This photo has not been altered or photoshopped in any way.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Pot may help stave off Alzheimer’s
Pot may help stave off Alzheimer’s
Good news - smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer’s disease.
New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the
formation of deposits in the brain associated with the degenerative disease.
active ingredient, THC, can prevent an enzyme from accelerating the formation of
"Alzheimer plaques" in the brain more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.
And I Quote
"If the election took place this week, it would be a wipe out of major proportions.
Even Arizona has to be classified as leaning toward Obama. McCain, as of now,
can be certain of carrying just eight states with a combined total of only 36 electoral votes."
~ Dick Morris (repugican)
Even Arizona has to be classified as leaning toward Obama. McCain, as of now,
can be certain of carrying just eight states with a combined total of only 36 electoral votes."
~ Dick Morris (repugican)
That's bad. When you own people are telling you you suck ... You suck!
Parents of Michigan boy left in Nebraska lose custody
Like, Duh!
A Michigan couple were barred from seeing or contacting their children after authorities said the mother abandoned their adopted but unwanted 13-year-old son in Nebraska under the state's safe haven law.
A Michigan court official issued the order Thursday against Terri and Terrance Martin and placed their children under temporary state custody.
Prosecutors said the children were victims of abuse and neglect.
Oakland County Juvenile Court Referee Karla Mallett also ordered the two boys, ages 10 and 5, and a 3-year-old daughter returned to their home under the care of a 19-year-old cousin.
Terri Martin drove about 12 hours to leave the teen on Monday at an Omaha hospital under Nebraska's unique safe haven law.
All states have laws designed to allow desperate new mothers to leave their newborns in safe hands, but Nebraska's law allows parents to abandon older children and even teenagers at hospitals.
The boy was the 18th child and the second from out of state abandoned in Nebraska since the law took effect in July.
Terrance Martin said Thursday that after his wife left with the teen, he took the three remaining children to a motel.
A fifth youngster, a 16-year-old boy, is a foster child who was already removed from the home by the Michigan Department of Human Services.
Prosecutors' request for custody cited a history of referrals to the Michigan Department of Human Services for reports of injuries to the abandoned teen.
The report said Terri Martin told Nebraska officials that she took the boy there to "scare him," yet she denied incidents of aggression.
It also said state records showed evidence that neither parent wanted the 13-year-old, who was adopted along with his 10-year-old brother.
Terrance Martin and his attorney, LaVonne Jackson, had no comment after the hearing, but Jackson said in court that the children were not at risk under his care and that he had cooperated with social workers.
Terri Martin's attorney, Douglas Oliver, said he had not yet spoken to his client.
Mallett postponed a prosecutor's request to terminate the Martins' parental rights until Friday so Oliver could have time to locate Terri.
Terrance Martin said the 13-year-old boy remains in Nebraska, where he was a ward of the state until Thursday.
He said he doesn't know where his wife is or when she is returning.
My question is why wasn't any action taken to find solutions for this family before now?
With the various agencies aware there were difficulties before the trip to Nebraska, someone dropped the ball to say the least.
But the million dollar question is: What is this doing to a 13-year-old boy who was chosen (i.e., adopted) then rejected.
Oh, and don't let the Mrs., near Terri Martin or I would have to visit her on Tuesdays and Saturdays - she was chosen as a child and when it comes to children, the entire Marine Corps could not stand against the Mrs., and hold her back from throttling the life out of anyone that harms a child, especially a chosen one.
A Michigan couple were barred from seeing or contacting their children after authorities said the mother abandoned their adopted but unwanted 13-year-old son in Nebraska under the state's safe haven law.
A Michigan court official issued the order Thursday against Terri and Terrance Martin and placed their children under temporary state custody.
Prosecutors said the children were victims of abuse and neglect.
Oakland County Juvenile Court Referee Karla Mallett also ordered the two boys, ages 10 and 5, and a 3-year-old daughter returned to their home under the care of a 19-year-old cousin.
Terri Martin drove about 12 hours to leave the teen on Monday at an Omaha hospital under Nebraska's unique safe haven law.
All states have laws designed to allow desperate new mothers to leave their newborns in safe hands, but Nebraska's law allows parents to abandon older children and even teenagers at hospitals.
The boy was the 18th child and the second from out of state abandoned in Nebraska since the law took effect in July.
Terrance Martin said Thursday that after his wife left with the teen, he took the three remaining children to a motel.
A fifth youngster, a 16-year-old boy, is a foster child who was already removed from the home by the Michigan Department of Human Services.
Prosecutors' request for custody cited a history of referrals to the Michigan Department of Human Services for reports of injuries to the abandoned teen.
The report said Terri Martin told Nebraska officials that she took the boy there to "scare him," yet she denied incidents of aggression.
It also said state records showed evidence that neither parent wanted the 13-year-old, who was adopted along with his 10-year-old brother.
Terrance Martin and his attorney, LaVonne Jackson, had no comment after the hearing, but Jackson said in court that the children were not at risk under his care and that he had cooperated with social workers.
Terri Martin's attorney, Douglas Oliver, said he had not yet spoken to his client.
Mallett postponed a prosecutor's request to terminate the Martins' parental rights until Friday so Oliver could have time to locate Terri.
Terrance Martin said the 13-year-old boy remains in Nebraska, where he was a ward of the state until Thursday.
He said he doesn't know where his wife is or when she is returning.
*****
All right then ...My question is why wasn't any action taken to find solutions for this family before now?
With the various agencies aware there were difficulties before the trip to Nebraska, someone dropped the ball to say the least.
But the million dollar question is: What is this doing to a 13-year-old boy who was chosen (i.e., adopted) then rejected.
Oh, and don't let the Mrs., near Terri Martin or I would have to visit her on Tuesdays and Saturdays - she was chosen as a child and when it comes to children, the entire Marine Corps could not stand against the Mrs., and hold her back from throttling the life out of anyone that harms a child, especially a chosen one.
As of this moment ...
4185 Brave men and women will never be returning from Iraq
and
542 Brave men and women will not be returning from Afghanistan
and
542 Brave men and women will not be returning from Afghanistan
Alive!
Support OUR Troops ...
Bring them home now!
Support OUR Troops ...
Bring them home now!
Big Bug of Borneo
A stick bug from the island of Borneo measuring well over a foot in length has been identified by researchers as the world's longest insect, British scientists said Thursday.
The specimen was found by a local villager and handed to Malaysian amateur naturalist Datuk Chan Chew Lun in 1989, according to Philip Bragg, who formally identified the insect in this month's issue of peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
The insect was named Phobaeticus chani, or "Chan's megastick," in Chan's honor.
Paul Brock, a scientific associate of the Natural History Museum in London unconnected to the insect's discovery said there was no doubt it was the longest still in existence.
That assessment was also confirmed by Marco Gottardo, an entomologist at Italy's Natural History Museum of Ferrara and Aaron T. Dossey, a researcher at the University of Florida in Gainesville who studies the insects.
Looking like a pencil-thin shoot of bamboo, the dull-green insect measures about 22 inches, if its twig-like legs are counted.
Its body length is 14 inches, beating the previous record held by Phobaeticus kirbyi, also from Borneo, by about an inch.
Stick bugs have some of the animal kingdom's cleverest camouflage.
Although some use noxious sprays or prickly spines to deter their predators, generally the bugs assume the shape of sticks and leaves to avoid drawing attention.
"Their main defense is basically hanging around, looking like a twig," Brock said. "It will even sway in the wind."
Breaking News! gop hospitalized with a broken pelvis.
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is on a roll today ...
Breaking News! gop hospitalized with a broken pelvis.
In a sad turn of events for conservatives everywhere, the republican party has been hospitalized after breaking its pelvis several days ago. The entire gop was admitted to George Washington university hospital in Washington, DC, this morning, after complaining about fractures, pain and the inability to actually move forward.
Apparently the gop broke its pelvis several days ago, but with all the excitement about acorn and William Ayers, didn't even notice it until today. Some speculate the break happened when John McCain named Sarah Palin as his vice presidential pick. "There's no way a body can withstand that sort of stress, without something giving way," said William Kristol.
The republican party is 154 years old, and therefore the prognosis is not good. Complete breaks, let alone the multiple fractures and splinters that have been seen in the party for the past few months, can be devastating to an elderly organization.
"We don't think the gop will be back on its feet for a long, long time," doctors were quoted as saying. "Decades, maybe."
"If we're lucky," they added.
Even Nixon's plumbers were less dirty
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo posted this over on his blog today October 16, 2008.
From Martin Eisenstadt:
Addendum: Johnathan Martin says the Toledo Blade is reporting that Joe isn't licensed to be a plumber, and has a tax lien.
So apparently McMuffin vetted his "regular Joe" as well as he did his veep pick.
Remember John McMuffin's newest bff, Joe the plumber?
Turns out, he's also the bff of the Charles Keating family.
Wotasuprize!!
Turns out, he's also the bff of the Charles Keating family.
Wotasuprize!!
From Martin Eisenstadt:
Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio.
Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher?
Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan.
The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.
Does any of this make Joe the plumber a bad guy?
Of course not.
In fact, after that ill-fated night at the Watergate, he may finally be giving plumbers a good name.
[ed. note: thanks for ruining our joke, Martin!]Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher?
Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan.
The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.
Does any of this make Joe the plumber a bad guy?
Of course not.
In fact, after that ill-fated night at the Watergate, he may finally be giving plumbers a good name.
But at a debate where John goes full bore on Obama for guilt-by-association with William Ayers (and dodges a bullet by Obama not mentioning Keating Five), the press is going to bring it back front and center by midday tomorrow once they delve deeper into the most popular plumber in america.
As they used to say in our neighborhood, smooth move exlax! way to remind everyone that you've been involved in major economic scandals in the decades.Addendum: Johnathan Martin says the Toledo Blade is reporting that Joe isn't licensed to be a plumber, and has a tax lien.
So apparently McMuffin vetted his "regular Joe" as well as he did his veep pick.
*****
He says McMuffin, I say McPain but, either way he is still a joke.
Irish bookie calls US race over, pays off on Obama
The race is over as far as Ireland's biggest bookmaker is concerned.
Paddy Power PLC says it is so sure Barack Obama will win the U.S. presidential election next month that it paid off Thursday on all bets it had taken backing the Democratic candidate. It said it shelled out more than euro1 million, about $1.35 million.
"We declare this race well and truly over and congratulate all those who backed Obama - your winnings await you," the company said in a statement.
Paddy Power has a long tradition of winning free publicity by paying off early, particularly on political contests.
Powers said the biggest winner among the Obama bettors was someone who gambled euro100,000 and got back a total of euro150,000.
The most visionary bettor, though, was the "punter" who put down euro50 on Obama in 2005. At the time, Obama was listed at 50-to-1, so the bettor got euro2,550.
Despite calling the contest, the Dublin-based bookmaker said it is still taking new bets on the race. A John McCain victory Nov. 4 on a bet placed Thursday would pay off euro5 for every euro1 bet. By contrast, each euro1 bet on Obama would net just 11 euro cents.
The government subsidies behind Cindy McCain's family fortune
John McCain has made no bones about his disgust for greed. But his wife Cindy's fortune comes from a government-created entity that’s anti-competitive and full of lobbyists and special interests.
Best microscopic photos of 2008
Nikon has picked its best microscopic images for 2008 and there's some stunners this year -- like this high-mag view of the antibiotic powder mitomycin.
This Just In:
Just got this quotation in the inbox from Mike.
It is from a discussion on the 'trickle down' theory of voodoo economics and I think it is one of the best descriptions I have seen to date of the theory and why it is and will ever be a failure.
"... the notion that the way to slake the thirst of the needy is to provide wine to the aristocracy and then allow the poor to enjoy their piss just hasn't worked out as well as it sounds."
It is from a discussion on the 'trickle down' theory of voodoo economics and I think it is one of the best descriptions I have seen to date of the theory and why it is and will ever be a failure.
"... the notion that the way to slake the thirst of the needy is to provide wine to the aristocracy and then allow the poor to enjoy their piss just hasn't worked out as well as it sounds."
After 9-11, wife prodded Hosseini finish 'Kite'
The author of the big seller on Afghanistan was afraid he might be seen as opportunistic.
“The Kite Runner,” the novel that put a human face on Afghanistan for millions of Americans, almost didn't get finished, author Khaled Hosseini told a Charlotte audience Wednesday night.
Hosseini, a physician, had been writing in his spare time in 2001, but when terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, “I lost all will to continue.”
He worried that trying to publish a book about Afghanistan under the circumstances would appear opportunistic. It was his wife, an attorney, who convinced him to finish. His work, she told him, could show Americans a different side of Afghanistan.
“The Kite Runner,” a story of two boys who lived in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion, was published in 2003 and became an international bestseller. He followed in 2007 with another bestseller, “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” about two Afghani women during Taliban rule.
Hosseini spoke at Ovens Auditorium to an audience of 2,300 – the largest in the 18-year history of the public library's Novello Festival of Reading. WFAE's “Charlotte Talks” host Mike Collins interviewed the author. Audience members also asked questions.
What do you remember about the Soviet invasion? one boy asked.
Hosseini, whose father was a diplomat, left Afghanistan at age 11. They were living in Paris, he said, when he and his family saw a TV news break about the invasion. He noticed the look that passed between his parents. And he realized what it meant. “For me, it meant the end of, really, my life in Afghanistan.”
Hosseini spoke humbly about his talent, saying he often writes himself into blind alleys and fumbles his way out. Responding to a question, he recalled reading condensed American novels, translated into Farsi, as a child. At 10, he read his first full American novel, “The Exorcist,” which a women's magazine had serialized.
Hosseini speaks Farsi, his native language, at home. (He also multiplies in Farsi.) But when he writes a novel, he said, he thinks in English.
As the event ended and applauding audience members began standing to leave, Hosseini spoke again. When “The Kite Runner” was first published, he said, his book signings drew only a few people.
“I'm very grateful for everyone coming,” he said. “I don't take it for granted. I'm very touched.”
Stocks plunge anew as retail sales show steep drop
Volatility has returned to Wall Street, as investors show concern after the release of some disappointing economic numbers.
The Dow Jones industrials finished more than 700 points lower.
The government's report that retail sales plunged in September by 1.2 percent - almost double the 0.7 percent drop analysts expected - made it clear that consumers are reluctant to spend amid a shaky economy and a punishing stock market. And the economy cannot grow unless consumers are spending.
And there's a new warning today from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the economy won't recover quickly, even if the financial markets stabilize.
Gas for $2.99, a great deal or still too high?
... lots of stations in our area have not dropped below three dollars a gallon. While most drivers think that's a great deal, at least compared to what we were paying.
I drive a company car so I don't actually have to pay for the gas, but come on, 2.99, I might as well save the station some money, the boss would probably like that.
Everybody agrees 2.99 today is an incredible price, but not that long ago even 2.99 would have seemed outrageous.
One year ago gas in North Carolina averaged 2.75 a gallon...but since then we've had hurricanes, shut down refineries and shortages, so 2.99 a gallon?
"Well, I think it's great," said one driver.
James Knox's Dodge Charger was thirsty today, he was recently laid off and needs to find bargains, so this sign hit him like a light from the sky, not the sun, but the price.
"I think it's still a high price, but you have to be in condition down from four bucks, I think it ought to be about two bucks," Knox said.
Those days may be long gone. But 2.99 is one dollar a gallon less than we paid one month ago, and it's down 36 cents just from last week, and today is the 29th straight day of falling gas prices. Experts tells us as long as oil prices keep dropping and demand slips due to the weak economy, these prices could fall even farther. But there are some prices we'll never see again, believe it or not, when Jerry Garris' car was new, gas cost fifteen cents.
His car is a 1931 Ford Model A coupe.
"Henry Ford wouldn't believe it today," said Garris.
Three months ago oil prices peaked at $147 a barrel, at the close of trading on Tuesday that price had fallen to $78.63, and the experts say that is probably not going to be the bottom.
*****
It is still too high.
(David Whisenant is a reporter for the local TV station WBTV)
(David Whisenant is a reporter for the local TV station WBTV)
Asheville area has NC's lowest gas prices
Gasoline prices in the Asheville area of western North Carolina have been among the state's highest, but this week they dropped to the lowest in the state.
After hurricanes disrupted pipeline deliveries from the Gulf coast, prices in some western North Carolina areas soared to around $5 a gallon. A month ago, Asheville's prices averaged $4.31 a gallon.
On Thursday, however, AAA Carolinas said prices in the Asheville area averaged $3.07.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that some stations sold gasoline for prices under $3 a gallon.
AAA said North Carolina averaged $3.32 a gallon Thursday with the highest average in the Raleigh-Durham area at $3.42 a gallon.
The guy right down the street from me has it at $3.29 a gallon.
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