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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.


Monday, August 10, 2009

When the recession will end

When the recession will end

Most economists agree the end is near, but debate continues on how fast, strong, and long-lasting the recovery will be.

When the recession will end

Also:

In America, it is increasingly illegal to be poor.

homeless.jpg

From an op-ed by Barbara Ehrenreich (!) in the New York Times, which examines the moral and social impact of ordinances against the publicly poor.

The op-ed is based on a new study from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty which found that the number of ordinances against the "publicly poor" are rising. More American cities, according to the report, are enacting and enforcing laws against "the indigent."

How do you know when someone is indigent? As a Las Vegas statute puts it, "An indigent person is a person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive" public assistance.

That could be me before the blow-drying and eyeliner, and it's definitely Al Szekely at any time of day. A grizzled 62-year-old, he inhabits a wheelchair and is often found on G Street in Washington -- the city that is ultimately responsible for the bullet he took in the spine in Fu Bai, Vietnam, in 1972. He had been enjoying the luxury of an indoor bed until last December, when the police swept through the shelter in the middle of the night looking for men with outstanding warrants.

It turned out that Mr. Szekely, who is an ordained minister and does not drink, do drugs or curse in front of ladies, did indeed have a warrant -- for not appearing in court to face a charge of "criminal trespassing" (for sleeping on a sidewalk in a Washington suburb). So he was dragged out of the shelter and put in jail. "Can you imagine?" asked Eric Sheptock, the homeless advocate (himself a shelter resident) who introduced me to Mr. Szekely. "They arrested a homeless man in a shelter for being homeless."


Read the report that was the inspiration for this op-ed, produced by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH): Homes Not Handcuffs - List Of "Meanest Cities" Released, and a direct link is here.

Are red-headed people more sensitive to pain?

...or are they just big ol' wimps?

"Well," an item about new research showing that redheads require larger doses of anesthesia and are often resistant to local pain blockers like Novocaine.

A new study from The Journal of the American Dental Association says people with red hair tend to look forward to dental procedures even less than the rest of us, and are "twice as likely to avoid going to the dentist as people with other hair colors." Not because they're wimps, but because of mutant genes.

From the New York Times health blog:

Researchers believe redheads are more sensitive to pain because of a mutation in a gene that affects hair color. In people with brown, black and blond hair, the gene, for the melanocortin-1 receptor, produces melanin. But a mutation in the MC1R gene results in the production of a substance called pheomelanin that results in red hair and fair skin.

The MC1R gene belongs to a family of receptors that include pain receptors in the brain, and as a result, a mutation in the gene appears to influence the body's sensitivity to pain. A 2004 study showed that redheads require, on average, about 20 percent more general anesthesia than people with dark hair or blond coloring. And in 2005, researchers found that redheads are more resistant to the effects of local anesthesia, such as the numbing drugs used by dentists.

Woman books entire jetliner business class so her dog can fly with her

An Israeli woman spent $38,000 to book the entire business-class cabin of an El Al jet from Paris to Tel Aviv so that her beloved dog could fly with her and be spared the trauma of the cargo hold.

Woman flies business class with pooch

Banks make $38bn from overdraft fees

And you wonder why your ass is sore?!
US banks stand to collect a record $38.5bn in fees for customer overdrafts this year, with the bulk of the revenue coming from the most financially stretched consumers amid the deepest recession since the 1930s, according to research.
The fees are nearly double those reported in 2000.

'Great Depression 2.0' avoided

The world has avoided a “Great Depression 2.0″ but it will take at least two years for the global economy to make a full recovery, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said on Monday.

Full Story

Microscopic nanobees 'sting cancer tumors to death'

Scientists unleashed swarms of the tiny artificial particles on human breast and skin tumors in mice.

Full Story

Deadly typhoon brings chaos to east Asia

A mudslide triggered by torrential rains may have buried up to 800 villagers in southern Taiwan, media reports said Monday, as the country counted the cost of its worst flooding in decades.

The death toll so far in Taiwan stands at 15, with 55 missing and 32 hurt, since Typhoon Morakot struck the island Friday and remained in the area over the weekend before crashing into eastern China, state-run China Daily reported.

Full Story

Tsunami watch ends after Indian Ocean quake

A tsunami watch issued for five nations after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean was canceled about two hours later.

Full Story

14-year-old girl spends 10 days in jail

Police said a 14-year-old girl spent 10 days in the Dallas County Jail alongside adult offenders after lying to officers about her age.

10 days in jail

Road rage leads to shooting and suicide

A 17-year-old is recovering from gunshot wounds to the leg after being attacked by an angry motorist who later killed himself.

Elderly Alzheimer's Patient Bodyslammed by Police

First, it should be noted that Virginia Dodson, 84, was indeed wielding a knife when confronted by police.

However, the frail Alzheimer's patient was doing so because she had an Alzheimer's-related dementia attack and used a knife to cut herself out of her seatbelt.

Full Story

Health care's worst money-wasting problems

Health care's worst money-wasting problemsSix costly mistakes add up to a huge financial drain on the system.

Health care's worst money-wasting problems

Also:

Continental imprisons passengers overnight in grounded plane with no food, overflowing toilets

Continental Airlines diverted a Twin-Cities-bound plane to Rochester due to a storm, and then locked the entire planeload of passengers in the plane overnight for nine hours.

The TSA had gone home, so the passengers couldn't clear security if they got off and left the airport, and the ground crew wouldn't let them get off and stay in the airport.

So 47 people -- including babies -- were locked into the plane with no food and overflowing toilets, held prisoner until the airline could get its act together.
"It's not like you're on a [Boeing] 747 and you can walk around,'' said Christin, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law. "This was a sardine can, with a single row of seats on one side of the plane and two rows of seats on the other. And they've got about 50 people inside, including babies, for the whole night. It was a nightmare...''

The airline crew on the plane reached their maximum work hours in the air, so another crew had to be flown in. The alternative of chartering a bus didn't work out. And letting the passengers into the Rochester airport was not possible because they would have to go through security screening again, and the screeners had gone home for the day.

What about just letting the passengers sleep in the airport terminal? "That was not provided as an option by ground services personnel at the airport,'' said Nicholas...

As light began to fill the cabin around 6 a.m., the plane doors opened and passengers were allowed into the airport terminal, Christin said. The airlines gave them one free beverage, he said. By about 9:30 a.m., the passengers were sent back on the same plane they had spent the night in -- which by this time had no functioning restroom. They landed in the Twin Cities about 11 a.m.

Astronomical News

Fast-spinning black holes might reveal all

If a black hole is spun by surrounding matter in just the right way, it could shed its event horizon, exposing a naked singularity.

Starry cocoons and double moons

This week, astronomers found a rare triple asteroid and uncovered images of Neptune and one of its moons that had gone unnoticed for 20 years.

Perseid shower to produce 'shooting stars'

A Perseid meteor streaks through auroras above Colorado in 2000 (Image: Jimmy Westlake)

A bright moon may obscure the faintest meteors, but the annual Perseid shower should still put on a show

New species of the Himalayas

Over 350 new species have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas in the last decade, and all of them are under threat from climate change.

New species of the Himalayas

Liars and Fools

Liars and Fools: the Wing Nuts edition

Faux News, the Wing Nut radio mouths, and more than a few allegedly mainstream conservative leaders continue their incitements to violence, and make no mistake, that's what it is.

Faux's Brick says he wants poison Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
Do we need any more proof this nut is seriously unhinged?

Todd Akin (reptile - Missouri) 'Jokes' about Democrats getting lynched
Don't forget the white hood, there, Todd.

Lush Dimbulb spewing on and on (Two days in a row!) about "the similarities between the Democrat Party of today and the Nazi Party in Germany"
This moron can't tell the difference between his asshole and his mouth ... oh, wait, there isn't a difference - never mind.

Say-ruh Pale-lyn 'worrying' that Trig will be judged by Obama's "death panel"
This lying bitch needs serious mental help - it might not be that Trig is the 'handicapped one' here.

Two still missing after mid-air collision above Hudson

2 still missing after mid-air collision above Hudson

The deadly accident killed nine, the worst air disaster in New York City in nearly eight years.

Mid-air collision above Hudson

Also:

10 Attributes of Really Lazy People

1. Inability to put forth the effort required to complete any task.

Kansas man wins lottery twice in a year

Kansas man wins lottery twice in a yearEdward Williams won $75,000 his first time.
His latest jackpot is much bigger.

Kansas man wins lottery twice in a year

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Imagine this ...

Imagine this:

You're out for a day of fun with your family.

The fishing trip is going well ...

And I Quote

The reason why truth is so much stranger than fiction is that there is no requirement for it to be consistent.

~ Mark Twain

Dogs as smart as 2-year-old kids

Canine IQ tests have revealed that the average dog is as smart as a 2-year-old child.

Dogs as smart as 2-year-old kids

NATO wants Azerbaijan in the alliance

A senior source within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Joint Force Command has told EurasiaNet that Azerbaijan stands a better chance of gaining NATO membership in the near future than either Georgia or Ukraine.

"Earlier, the perception in both Brussels [North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] headquarters] and Baku was that Georgia should integrate into NATO first and Azerbaijan should follow," the source said. "However, the situation has changed and it might be that in the year to come Azerbaijan will become the frontrunner. Baku may enter NATO earlier than Ukraine and Georgia."

Cities where the job market is picking up

Cities where the job market is picking upOne area has added nearly 20,000 new jobs since the first of the year.

Cities where the job market is picking up

Also:

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is Smithsonian Day as well as S'mores Day.

Daily Almanac

Today is Monday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2009.

There are 143 days left in the year.

Today In History August 10

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Delhi, Delhi, India
London, England, United Kingdom
Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Davao, Davao City, Philippines
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Ready to let loose and have some real fun?
Good, because the universe is willing to help.
Right now the stars are anything but short on creative ways to enjoy the company of others -- and they just so happen to have set up shop in your house of entertaining.
How about having the whole crew over to your place for pizza, videos and games?
Break out the Twister and stay up late laughing.
You owe it to yourself.

Party!