Video of world leaders at the G20 Summit refusing to shake hands with President Bush.
It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!
It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Moving up in the world
Carolina Naturally is moving up in the world!
Google now gives it a 1 out of 10 ranking.
We were already in the number 1 spot on three different search engines and now were heading up the Google charts with the blinding speed of a snail.
Hip-hip-hooray!
Google now gives it a 1 out of 10 ranking.
We were already in the number 1 spot on three different search engines and now were heading up the Google charts with the blinding speed of a snail.
Hip-hip-hooray!
Now, that's funny
Anytime four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place.
~ Johnny Carson.
NY hate crime suspect now charged with murder
The killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant by seven high school students was part of a spree in which the teenagers tormented other immigrants while armed with knives and BB guns, prosecutors said Thursday.
The teens were indicted Thursday on more serious offenses - including murder as a hate crime for one accused of wielding the knife - than they initially faced when arrested in the Nov. 8 killing of Marcelo Lucero.
Prosecutors said the teenagers had been hanging out with friends when someone suggested they go "beaner jumping," a derogatory term they used as a euphemism for attacking Hispanics.
The group drove around Patchogue and encountered a Hispanic man and attempted to rough him up, but the man escaped, prosecutors said.
Shortly before midnight, the group came upon Lucero and a companion walking near the Patchogue train station.
The group surrounded their victims, but Lucero's friend managed to flee the scene unharmed, prosecutors said.
Lucero tried to fight back, smacking one of the teens with his belt, but was soon overwhelmed by the mob, prosecutors said.
Jeffrey Conroy ended the fight by plunging a knife into Lucero's chest, authorities say.
District Attorney Thomas Spota said the other six were unaware that Conroy had stabbed Lucero until he told them as they fled the scene.
The prosecutor said that because the other teens did not know about the stabbing until afterward, they were not being charged with murder.
The six suspects were arraigned Thursday on charges including gang assault, conspiracy, attempted assault and attempted gang assault.
Lawyers for the six entered not guilty pleas.
Conroy will answer to an upgraded charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime, as well as manslaughter, gang assault and other crimes at a Monday hearing.
Conroy could face 25 years to life in prison and the others could be sentenced to five to 25 years if convicted of the most serious charges.
Attorneys for all seven have said their clients are innocent.
Advocates for Hispanics and others have spoken out against the killing, which took place days after Barack Obama was elected as the country's first black president.
"It is tragic that a crime of this nature, a xenophobic lynching, happened just as the United States celebrates a historic step forward in which racial barriers have been overcome," Ecuadorean Ambassador Luis Gallegos said last week.
My question is what took them so long to bring the murder charge? And all of them should be held to that charge as well!
The teens were indicted Thursday on more serious offenses - including murder as a hate crime for one accused of wielding the knife - than they initially faced when arrested in the Nov. 8 killing of Marcelo Lucero.
Prosecutors said the teenagers had been hanging out with friends when someone suggested they go "beaner jumping," a derogatory term they used as a euphemism for attacking Hispanics.
The group drove around Patchogue and encountered a Hispanic man and attempted to rough him up, but the man escaped, prosecutors said.
Shortly before midnight, the group came upon Lucero and a companion walking near the Patchogue train station.
The group surrounded their victims, but Lucero's friend managed to flee the scene unharmed, prosecutors said.
Lucero tried to fight back, smacking one of the teens with his belt, but was soon overwhelmed by the mob, prosecutors said.
Jeffrey Conroy ended the fight by plunging a knife into Lucero's chest, authorities say.
District Attorney Thomas Spota said the other six were unaware that Conroy had stabbed Lucero until he told them as they fled the scene.
The prosecutor said that because the other teens did not know about the stabbing until afterward, they were not being charged with murder.
The six suspects were arraigned Thursday on charges including gang assault, conspiracy, attempted assault and attempted gang assault.
Lawyers for the six entered not guilty pleas.
Conroy will answer to an upgraded charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime, as well as manslaughter, gang assault and other crimes at a Monday hearing.
Conroy could face 25 years to life in prison and the others could be sentenced to five to 25 years if convicted of the most serious charges.
Attorneys for all seven have said their clients are innocent.
Advocates for Hispanics and others have spoken out against the killing, which took place days after Barack Obama was elected as the country's first black president.
"It is tragic that a crime of this nature, a xenophobic lynching, happened just as the United States celebrates a historic step forward in which racial barriers have been overcome," Ecuadorean Ambassador Luis Gallegos said last week.
*****
My question is what took them so long to bring the murder charge? And all of them should be held to that charge as well!
Men accused in Obama plot face more charges
Two white supremacists accused of plotting to kill President-elect Barack Obama and dozens of others face more federal charges in Tennessee.
Daniel Cowart of Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman of Arkansas were indicted by a federal grand jury this month on firearms and conspiracy charges.
Federal prosecutors say more charges alleging damage to religious property and use of a firearm during a crime of violence were added Thursday.
Cowart and Schlesselman have been held in a West Tennessee jail without bond since their arrests on Oct. 22.
The men were first taken into custody on allegations they shot out a window of a rural church.
Daniel Cowart of Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman of Arkansas were indicted by a federal grand jury this month on firearms and conspiracy charges.
Federal prosecutors say more charges alleging damage to religious property and use of a firearm during a crime of violence were added Thursday.
Cowart and Schlesselman have been held in a West Tennessee jail without bond since their arrests on Oct. 22.
The men were first taken into custody on allegations they shot out a window of a rural church.
Physicists Find Dark Matter ...
... or Something Even More Strange
A new experiment may have found the first direct evidence of dark matter particles, a discovery that could begin to unravel one of the biggest mysteries in physics.Theorists believe that dark matter, made up of of weakly-interacting massive particles, composes 23 percent of the universe, but no one has ever directly detected one of these WIMPs.
Now, physicists have announced they’ve spotted electrons with just about the amount of energy they would have expected to be made by a particular kind of WIMP entering the visible world.
John Wefel of Louisiana State University and colleagues report in Nature Wednesday that they could have detected “Kaluza-Klein” electron-positron pairs resulting from the annihilation of these WIMPS.
The KK particles are predicted by multiple-dimension theories of the universe and have long-been a leading candidate as the substance of dark matter. The new discovery then, if confirmed, would provide evidence that the fabric of space-time has many “compact” dimensions beyond the four that humans perceive.
Monty Python Goes To YouTube!
“In a bold move, Monty Python announces their partnership with YouTube, creating the first official Monty Python Video Channel on the internet. To all the fans who’ve for some unknown reason have sat, progressively losing their eyesight, squinting at their computer screens, watching The Dead Parrot Sketch, or missing the climax of The Fish Slapping Dance all because you’re too damned cheap to buy the shiny new DVD Box Set, you who have gawped at grainy bootlegged Python snippets only to be left unfulfilled by the ripped-off rubbish posted on YouTube… Well loyal Python fan, strain no longer! Now you can save your eyesight and join the Monty Python YouTube Channel, where you can enjoy high quality Python lounging in your knickers. Yes, that’s right, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your laptop to join the Flying Circus.”
Dr Pepper to deliver on its free-soda promise
Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality.
The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in America if the album dropped in 2008.
"Chinese Democracy," infamously delayed since recording began in 1994, goes on sale Sunday.
"We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, said in a statement.
"But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."
Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site.
They'll be honored until Feb. 28, 2009.
The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in America if the album dropped in 2008.
"Chinese Democracy," infamously delayed since recording began in 1994, goes on sale Sunday.
"We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, said in a statement.
"But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."
Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site.
They'll be honored until Feb. 28, 2009.
Octogenarian charged with dealing pain pills
Law enforcement authorities arrested an 81-year-old man who illegally sold powerful prescription pain relievers.
The arrest followed a raid on a home Monday by the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement.
The arrest followed a raid on a home Monday by the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement.
An undercover agent had purchased OxyContin, a prescription painkiller with opiate effects, at the home.
Officers said a woman in the home had 37 pills, which have a street value of $100 each in Fairbanks.
She said she had sold pills.
While officers were at the home, another woman took a call from the man and told him that she needed more pills.
He arrived 15 minutes later with 80 pills and was arrested.
The man was charged with felony drug misconduct.
Farmington, Massachuesetts Meat Mystery
Police are trying to figure out who keeps leaving chunks of meat on the town common, and why.
Police said residents have been finding butcher-quality cuts of meat on the common for about five weeks.
In the most recent incident, a resident discovered a large piece of raw, unwrapped meat, along with what appeared to be a liver and some bones on Tuesday.
Police said residents have been finding butcher-quality cuts of meat on the common for about five weeks.
In the most recent incident, a resident discovered a large piece of raw, unwrapped meat, along with what appeared to be a liver and some bones on Tuesday.
Police Lt. Paul Shastany said someone may be trying to poison animals, so the meat has been sent for testing.
*****
Sort of freaky don't you know!
Man Survives With Cell Phone
There may be a use for those infernal things after all!
A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn - hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart.
A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn - hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart.
The 68-year-old man was bruised. He said doctors told him two things prevented worse injury, maybe even death: the phone, and the fact that the bullet came in at an angle rather than head-on.
He figured the bullet was fired by a hunter in woods near his 5-acre property.
The Bare Necessities
With all the things that are worrying us today
I thought a little reminder of what was important was in order.
I thought a little reminder of what was important was in order.
Searching for a job? If so, check this guy out ...
Talk about a roadblock on a job search ...
A mid-Michigan man who'd been looking for work found trouble after an arrest warrant popped up during a background check at a police station.
Police also found cocaine in his pocket.
The company the man was applying to required a police background check.
A mid-Michigan man who'd been looking for work found trouble after an arrest warrant popped up during a background check at a police station.
Police also found cocaine in his pocket.
The company the man was applying to required a police background check.
The Jackson Citizen Patriot reported that after running the 29-year-old man's name through their computer system Wednesday, police learned he was wanted on a domestic violence charge.
Deputy Police Chief John Holda said that while searching him at the station, an officer found several rocks of cocaine.
The man was being held in the county jail and will be arraigned on the domestic violence charge and possession with intent to deliver cocaine.
First trip - $2.4Million
A 24-year-old woman, on her first trip to Las Vegas, is worrying less about the nation's economy.
That's because Jessica Agbunag won $2.4 million on Wednesday at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine at the California Hotel and Casino.
That's because Jessica Agbunag won $2.4 million on Wednesday at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine at the California Hotel and Casino.
Agbunag, a baby sitter who graduated high school in 2002, was in Las Vegas with her boyfriend and family in remembrance of her grandmother's birthday.
Her grandmother was a frequent visitor to Las Vegas who loved slot machines.
The Wheel of Fortune machines were good to Agbunag.
She twice won much smaller amounts earlier this week at the same casino.
But on Wednesday, she inserted $16 into a Mega-Jackpot machine and it hit big.
She said she plans to pay off a car and give some money to relatives.
They said the 'S' word
Well, actually they said the 'F' word - a sub-set of the 'S' word.
Around here the 'S' word is SNOW and the 'F' word is FLURRIES and either uttered by the meteorologists in these parts sends a panic throughout the area and grocery stores run out of eggs, milk and bread.
They said it - then tried to play it as no biggie - but they said it and we will have to live with the consequences ... I got our milk before I heard the 'F' word.
So if it happens as they think sometime around 7am tomorrow we might be seeing the flaky white stuff floating around - as if the stuff already on the ground wasn't enough.
Around here the 'S' word is SNOW and the 'F' word is FLURRIES and either uttered by the meteorologists in these parts sends a panic throughout the area and grocery stores run out of eggs, milk and bread.
They said it - then tried to play it as no biggie - but they said it and we will have to live with the consequences ... I got our milk before I heard the 'F' word.
So if it happens as they think sometime around 7am tomorrow we might be seeing the flaky white stuff floating around - as if the stuff already on the ground wasn't enough.
Yeah, what he said ...
He does have a point, you know ...
"There's no point to debating ... the lunatic fringe.
Their rantings about Marxism, 'islamofascism,' 'unAmericanism,' 'treason' and laissez faire economics are irrelevant to any serious political discussion in this country. Overton's window has shifted to the rational part of the political spectrum, where the reason-based community resides.
The discussion is now between liberals and the so-called 'centrists.'
Arguing with people who think Obama is a secret Muslim communist and the Earth is only 6000 years old is pointless.
It's like debating a small child or more accurately, a male Labrador retriever.
No matter what you say, he'll continue to hump your leg, knowing with certainty that if he just humps long enough, your shoes will bear puppies.
All you get out of it is a sticky leg."
Pulled from Thinking Liberally.
Army sets date for its first execution since 1961
The Army has set a date for its first execution in nearly 50 years.
The military said Thursday that former North Carolina soldier Ronald A. Gray is to be executed Dec. 10 at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.
He was convicted of multiple rapes and murders.
Army Secretary Pete Geren ordered that the former cook die by lethal injection.
President Bush approved the execution in July.
Gray is being held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
He was convicted in a spree of four murders and eight rapes in North Carolina in 1986 and '87 while stationed at Fort Bragg.
The last military execution was in 1961. Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged for raping and attempting to kill an 11-year-old Austrian girl.
The military said Thursday that former North Carolina soldier Ronald A. Gray is to be executed Dec. 10 at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.
He was convicted of multiple rapes and murders.
Army Secretary Pete Geren ordered that the former cook die by lethal injection.
President Bush approved the execution in July.
Gray is being held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
He was convicted in a spree of four murders and eight rapes in North Carolina in 1986 and '87 while stationed at Fort Bragg.
The last military execution was in 1961. Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged for raping and attempting to kill an 11-year-old Austrian girl.
Lost painting by Italian master fails to sell
A 300-year-old painting by Italian master Sebastiano Ricci failed to sell at auction.
The economy is likely to blame for the lack of bids on "The Vision of St. Bruno," said Edmund Pillsbury, chairman of fine arts at Heritage Auction Galleries.
The minimum bid was $500,000.
He said the family that owns the work is now considering a private sale.
The Ricci painting's journey from Italy to Texas was unraveled after the family that owned the work asked Pillsbury to take a look at it last year.
They thought it could be a Ricci, but Pillsbury was skeptical.
He was stunned when he saw the 3-by-4 foot painting depicting a robed St. Bruno, he soon confirmed it was the work of the famous Venetian painter.
The painting had thought to be lost.
The economy is likely to blame for the lack of bids on "The Vision of St. Bruno," said Edmund Pillsbury, chairman of fine arts at Heritage Auction Galleries.
The minimum bid was $500,000.
He said the family that owns the work is now considering a private sale.
The Ricci painting's journey from Italy to Texas was unraveled after the family that owned the work asked Pillsbury to take a look at it last year.
They thought it could be a Ricci, but Pillsbury was skeptical.
He was stunned when he saw the 3-by-4 foot painting depicting a robed St. Bruno, he soon confirmed it was the work of the famous Venetian painter.
The painting had thought to be lost.
Twenty-six horses killed in blaze at western Kentucky stable
An early morning fire has killed 26 horses at a western Kentucky stable.
The blaze broke out before dawn Thursday at Riverside Downs, a former race track not far from the Kentucky-Indiana border.
Baskett Fire Chief Bill Shaw said that only four horses survived.
The barn was destroyed.
Fire officials weren't sure what caused the fire, which was reported about 5:30 a.m. EST.
It's the second fire this year at Riverside.
Six horses died Jan. 4 in a fire blamed on a vending machine's electrical cord.
*****
Can you say 'insurance fraud'?!
Not that I am saying that (but I am) mind you!
The blaze broke out before dawn Thursday at Riverside Downs, a former race track not far from the Kentucky-Indiana border.
Baskett Fire Chief Bill Shaw said that only four horses survived.
The barn was destroyed.
Fire officials weren't sure what caused the fire, which was reported about 5:30 a.m. EST.
It's the second fire this year at Riverside.
Six horses died Jan. 4 in a fire blamed on a vending machine's electrical cord.
*****
Can you say 'insurance fraud'?!
Not that I am saying that (but I am) mind you!
Facing Deficits, States Get Out Sharper Knives
The New York Times has an article by Jennifer Steinhauer that one should read:
Two short months ago lawmakers in California struggled to close a $15 billion hole in the state budget. It was among the biggest deficits in state history. Now the state faces an additional $11 billion shortfall and may be unable to pay its bills this spring.
The astonishing decline in revenues is without modern precedent here, but California is hardly alone. A majority of states — many with budgets already full of deep cuts and dependent on raiding rainy-day funds or tax increases — are scrambling to find ways to get through the rest of the year without hacking apart vital services or raising taxes.
Read the rest: NYTimes.
Science News
Scientists say Copernicus' remains found
Researchers believe they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton they have found with that of hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books.
Jerzy Gassowski, an academic at an Archeology school in Poland, also says facial reconstruction of the skull his team found buried in a cathedral in Poland closely resembles existing portraits of Copernicus, whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.
The reconstruction shows a broken nose and other features that resemble a self-portrait of Copernicus, and the skull bears a cut mark above the left eye that corresponds with a scar shown in the painting.
Moreover, the skull belonged to a man aged around 70 - Copernicus's age when he died in 1543.
Gassowski and Marie Allen, a Swedish DNA expert, announced their findings in Warsaw on Thursday.
Allen said DNA from the bones and teeth matches that of hair found in a book the Polish astronomer owned.
The book is in a library at Sweden's Uppsala University.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
