Welcome to ...

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.


Monday, July 6, 2009

Corporate Murder

Wendell Potter, a former Vice President at Cigna who quit over the company's murder of a 17-year-old girl by denying her leukemia treatment, describes how his company and others routinely squeeze 'expensive' accounts until coverage is canceled.

More Here

Liars and Fools

Liars and Fools:

repugican chimp Steele says Democrats can now "basically hijack elections at their whim"
Nope, they allow the voters to vote. It is the repugicans who 'hijack' elections because the truth, facts and numbers are forever against them

Scheuer: Obama doesn't care 'about protecting this country'
Well, for someone who 'doesn't care' he's done a far better job protecting this country than the Align Centersquatter ever dared hope to try, much less did.

Obama is worse than Adolf Hitler and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says arch-right wog Kaloogian
Hey, Kallogian, you need to stop staring at the mirror when you spew.

Boortz: "global warming scam" is "an effort by the left to destroy capitalist economies"
Damn, it must be horrid to be so delusional.

Cuntler's latest murderous thought: "I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists, but I don't want to impose my moral values on others."
So, she's all for murder - something we knew already - so long as someone else does the work ... typical repugican.

Hill advances claim that Obama is "siding" with Chavez and Cuba
Nope, but that fact obviously does not register in the minds (pardon me, the absent minds) of the troglodyte faithful.

Levin labels Obama's policies "Bernie Madoff times a thousand. He is taking a wrecking ball to this society"
Wrong the 'wrecking ball' was ousted last November.

National Review's Sowell warns of nuclear attack, America under Sharia law
It is obvious the idiot neither understands nor comprehends either the 'threat' of attack or Sharia law.

Quinn says Franken election was "stolen," ACORN played a role
Nope, it was prevented from being stolen by the people and the court.

Disney's Savage says Media Matters would've "been very comfortably ensconced in the Stalinist period" in the USSR
Wrong, but Savage would have been - the Stalinist he is.

I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked

Ida Maria

Dog saves owner from attacker

A miniature Schnauzer named Rupert came to its owner's rescue after someone attempts to attack her.

"By nature I don't want to say vicious, but he's over protective of us", says the victim, who did not want to be identified.

Rupert was the only thing standing between his owner and 47-year-old Walter Stowe.

Police say Stowe had walked up the woman's driveway on Lightspun Lane in North Charlotte; he was sweating and asked for water.

The woman having just come from church was happy to help. "So I came inside locked the door behind me and then went into the garage and got the bottled water," says the victim.

As soon as she opened the door to give Stowe the water he allegedly forced his way in.

"When he came in that's when he grabbed me by my hair pounded me on my head a few times and I hit the floor," she says.

That's when Rupert sprang into action.

"I was hollering for my dog's name Rupert, Rupert, come help....and Rupert was biting on him," says the victim.

The man let go for a moment and she tried to run to the door, but the suspect grabbed her by the hair again and Rupert attacked again.

"When he hit me the 2nd time and I went down hollering and screaming that's when the dog bit him and that's when he let go of me," she says.

This time the woman was able to get a neighbor to get help.

Police arrested Stowe.

The woman fears he would have raped her or worse.

"If it wasn't for Rupert, I truly believe he would have succeeded what he was coming in for."

Just like any hero, Rupert was given a reward.

He was allowed to eat pizza for dinner.

Rupert is 12 years old, not young in dog years, but obviously still active.

Stowe was charged with burglary, kidnapping and assault.

Police say he has a history of mental illness and escaped from the home where he was being kept. Officers also say he's been arrested for assault before, but this is the first time he has gotten in trouble in 9 years.

Hard times ahead for N.C.

An N.C. State economist predicts the state's unemployment rate will continue to rise through early next year, and the pain could be especially acute in the Charlotte area.

Hard times ahead for N.C.

Xinjiang riot toll hits 156 as unrest spreads

Chinese police dispersed 200 people gathering outside a mosque in the Silk Road city of Kashgar, the day after ethnic riots killed 156 in the capital of the Muslim Xinjiang region, state media said on Tuesday.

Xinjiang riot toll hits 156 as unrest spreads

Woman faces charges after allegedly prank-calling her grandma 45 times in a day

A 21-year-old woman faces felony charges after allegedly prank-calling her 69-year-old grandmother 45 times in one day, threatening to kill her.

Woman faces charges after prank-calling her grandma

Dad faces charge after putting his 5-year-old daughter behind wheel of speeding pickup truck

Police charged the father of a 5-year-old girl with child abuse after the girl was spotted behind the wheel of a speeding pickup truck.

5-year-old daughter behind wheel

Self-Help is Bogus

Canadian researchers found those with low self-esteem actually felt worse after repeating positive statements about themselves.

They said phrases such as “I am a lovable person” only helped people with high self-esteem.

BBC: Self-help ‘makes you feel worse’

Car repairs you can't afford to skip

6 car repairs you can't afford to skip

Putting off these key maintenance items could end up costing hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars down the road.

6 car repairs you can't afford to skip

Also:

Science News

South Florida cat killer arraigned

Police say a Florida teenager who is accused of killing more than a dozen cats in two south Miami-Dade County neighborhoods fits the profile of a sociopath.

South Florida cat killer arraigned

School bullying, once a silent battle, now a crime

In a Tampa middle school locker room, prosecutors say four flag football players held down a younger teammate and committed a horrifying assault: Raping him with a hockey stick and a broom handle.

School bullying, once a silent battle, now a crime

First Case to Use The U.S. Safe Web Act: Judge Orders Online Spammers to Pay $3.7M

A federal judge in New York ordered key players in an international spam operation to repay the $3.7 million earned from promoting bogus Hoodia weight-loss products and an anti-aging pill online.

The order marks the settlement of an October 2007 lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission, the first case to use the US SAFE WEB Act, a federal law aimed at shielding consumers from international scams. The Act targets international perpetrators of Internet fraud and deceptive advertising, as well as spam and spyware distribution.

The Act allows for easier exchange of information among the FTC and its foreign counterparts.

According to the agency, the spammers promised that an extract of the hoodia gordonii plant would result in weight loss, and that a "human growth hormone" pill would reverse aging. The claims were unsubstantiated, the FTC said, and violated both the FTC Act and the CAN-SPAM Act.

The FTC said the operation used spam emails to drive unknowing consumers to sites selling the products, violating federal laws on false advertising. The emails had fake return addresses and used deceptive subject lines, according to the filing. They also failed to provide an opt-out link or a physical address in the email, the FTC claimed.

The FTC settled with three defendants - Spear Systems and two individuals, one in the United States and one in Australia - in May 2008, and the new court orders apply to HBE Inc., two corporate defendants, and two Canadian residents.

The orders bar the defendants from making false and unsupported claims about health benefits of any food, drug or dietary supplement.

Tennessee the first state to expressly allow people to carry a loaded, concealed gun into a bar

A restaurateur and nine people who work in businesses that serve alcohol asked the Tennessee Attorney General to join them in opposing a proposed law that will expressly allow loaded guns in bars.

The Legislature overrode Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto and the law is slated to take effect on July 14. It will make Tennessee the first state to expressly allow people to carry a loaded, concealed gun into a bar, according to the complaint in Davidson County Court.

SC cops say serial killer suspect slain in NC

A man suspected of killing five people and terrorizing a South Carolina community was shot to death Monday by police investigating a burglary complaint at a home 30 miles away.

Ballistics tests on a gun and bullets found with the man in Gastonia, N.C., match those used in a weeklong killing spree in and around Gaffney, said State Law Enforcement Deputy Director Neil Dolan.

"We have him. He's our serial killer," Dolan said Monday night.

Authorities did not release the man's name, but said he has had several encounters with law enforcement over the years.

Dolan said the physical evidence leaves no doubt the slain suspect was the person who shot five people to death over six days. But investigators still have no idea why he started the killing spree June 27.

"He was unpredictable. He was scary. He was weird," Dolan said.

The case came to an end in Gastonia early Monday after a couple called police to report a suspicious sport utility vehicle in their neighborhood.

Mike and Terri Valentine were on edge because the Gaffney serial killer was just a short drive away.

They watched two people who sometimes visit the neighboring home get out of the vehicle, followed by a third man who matched the description of the killer: tall, heavyset, unshaven and wearing a baseball cap. The man appeared to be very drunk, Mike Valentine said.

When officers went inside, Terri Valentine said she heard someone yell "put it down" and heard a gunshot.

Then "bam, bam, bam, bam. Next thing I know, all of Gaston County was here," she said.

Gaston County police said the other two people were in custody, but did not indicate whether they were facing charges.

The Gaffney killings happened in a 10-mile area over six days. A peach farmer was killed June 27, an 83-year-old woman and her daughter were found bound and shot four days later, and the next day a father and his teen daughter were shot in their family's furniture store.

SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd said the investigation isn't over, and Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigators will trace the suspect's recent activities and trying to figure out if he has killed other people in other places.

Blanton said he hopes the arrest calms the fears of 54,000 people in the county 50 miles west of Charlotte, N.C., known for its peach orchards and mills.

"We feel the victims' pain," Blanton said. "This isn't over. We're just changing gears."

Is where you shop hurting your credit?

Is where you shop hurting your credit?

Credit card companies may be looking not just at what you spend, but where you spend it.

Is where you shop hurting your credit?

Also:

And I Quote

Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst.

~ C.S. Lewis

Coward of the County

An interesting take on Kenny Rogers' Coward of the County.

Bigfoot's likely haunts 'revealed'

A tongue-in-cheek study based on sightings of the mythical Sasquatch is a warning to ecologists that they shouldn't make too many assumptions about species habitats.
From the BBC:
US President Barack Obama Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the joint understanding in Moscow (6 July 2009)
US President Barack Obama and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev reach a deal to cut back their stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

Shooting unveils different sides of Steve McNair

Shooting unveils different sides of Steve McNair

The weekend murder of the quarterback thrusts his darker private life into the spotlight.

Shooting

Also:

Wine cheaper than water in Australia

An oversupply of grapes, lower international demand and the struggling economy has forced some Australian wine retailers to sell their products at bargain basement prices.

Wine cheaper than water in Australia

Beer festival closes early after it ran out of beer

A beer festival had to be stopped a day early after it ran out of beer.

Beer festival closes early after it ran out of beer

Conjoined 'snake twins' born in China

Hui Chung, in Xiaogan, eastern China, had been expecting two healthy, separate twins but when she gave birth the babies shared one long body with a head at each end.

Full Story

Animal News

Police arrest dog for chewing owner's money

A Kenyan man persuaded police to arrest his pet dog after it ate his rent money.

Full Story

Rabbit addicted to TV soaps

A pet rabbit in China loves South Korean soap operas so much she attacks her owners if they change the channel.

Full Story

Repugican hacks 'perplexed' over Palin's 'risky' move

GOP stars 'perplexed' over Palin's 'risky' move

Mike Huckabee and Karl Rove sound off on Sarah Palin's resignation.

(Who Cares?!)

repugican hacks 'perplexed' over Palin's 'risky' move

Also:


There was nothing 'risky' about it ... risque, maybe but not 'risky'.
A repugican being investigated for ethics violations and corruption trying to avoid responsibility is all this is - typical of repugicans as well.

The Big Picture

From BBC-Science:

THE BIG PICTURE

Click to reveal

Witnesses says China protest spreads to 2nd city

Witnesses say an ethnic protest has spread to a second city in China's western Xinjiang province after riots rocked the region's capital, killing at least 140 and injuring more than 800.

Protest spreads to 2nd city

Alaska observers say Palin had gone "fishing" ...

As shocked nitwits (er, excuse me, fans) and delighted critics of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin traded guesses behind her decision to resign more than a year before her term ends, the former vice presidential candidate offered few hints at her political future, except to say she'd gone "fishing".

Alaska observers say Palin had gone "fishing" ...

Remember, Mark Sanford went "hiking". And we know where that led, don't we?!

Daily Alamnac

Today is Monday, July 6, the 187th day of 2009.

There are 178 days left in the year.

Today In History July 6, 2009

And I Quote

Nobody can be exactly like me.
Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.

~ Tallulah Bankhead

Sage Wisdom

Wise men never marry and when they marry they become otherwise.

Man's Beer Change Includes Rare Coin

A 38-year-old man says he has received offers of up to $815 for a rare coin he was given as his change for a drink purchase at a British pub.

Man's Beer Change Includes Rare Coin

Top-ranked animated movies

Top-ranked animated movies

"Wall-E," "Lion King" and "Cinderella" make the list of fan favorites, but none is No. 1.

Top-ranked animated movies

Also:

Surprising true costs of popular gadgets

Surprising true costs of popular gadgets

Steep price tags on tech items don't always mean big profits — one company is losing $306 per unit.

True costs of popular gadgets

Also:

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Paranaque, Manila, Philippines
Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland
Delhi, Delhi, India
Mumbai, Maharashtra India
Cairo, Al Qairah, Egypt
Umea, Vasterbottens Lan, Sweden
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Brussels, Brussels Hoofstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Valencia, Communidad Valencia, Spain
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon
Vaasa, Western Finland, Finland
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

as well as Hong Kong, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Talk about busy.
You have a list a mile long -- and that doesn't even count the things you've been rolling around in your mind.
There's also a certain someone who's been trying desperately to get it across to you that they'd like some quality time alone with you.
Pay attention to those subtle signals they're sending out.
If you get together with them, you'll be headed toward a week to remember.

Actually, I was planning on a week I couldn't remember, but ok.