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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.


Saturday, September 26, 2015

The Daily Drift

Welcome to the Saturday Edition of  Carolina Naturally.
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~ Mia Wolf
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Today in History

1580 Sir Francis Drake returns to Plymouth, England, aboard the Golden Hind, after a 33-month voyage to circumnavigate the globe.
1777 The British army launches a major offensive, capturing Philadelphia.
1786 France and Britain sign a trade agreement in London.
1820 The legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone dies quietly at the Defiance, Mo., home of his son Nathan, at age 85.
1826 The Persian cavalry is routed by the Russians at the Battle of Ganja in the Russian Caucasus.
1829 Scotland Yard, the official British criminal investigation organization, is formed.
1864 General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his men assault a Federal garrison near Pulaski, Tennessee.
1901 Leon Czolgosz, who murdered President William McKinley, is sentenced to death..
1913 The first boat is raised in the locks of the Panama Canal.
1914 The Federal Trade Commission is established to foster competition by preventing monopolies in business.
1918 German Ace Ernst Udet shoots down two Allied planes, bringing his total for the war up to 62.
1937 Bessie Smith, known as the ‘Empress of the Blues,’ dies in a car crash in Mississippi.
1940 During the London Blitz, the underground Cabinet War Room suffers a hit when a bomb explodes on the Clive Steps.
1941 The U.S. Army establishes the Military Police Corps.
1950 General Douglas MacArthur’s American X Corps, fresh from the Inchon landing, links up with the U.S. Eighth Army after its breakout from the Pusan Perimeter.
1955 The New York Stock Exchange suffers a $44 million loss.
1960 Vice President Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy participate in the first nationally televised debate between presidential candidates.
1961 Nineteen-year-old Bob Dylan makes his New York singing debut at Gerde’s Folk City.
1967 Hanoi rejects a U.S. peace proposal.
1969 The Beatles last album, Abbey Road, is released.
1972 Richard M. Nixon meets with Emperor Hirohito in Anchorage, Alaska, the first-ever meeting of a U.S. President and a Japanese Monarch.
1977 Israel announces a cease-fire on Lebanese border.
1983 In the USSR Stanislav Petrov disobeys procedures and ignores electronic alarms indicating five incoming nuclear missiles, believing the US would launch more than five if it wanted to start a war. His decision prevented a retaliatory attack that would have begun a nuclear war between the superpowers..
1984 The UK agrees to transfer sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China.
1997 Two earthquakes strike Italy, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis to collapse, killing four people and destroying much of the cycle of frescoes depicting the saint’s life.
2008 Yves Rossy, a Swiss pilot and inventor, is the first person to fly a jet-powered wing across the English Channel.

Woman called 911 to report Bigfoot with a baby

A woman from Bedford County, Virginia recently called the Sheriff’s Office about Bigfoot. She says her story is no joke. "I know this is going to sound crazy,” said the woman in a call to Bedford dispatch. The woman told the dispatcher she was driving up Route 43, toward the Peaks of Otter, at around 11:40pm on September 9.
She said her headlights hit something strange past Turkey Mountain Road, just before the first bridge. This is part of her conversation with a dispatcher on September 11. Caller: "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I went back and checked and there were prints, a Bigfoot with a baby." Dispatcher: "There were what?" Caller: "It was a Bigfoot with a baby."
After assuring the dispatcher she hadn't been drinking, the woman offered no explanation why she waited two days to call. She says she went back in daylight. Caller: "I did see some footprints and the stride was longer than anything I could make." The woman says the creature's footprint was bigger than her two feet together, end to end. She wears a size 8 shoe. She says the creature was holding its baby the way a human would. Caller: "The baby was looking right at me."
The woman says the baby looked just like Chewbacca from “Star Wars”. Caller: "Have you ever gotten other reports like this?" Dispatcher: "I've never had a call like this in my life." The dispatcher told the woman he’s worked in dispatch 10 years. A deputy checked out the area and didn't see anything. The woman said she knows they were not bears. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the woman said she recently moved to the area and does not want to get a reputation with her new neighbors.

Susan Sarandon Worries Pope Will Be Assassinated

Susan Sarandon Worries Pope Will Be Assassinated 
The pope's visit has been uneventful as far as the nutcases were concerned - or at least none that the public are privy to - but the worry is all too unfortunately legitimate and the massive security measures indicate how serious those worries are.

The Fundamentalist Mormon Sect That Blends Child Rape and Organized Crime


Americans Are Paying Way Too Much On Rent, And It’s Only Going To Get Worse


Why U.S. Transit Systems Lag Behind Those of Other Nations

After World War II, the vast United States built out its interstate highway systems while other nations focused on rail systems. Can America ever make significant upgrades to its bedraggled public transit systems?

Boy injured in collision with bus after his mother jumped from car due to spider on her shoulder

A 9-year-old boy was transported to hospital with minor head injuries after a shock from a spider caused a crash involving a school bus and a “driverless” car, according to the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana.
At around 4:15pm on Friday, deputies, along with Syracuse Police and Fire Units, responded to reports of a vehicle striking a school bus. Officers arrived and found the boy lying outside a Dodge Avenger, which had collided with the bus.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Chad Hill said investigators at the scene determined the child’s mother, Angela K. Kipp, 35, of Syracuse, was originally backing out of her driveway. Hill said she reportedly jumped from the vehicle after noticing there was a spider on her shoulder.
However, her son was still in the Dodge and climbed from the back seat to the driver’s seat to attempt to hit the brake pedal. Instead, he hit the accelerator while the Dodge was in reverse, causing it to collide with the passing Wawasee Corporation School Bus. There were no children present on the school bus when it crashed and its driver was not injured, according to Hill. This crash is still under investigation.

Fox News Porn Star

The Truth Hurts ... Fox News is Porn
Fox News host Jenna Lee (Facebook)
Conan O’Brien’s Fox News porn star joke prompts hack Jenna Lee to call for ‘longer hemlines’ on TV

Is Hard Soda Healthier Than Beer?

Peanut Company Exec May Get Life In Prison Over Salmonella Deaths

Peanut Company Exec May Get Life In Prison Over Salmonella Deaths
Editor's Note: He got 27 years we believe. Which may turn out to be a life sentence anyway.

Here are 11 inane and insulting anti-choice 'arguments' - and how you can shred the shamers

Here are 11 inane and insulting anti-choice 'arguments' - and how you can shred the shamers

North Carolina Teen Prosecuted For Taking Naked Selfie

Residents blast NC coffee shop owners after podcast about sexual ‘conquests’ is exposed

Jacob Owens [Waking Life Espresso Facebook]A petition is asking businesses to stop stocking the duo’s coffee, was posted after Jared Rutledge and Jacob Owens (pictured above) were exposed as the hosts of the “Holistic Game” podcast. In one episode, Owens boasts about having sex in a hospital with a woman he describes as “the two-vagina’d beast.”

Florida soldier uses GoPro camera to catch estranged wife punching him in the testicles

Image: Corinne Novak mugshot (Pinellas County Sheriffs Office)
Florida soldier uses GoPro camera to catch estranged wife punching him in the testicles

Florida man reaches inside woman and disembowels her for uttering ex’s name during sex

A Florida man was charged with murder over the weekend after he admitted that he disemboweled his girlfriend because blurted out her ex-husband’s name while they were having sex.

Quick Hits

Man arrested in slaying of infant, two others in Utah house
Wisconsin judge halts Slenderman case pending appeal
Thomas Piketty responds to surprise Greek election result -- and says we should still fear a 'grexit'
Miami cop pulled 5-year-old's ear then marched him to squad car in handcuffs after school fight over toy
Hitler at home: How the Nazi PR machine remade the Führer's domestic image -- and duped the world
Indicted Texas attorney general tells cult that more 'christians' need to 'step into politics'
Rival slams sheriff: Natasha McKenna 'died a needless and preventable death' in jail
Growing number of Islamic State defectors 'disillusioned with killing Muslims'

New Discoveries Could Explain What Happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke

A couple of years ago, we told you about a new clue in the mystery of Roanoke Island. That’s where a group of English colonists settled in 1587 and disappeared without a trace sometime before 1590. A previously-unseen mark on a 1585 map led investigators to think that the “Lost Colony” may have moved 60 miles inland. An archaeological dig at the spot has since revealed some intriguing relics.
It’s here that archaeologists from First Colony have been digging for the past two years. In August, the foundation announced that it had found remarkable archaeological evidence of 16th century Europeans at Site X. Among more than 30 artifacts recovered here (including artifacts like nails and ceramics from both Indian and European sources that date from well after the Roanoke era) they found shards of a type of ceramics called Surrey-Hampshire Border ware. These helped researchers pin a date on the site.
Border ware, as it’s often called, was common among settlers of the Virginia company. But when the company failed in 1624, no new colonists were bringing the stuff to the area. Thus, finding it at Site X is a pretty good indication that at least some of the artifacts found dated from the time of the Roanoke colonists.
An article at Gizmodo tells about the dig, plus the history of the Roanoke Colony, some new findings about why the colony was evacuated, and more about the motives for settling in that inhospitable spot in the first place.

Pre-Roman tomb unearthed in Pompeii

Pre-Roman tomb unearthed in Pompeii
A rare Samnite tomb has been discovered in Pompeii, shedding new light on the site before it was a Roman city.
The tomb dates to the time of the Samnites, an Italic people living in south-central Italy who fought against the Romans. It was found by surprise during a dig led by a French archaeological team from the Jean Bèrard center in Naples.
The team have already made several notable discoveries – including an exceptionally well preserved pottery workshop - but this latest could outdo them all.
“It is an exceptional find for Pompeii because it throws light on the pre-Roman city about which we know so very little,” said Massimo Osanna, the archaeological superintendent of Pompeii.
The tomb contains the remains of an adult woman, and has survived for more than two millennia without ever being disturbed or broken into.
Perfectly preserved: the tomb was undisturbed for over 2,000 years.
Seemingly, the Romans knew of the tomb's presence and did not disturb the site or build on it before life in the city was wiped out – and frozen in time – in 79 AD.
The contents of the tomb will provide useful clues for scholars about the history of the site under the Samnites.
The woman was buried with a series of clay jars, or amphora, which come from other regions of Italy revealing the extent of trade between the Samnites at Pompeii and other groups living across the Italian peninsula.
The contents of the jars will be analyzed in the weeks to come – but are thought to contain cosmetics, wine and food.
“The burial objects will show us much about the role of women in Samnite society and can provide us with a useful social insight,” Osanna told reporters.
The area around the grave will now be excavated to find out if there are more tombs nearby. As Osanna explains “Tombs are not normally found alone.”
However, the existence of other tombs is uncertain. During the Second World War, the area of Pompeii in which the grave was found was heavily shelled.
“It's a miracle that this has survived,”Osanna told reporters, “but I'm sure Pompeii has more gifts to give.”

Stone Age Heavy Metal

Traces of heavy metal pollution dating back to the Stone Age found in Spanish caves

Rare Plant Pinpoints Exact Location of Diamonds

Diamond prospecting just got a whole lot easier.
Uncut diamondsFlorida International University researcher Stephen Haggerty has discovered a rare plant that grows exclusively over equally rare kimberlite pipes, the chutes that bring diamonds from Earth's mantle to the surface. His findings are published in the latest edition of Economic Geology.
The plant, Pandanus candelabrum, could revolutionize diamond prospecting in areas with dense vegetation. It grows to a height of 30 feet and sports palm-like fronds that make it easily identifiable against jungle flora.
Haggerty suspects that the plant can only thrive in the nutrient-rich kimberlite soil. "It sounds like a very good fertilizer, which it is," he told Science Magazine.

Duck-Shaped Tomato


If it looks like a duck and quacks . . . well, it's actually a tomato. But it also looks like a rubber duck. Marie Davidek of Mt. Morris Township, Michigan grew it in her home garden. She's been raising tomatoes for many years, but has never produced one like this. Davidek doesn't want to slice the tomato up yet and hopes to find some way to preserve it.

Tree of Life

An exhaustive project traces the evolutionary relationships between all of the 2.3 million identified species of plants, animals, microbes and fungi on Earth.

NASA and the 'The Martian'

NASA sees 'The Martian' movie as opportunity to interest public in space travel again

Astronomical News

Despite initial speculation that Pluto could be similar to Neptune's moon Triton, early data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft shows Pluto is a different beast indeed.
The big moons of Jupiter may have oceans underground. Although they are driven by the same mechanism, their nature can be radically different.

Woman asked Facebook friends to shoot her dog

On Thursday, a woman from Troupe, Texas, asked her Facebook friends: "I need someone to come shoot my dog, nobody here has the heart to do it! We will provide the gun!"
After seeing the post, Nicholas Pet Haven in Tyler, Texas, put out an appeal to locate the woman, then contacted Troup PD, who, assisted by Smith County Animal Control, had the dog picked up. It turns out, the dog is a 3-year-old Saint Bernard/English bulldog mix named Cinnamon.
Animal control officers who picked up the dog said the woman told them she wanted it killed because she could no longer care for her and because the dog kept getting in the garbage. "It's devastating," said animal shelter coordinator Nanette Moss. "I work with these dogs every day. They are my life, and when she walked through my door it just broke my heart.

"She's a sweet dog and how can somebody shoot a sweet dog?" Thankfully, Cinnamon was taken to a foster family who will take care of her until she's adopted. Cinnamon has been spayed and a vet gave her a clean bill of health on Friday and updated her shots. Authorities say the woman will not face charges since she surrendered the dog to animal control.

Young Syrian Refugee Carries His Puppy to Greece

A boy and his dog trek from war-torn Syria to Greece. 

Uncle dead and his nephew injured in shootout over alleged theft of rooster

A shootout in Meigs County, Ohio, over the alleged theft of a rooster ended with the owner killed and his nephew in the hospital. District Attorney Russell Johnson’s office says officials were called to a home on Moore Cemetery Road in Decatur just after 2am on Wednesday morning for a shooting call. Larry Eugene Johnson, Jr. was inside one of two mobile homes on the property with a gunshot wound to the chest. His uncle Timothy Dewayne Johnson was dead from apparent gunshot wounds in the driveway.

Animal News

A parks and wildlife ranger catches the little seen marine mammal at play.
After going nearly a decade without any male contact, a female yellow-bellied watersnake has given birth to offspring.
The largest meat-eating dinosaur ever discovered in Australia had sickle-shaped claws the size of chef's knives.
The animal, which patrolled Indonesia's jungles to help protect threatened habitats, has been killed for his tusks.

Animal Pictures