this and now at 9am it is 27 degrees Fahrenheit ... I don't think we made the record.

Whacky Burgers

And now for your artery clogging post of the day ...

At the burger blog A Hamburger Today, they have come across some pretty whacked-out burgers.

Here are 10 of their favorites.


The Fatty Melt

1. Nut Burger: Famous at Matt's Place in Butte, Montana, the nut burger involves a layer of coarsely ground peanuts mixed with mayo. It's kind of like a peanut butter sundae just hanging out on top of a patty.

2. BadaBoomz Donut Burger: A bacon cheeseburger on a glazed donut "bun" available at the BadaBoomz Ale House and Grill in Indianapolis, Indiana. Save time by combining your favorite breakfast and lunch! And feel awesome/nauseous after!

3. Megadeath Burger: For health reasons, you have to be over 18 to order this, and can't have heart problems, anxiety, or asthma. Available at Wall Diner in Wellington Point, Australia, the "world's hottest hamburger" contains chili jam, chili powder, jalapenos, and habañero sauce -- all in quantities any sane person would not voluntarily eat.

4. Venezuelan "La Diabla" Burger: No wonder it's translated as "the devilish." Sold from a street cart in Caracas, Venezuela, this one layers: ketchup, mayo, mustard, onions, cabbage, shoestring potatoes, more ketchup, mayo and mustard, avocado, tomato, burger patty, chorizo, chicken, eggs and bacon, and a mountain of shredded Roquefort cheese.

5. Parisian Pizza Burger: The name might be confusing, but it's not a burger-topped pizza or a burger made with pizza toppings. (Both natural conclusions.) It's a burger with mini-pizzas for buns available at Buzz Lightyear's Pizza Planet at Disneyland Paris.

6. Jucy Lucy: Seven ounces of burger with a molten core of cheesy ooze. That would be American cheese ooze, because "only those orange squares of vaguely plastic texture will achieve proper fluidity," as burger writer John T. Edge put it. The alleged home of the J-Luce is Matt's Bar in Minneapolis.

7. Cheeseburger in a Can: Have you ever thought about how perfectly can-shaped a burger is? Or burger-shaped a can is? This product is marketed to German campers.

8. Scottish Deep-Fried Cheeseburger: Because the Scots have been known to fry anything (candy bars, pizza, etc.) two discs of frozen meat with processed cheese get deep-fried. No bun involved because what nutritional value do buns really offer?

9. Bacon Cheeseburger, Literally: It might look fairly ordinary, but this patty is not made of ground chuck or sirloin -- or any kind of ground beef. Ground bacon, kids. Throw on some slices of pepper Jack cheese for good measure.

10. Fatty Melt: This was a DIY project by a curious Serious Eats editor in the food website's Manhattan office. It's a burger with two grilled cheeses for buns. Yes, you read that correctly. Now go forth and make one.

For quick dinners you can make at home, try one of these Burgers for Everyone.

Hare Tonic


Bugs Bunny from 1945

Resistance to flu drug widespread in U.S.

Virtually all cases of the most common strain of flu circulating in the United States now resist the main drug used to treat it, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday.

CDC researchers said 98 percent of all flu samples from the H1N1 strain were resistant to Roche AG's Tamiflu, a pill that can both treat flu and prevent infection. Four patients infected with the resistant strain have died, including two children.

This year, H1N1 is the most common strain of flu in the United States, although the flu season is a mild one so far, and still below the levels considered an epidemic.

Few doctors even test patients for flu, and Tamiflu is not widely prescribed. But the news is sobering because the pill, known generically as oseltamivir, is one of the few weapons against influenza, which kills an estimated 36,000 people in the United States in an average year.

It is also considered a key weapon against a potential pandemic of a new type of influenza, and this study suggests the virus can rapidly evade its effects.

This season, nine children have died from influenza, most apparently healthy before they died of flu, the CDC reports.

Last flu season, only 19 percent of H1N1 viruses tested were Tamiflu-resistant, Dr. Nila Dharan and colleagues at the CDC reported.

"As of February 19, 2009, resistance to oseltamivir had been identified among 264 of 268 (98.5 percent) U.S. influenza A(H1N1) viruses tested," the researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

YOUNG PATIENTS

They interviewed 99 patients and found 30 percent of them had been vaccinated against flu but became infected anyway. The vaccine is known not to fully protect against infection.

"Two patients died on the way to the hospital or in the emergency department. One patient was 4 years old and previously healthy, and one patient was 4 years old with neurological problems," Dharan's team wrote.

"Two deaths were among hospitalized patients, one patient was a 1-year-old with multiple medical problems and one patient, hospitalized for a stem cell transplant, was 22 years old and diagnosed with influenza infection on the fifth day of hospitalization," they added.

Dr. David Weinstock of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Dr. Gianna Zuccotti of Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston, said the quick spread of Tamiflu-resistant flu had surprised doctors.

"Undoubtedly, new surprises await in the perpetual struggle with influenza as one thing is certain -- the organism will continue to evolve," they wrote.

"For now, the best tools to mitigate influenza infection are tried-and-true -- vaccination, social distancing, hand washing, and common sense."

GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the rival flu drug Relenza, said there was no indication influenza viruses were resistant to its drug. Relenza, known generically as zanamivir, is squirted into the nose and is used even less commonly than Tamiflu.

Flu already resists two older drugs, rimantadine and amantadine. There is no indication the two other types of season flu now circulating, H3N2 and influenza B, resist the effects of Tamiflu.

*****

Well with this news ... you might want to consider a search for natural flu remedies.

Archaeology News

Egyptian noblewoman's 3,000 year-old tomb revealed

Japanese archaeologists have unearthed an Egyptian noblewoman's 3,000 year-old tomb in the necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo, the antiquities department said on Tuesday.

The Japanese team believes the tomb belongs to Isisnofret, a granddaughter of Ramses II, the famed 19th Dynasty pharaoh who reigned over Egypt for about 68 years from 1304 to 1237 BC, and who is said to have lived to the age of 90.

The tomb contained a broken limestone sarcophagus bearing the name of Isisnofret and the title "noble woman", three mummies and fragments of funerary objects, the department said in a statement.

Read the rest here.

Helpful Hints:

Some helpful hints for tough economic times:

Do you really need to toss 'expired' foods?

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

San Juan, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Valencia, Comunidad Valencia, Spain
Northampton, England, United Kingdom
London, England, United Kingdom
Brisbane, Victoria, Australia
Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
Hamburg, Hamburg Germany
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

and in the United States

Nixa, Missouri
Aurora, Colorado
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Nyack, New York
Norwalk, Connecticut
Pinole, California
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Greenbelt, Maryland
Mocksville, North Carolina
Mountain Home, Arkansas

as well as the countries of

Mexico and Taiwan.

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

You know that it can often be efficient to speak directly and honestly, but your communication style today should be more subtle than straight up.

OK, if I have to.