CAROLINA NATURALLY

Friday, January 28, 2011

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
If you have ever used the expression 'you've got to fake it 'til you make it', then you understand how attitude can make up for a lack of expertise or experience.
Work your mojo and you'll be able to cast a spell over anyone.
If you need to buy more time, ask for a favor or improve your chances in a competition, then turn on some genuine energy and you'll get what you need.
Stop worrying -- charm will help you bluff your way through even the worst hand.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

London, England, United Kingdom

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

San Luis, Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

as well as Malta, Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Austria, Norway, Georgia, Mexico, Peru, Kuwait, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Afghanistan, Belgium, Tibet, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Paraguay, Sudan, Vietnam, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Qatar, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland and in cities across the United States such as North Tonawanda, Spearfish, Boise, Egg Harbor Township and more.

Today is:

Today is Friday, January 28, the 28th day of 2011.

There are 337 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

There isn't one.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

The Shawna Forde trial

Will the mainstream media even bother to notice?

There's another infamous shooting of a nine-year-old girl that is making headlines this week in Tucson.
This time, we wonder if the rest of the media will bother to cover it.

The little girl's name was Brisenia Flores. She lived near the border with her parents and sister outside the town of Arivaca, Arizona. On May 30 of 2009, a woman named Shawna Forde, who led an offshoot unit of Minutemen who ran armed border patrols for patriotic "fun". Forde's gang had decided to go "operational," which meant they concocted a scheme to raid drug smugglers and take their money and drugs and use it to finance a border race war and "start a revolution against the government". They targeted the Flores home, which had neither money nor drugs, based on dubious information. They convinced Flores to let them in by claiming to be law-enforcement officers seeking fugitives, then shot him point-blank in the head when he questioned them and wounded his wife, Gina Gonzalez. And then, while she pleaded for her life, they shot Brisenia in cold blood in the head. (Her sister, fortunately, was sleeping over at a friend's.)

Crooks and Liars has the rest.

Q&A on Egypt's demonstrations as Chaos engulfs Egypt

Unrest in Egypt: What's going on?

Dramatic protests could have serious implications for the current government — and the world.

Longtime U.S. ally

Also:

Egypt's president addresses unrest

Defending a security crackdown, Hosni Mubarak also calls on his government to dissolve.

Obama urges restraint

Also:

***

WikiLeaks begins to release Egypt-related documents

As you might guess, police brutality is high on the list. The Guardian blog has regular updates on the documents. One interesting release includes alleged remarks by Mubarak about Bush being "naive, controlled by subordinates, and totally unprepared for dealing with post-Saddam Iraq." (Well, Mubarak was correct about the shrub, if he is correct about nothing else ... he was correct in that case).

ElBaradei calls for 'new regime' in Egypt

Yemeni protests continue

Few could have expected such a series of events a few months ago. Mubarak has not been popular for years though few had the courage to confront his regime. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has been vocal in the past and many expect that group to join the protests. Let's hope ElBaradei and the moderates win the day.

Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, will face escalating challenges on all fronts tomorrow, with Cairo expecting the biggest day yet of street protests and Mohamed ElBaradei, one of his fiercest critics, calling explicitly for a "new regime" on his return to Cairo.

Redoubling the sense of crisis for 82-year-old Mubarak, who has ruled for the past three decades, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most potent opposition force, said it was backing the latest call for demonstrations scheduled to follow Friday prayers.

ElBaradei, the former UN nuclear inspector who plans to join tomorrow's marches, arrived tonight at Cairo's airport to a media scrum and a heavy presence from the country's state security. He said he had come because "this is a critical time in the life of Egypt and I have come to participate with the Egyptian people".

In Yemen, where the US has been actively partnering with the government for deadly unmanned bombing raids, protests have also been growing. The US has chosen and supported a number of unpopular regimes throughout the region. This may only be a scare, but it may be much more. If nothing else, the US needs to make demands of greater freedom with its allies in the region.

How Egypt shut down the Internet

The country has done what many experts once thought was impossible.

Could total blackout happen in U.S.?

Also:

But they didn't - they just hoped they did. But as always when someone tries to cut off communication - it gets out.

***

Nice photo essay on political bloggers in Egypt

Apparently the political blogosphere is quite developed in Egypt.

And some interesting observations about the events unfolding in Egypt today (all hell is basically breaking loose).

'Day of Anger' erupts in Egypt

Opposition leader ElBaradei under house arrest

It's the "Day of Anger" in Egypt and the situation is deteriorating rapidly. CNN is now reporting that opposition leader/Nobel Prize Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who returned to Egypt yesterday and joined the protest, has now been placed under house arrest. A curfew is in effect -- and Mubarak, the target of the protests may speak soon.

CNN's Ben Wedeman and NBC's Richard Engel are reporting and tweeting (when possible) from Egypt.

From Reuters:

Dozens of people were wounded as police and demonstrators fought running street battles in Cairo on Friday in unprecedented protests against President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.

Security forces fired rubber bullets, teargas and water cannon at the crowds and baton charged them. The protesters hurled stones back and shouted "Down, Down, Hosni Mubarak."

Witnesses saw dozens of Egyptians bruised, bloodied and fainting. Al Jazeera television said at least one person was killed in a square in central Cairo, although the report could not be confirmed.

Tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets after Friday prayers in by far the biggest of four consecutive days of protests by people fed up with unemployment, poverty, corruption and the lack of freedom under Mubarak.

Al-Jazeera is providing live coverage here.

***

The Guardian Reports: 'Cairo in flames'

Things in Egypt are heating up fast.

And now for something funny

A spot of humor after the previous posts ...
An Arab student sends the following e-mail to his dad:

Beloved Father,

Berlin is beautiful, the people are very friendly and I love being here.
But Dad, I'm a little embarrassed when I arrive at College in my solid gold Ferrari 599GTB, while all my teachers and fellow-students arrive by train.

Sincerely,
Your son Nasser.

The father sends back this answer:

My Dear Son,
I have transferred 20.000.000 US $ to your account.
Please stop whining and buy yourself a train, just like the other students!

Repugicans being their usual selves

Screaming match erupts in Pa. House

Apparently the cozy feelings of bipartisanship from the president's State of the Union address didn't carry to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Wednesday.

Full Story

Maine's teabagger Governor plans to use state employees for his reelection

Gerald Weinand at DirigoBlue has posted a really damning document from a top aide to Maine's new teabagger Governor, Paul LePage.

Sure sounds like the Governor's team is planning to use state workers -- and the staff of Olympia Snowe -- to build his political profile and work to elect repugicans.
Hmm.
Problem is, that's illegal.

Teabaggers, like LePage, are always trashing government.
But, it sounds like LePage's aide, Dan DeMerritt, actually thinks government employees exist for their political benefit.
How Tammany Hall of him.
Might have worked in 1911, but it won't in 2011:

I'd like to connect the week before Christmas with you and key staff. If you are not in town, we can hopefully get some of your staffs putting together some of the resources / information we are going to need to get rolling. Once we take office, Paul will put 11,000 bureaucrats to work getting repugicans re-elected.

These people are so dirty - the stench of corruption is overwhelming.
What a bunch of hypocrites.

Lush Dimbulb backlash grows

This is a good thing ... a very good thing, indeed.

Heated backlash over Dimbulb's pathetic imitation

Asian-American lawmakers demand an apology for the host's provocative on-air riff.
His 'comic genius' defense
There is no defense.

In The News

The bomb found at the Spokane, Washington MLK Day parade may have contained poison

There are reports of police massacres of civilians in Egypt

Online life helps kids learn social skills, boost self-esteem

Despite alarmist reports on cyberbullying, sexual misdeeds and real-life social isolation, the Internet is really an important training ground for adolescents to build their identities and learn crucial social skills that can strengthen their real-life relationships, according to a new review of the research to date.

Online life helps kids learn social skills, boost self-esteem

Odds and Sods

Mayor wants to broadcast bird songs

It may sound like a bird-brained idea, but the mayor of a Mojave Desert city wants to brighten the streets by broadcasting recorded bird songs.

Judge bars Texas woman from tattoos

A judge in Beaumont has barred a woman from getting more tattoos or plastic surgery until she repays $15,000 to the government.

Monk faces jail under smoking ban

A Buddhist monk could face five years in prison after becoming the first casualty of a stringent anti-smoking law in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which vows to become the first smoke-free nation.

Culinary DeLites

Five delicious hot chocolate mixes

In a taste test, Jacques Torres cocoa is called a "good mix of sweet and dark chocolate."

More ways to warm up

Also:

The Colonel's Secret Recipe Revealed!

Julian Assange can rest easy – another closely-guarded secret has been unearthed, and this time it doesn’t look like it has his fingerprints on it. And believe me, this one has fingerprints. Greasy, finger-lickin’-good prints.
Internet Today has published the list of Colonel Sanders’ 11 secret herbs and spices, the recipe to KFC’s stranglehold on America’s fried chicken addiction.

Oh snap, it’s the biggest internet leak of all time! The KFC secret 11 herbs and spices recipe has been revealed! Now get out there and start making delicious fried chicken! But don’t forget your pressure fryer since that ingredient is probably more important than any of these.Oh snap, it’s the biggest internet leak of all time! The KFC secret 11 herbs and spices recipe has been revealed! Now get out there and start making delicious fried chicken! But don’t forget your pressure fryer since that ingredient is probably more important than any of these.

Full Story