CAROLINA NATURALLY: Nov 12, 2009

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Friday the 13th phobia?

Friday the 13th phobia? You're not alone

Even a former U.S. president regularly changed his travel plans to avoid the day.

Also:

FDA Considers Banning Warm Water Oyster Sales

At issue is how far the federal government should go to save the lives of 15 people each year who die from eating contaminated raw oysters.

Raw Oyster Ban

Health insurance companies asking their employees to lobby Congress on health care reform

The nation's largest health insurance carrier is urging its employees to lobby the Senate against reform proposals that would hurt the firm's bottom line, according to copies of e-mails released Thursday by a liberal advocacy group.

UnitedHealth Group, which is based in Minnesota, sent an e-mail message to its 75,000 employees on Tuesday asking them to write their senators and local newspapers in opposition to a public insurance option, alleging that "government-run health care" will force "millions of Americans" to drop their current coverage.

Talk about a conflict of interest!

The repugican's own health care plan covers abortions

Can you say ...

Oops.

With all their screeching and howling.
Hypocrisy is still their hallmark.

Sean Hanjob had to publicly admit on-air to using incorrect and misleading footage in his tea bagger story

The day after the Daily Show busted the Faux 'news' anchor attempting to inflate the apparent attendance for a recent D.C. tea bagger rally by using old footage from two months ago, Sean Hannity offered an "apology" of sorts on tonight's show.

Having no choice but to cop to it, Hannity admitted getting busted, though claims it was "an inadvertent mistake". How one can inadvertently go fetch footage from two months ago, and "inadvertently" edit it into a report on an event that took place earlier on the same day is not entirely clear.

He also failed to explain to his viewers the context in which the "incorrect video" actually was shown. Neither did he run Stewart's report from last night explaining clearly how Handjob had attempted to fool them. So, as usual, Handjob's viewers remain both in the dark and misinformed.

Common cold may hold off swine flu

This intriguing idea would explain why swine flu's autumn wave has been slow to take off in some countries and point to new ways to fight flu.

Common cold may hold off swine flu

Science News

From BBC-Science:

Greenland ice loss 'accelerating'

Satellites, models and ground stations give scientists a better view than ever before of how the Greenland icecap is melting.

Laser satellite records ice loss

Pause in Arctic's melting trend

And I Quote

Public option, whatever. The folks don't want it.

~ O'Reilly, lying on FAUX News,

Actually some polls show that the public option is kind of popular.

~ Brit Hume, correcting O'Reilly's lying ass

Feds move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran

Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

In what could prove to be one of the biggest counter-terrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets of the Alavi Foundation and an alleged front company.

The assets include Islamic centers in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston, more than 100 acres in Virginia, and a 36-story office tower in New York.

Full Story

Controversy over chocolate milk in schools

The milk industry's campaign to promote the sugary drink has some obesity experts up in arms.

The debate

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Get more use from your household gear

Easy preventive maintenance can extend the life of appliances and save you money.

Tips to clean electronics

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Thanksgiving air travel will be packed

Fewer people will be flying this holiday, but airlines are ensuring that their planes remain full.

Biggest obstacles for fliers

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Arrival of the modern gold rush

The price of gold futures soars to a record high, driven by savvy investors.

Selling family jewelry

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What new home tax credit means for you

Big changes in the law mean more people can qualify, including existing homeowners.

How much can you get?

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Why many parents are ditching 529 plans

Once heralded as the ultimate college-savings vehicle, 529s have lost favor with some parents.

The reasons

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Dog missing in action found in Afghanistan

A bomb-sniffing dog that disappeared during a fierce battle is found 14 months later.

In good condition

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Walking plans to target health goals

Try one of these walking plans to lose belly fat, reduce stress, or stay heart-healthy.

5 different routines

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New rule bans most overdraft fees

Banks must now ask permission before hitting customers with overdraft fees.

When rule will go into effect

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Historic homes for sale at $1 each

Buyers of three houses in a well-to-do Chicago suburb will also get $10,000.

The catch

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Foods that effectively fight fat

These bulge-battling superfoods have the power to melt fat and help you stay slim.

A cheese to say yes to

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Burger King sued over $1 burgers

The chain's promotion for $1 double cheeseburgers has outraged franchise owners.

Product twice rejected

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The Knell of Imminent Doom for Blockbuster

They're closing 115 stores

Struggling movie rental retailer Blockbuster Inc. said Thursday that its third-quarter loss surged more than fivefold as more consumers rented movies by mail or through competitors' vending kiosks instead of driving to its stores.

Blockbuster continues to hemorrhage cash in the quarter as it diversifies its business. The company wants to increase its share of movie rentals by mail and kiosks — arenas where it faces tough competition with Netflix Inc. and Coinstar Inc.'s Redbox — and is working to stream more shows over the Internet through different devices while managing the decline of its stores.

Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said the stores are a "cornerstone" of the company's business and still attract 50 million customers a year.

Shares of Blockbuster, based in Dallas, fell 11 cents, or 13.2 percent, to 72 cents in after-hours trading. The stock was up 2 cents to 83 cents during the regular session.

The company lost $116.8 million, or 60 cents per share, compared with a loss of $20.6 million, or 11 cents, in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding one-time costs related to debt refinancing, store closures and severance, Blockbuster had an adjusted loss of $38.3 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $17.8 million, or 9 cents per share.

Revenue fell by 21 percent to $910.5 million from $1.16 billion.

Blockbuster's performance fell short of the $1 billion in revenue and 11-cent-per-share loss expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. They typically exclude one-time items.

Sales at locations opened at least a year — a key measure of performance because newer stores tend to skew results — fell 14.4 percent worldwide. U.S. sales comparisons were down 18 percent and nearly 5 percent in international stores.

Blockbuster said it expects to close at most 115 stores in the fourth quarter. That's in addition to the 216 it has closed through the third quarter.

The company said it will have 2,500 Blockbuster Express vending kiosks by year's end.

Man used crowbar to attack Greek priest he mistook for terrorist

This story is disturbing to say the least.

You know he didn't just attack the priest with a crowbar, he's now alleging that the man was was a gay Arab terrorist who tried to sexually assault him before he was going to blow him up.

We can thank all the hysterical people who decided in advance that Ft. Hood was a Muslim terrorist attack (and we mean you, Joe Lieberman).

You create hysteria, and this is what people do.

Man used crowbar to attack Greek priest he mistook for terrorist

Laid-off execs can't face jobless reality

Despite being laid-off, one ex-banker spends as if he's still making $200,000.

'On the outside, no one has any idea'

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Newest natural wonders to visit

The Dolomites' limestone peaks and 90-degree walls make it a year-round attraction.

More exceptional sites

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Tensions rise between North and South Korea after crew member dies in skirmish

North Korea threatened South Korea with possible punishment today over a skirmish that left one of its warships badly damaged and a crew member dead.

Full Story

Nails, coins removed from stomach

A Peruvian man is recovering after eating metal for months, and having almost 2 pounds of it removed from his stomach.

(Mental, oops, make that)Metal patient

Druggie claims Jesus set him up

From the "This guy's a tee-total idiot" Department:

A Kentucky man faces drug paraphernalia charges after he told police Jesus set him up by leaving a burnt teaspoon in his residence.

Full Story

Combine drugs with ignorant stupidity, add religion and this is what you get.
Want to lay odds he's a repugican?!

Chinese Scientists Tinker with Mother Nature

Chinese scientists have artificially induced the second major snowstorm to wreak havoc in Beijing this season, state media said today, reigniting debate over the practice of tinkering with Mother Nature.

Full Story

This isn't good folks, Ma Nature tends to get a mite testy when you muck around with her.

Plane hits bushpig on take-off

An airline has been criticized for not knowing what to do after one of its planes hit a bushpig on take-off. Air Zimbabwe had "no disaster response strategy" and its personnel "did not have a clue" of what to do.

Secret police arrested two passengers for taking pictures.

Full Story

I don't know what is more disturbing ... the total lack of any knowledge of what to do or the fact that the secret police arrested two for taking pictures.

But if I had to select one I'd go with the fact there were secret police around in the first place.

Search Continues For Missing 5-Year-Old

A North Carolina man has been arrested and charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of a 5-year-old Fayetteville girl, but police were still searching for the child early Thursday - two days after she went missing.

Man Charged

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

This is one of those rare days when we humans do not have any holiday or celebration.

We got to fix that.

Daily Almanac

Today is Thursday, Nov. 12, the 316th day of 2009.

There are 49 days left in the year.

Today In History November 12

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand
Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela
Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia
Calgiari, Sardegna, Italy
Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom
Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Indonesia
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Coutenay, British Columbia, Canada
Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Kiev, Kyyiv, Ukraine
Mugla, Mugla, Turkey

as well as Scotland, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

There are many ways to journey through life, but you will only know the path you choose to travel.
This is a wonderful day to expose yourself to new art, especially if it's from a different culture.
Turn the dial on your radio or television to a foreign-language broadcast.
Leave it there for a few minutes.
You'll be surprised how intriguing you find it.
Every now and then, it's wise to travel down an unfamiliar side street.

Can do.

Welcome to ...

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Naturally Friends

Playlist