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Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Marine archaeologists find remains of slave ship
Some 192 Africans survived the sinking of the Spanish ship Trouvadore off the British-ruled islands, where the slave trade was banned.
Over the years the ship had been forgotten, said researcher Don Keith, so when the discovery connected the ship to current residents the first response "was a kind of shock, a lack of comprehension," he explained in a briefing organized by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But after word got out "people really got on board with it," he said, and the local museum has assisted the researchers.
He said this is the only known wreck of a ship engaged in the illegal slave trade.
Keith and his co-researchers from the Texas-based Ships of Discovery organization came across a letter at the Smithsonian Institution that referred to the sinking and began their search for the ship.
"The people of the Turks and Caicos have a direct line to this dramatic, historic event - it's how so many of them ended up being there.
"We hope this discovery will encourage the people of the Turks and Caicos to protect and research their local history, especially the history that remains underwater," he said.
"It really is a mystery, it's a detective story," added marine archaeologist Toni Carrell.
"We do all of this because we recognize the importance of history. This is an important part of the Turks and Caicos history," she said.
The team was able to determine that authorities on the islands apprenticed the Africans to trades for a year and then allowed them to settle on the islands, many on Grand Turk.
The Spanish crew was arrested and turned over to authorities in Cuba, then a Spanish colony.
An 1878 letter refers to the Trouvadore Africans as making up the pith - meaning an essential part - of the laboring population on the islands.
When the wreck was first discovered in 2004 it was named the Black Rock ship because the researchers were unsure of its identity.
They have since become convinced by the timing and design of the vessel that it is the Trouvadore.
"We were not fortunate enough to find a bell with 'Trouvadore' on it," Carrell explained.
Useful parts of the ship had been salvaged before winds and currents carried it into deeper water.
"It's rare and exciting to find a wreck of such importance that has been forgotten for so many years," said Frank Cantelas, marine archaeologist for NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.
The team also found the remains of the U.S. brig Chippewa, a ship built for the War of 1812 which was engaged in chasing pirates when it was lost in 1816.
That vessel was identified by the unique type of cannons, called carronades, it carried.
Indeed, the researchers said the Turks and Caicos now possesses one of the world's best collections of carronades.
Tame deer at Houston sanctuary beheaded
A tame deer known as Mr. Buck has been found beheaded at a wildlife sanctuary in Houston.
The remains of the child-friendly deer were discovered Tuesday at Bear Creek Pioneers Park.
A bloodhound was used to try to track the killer.
Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack says anyone who attacks an animal in captivity "is just the lowest of the low."
Authorities say someone cut through a remote fence to reach the animal, taking the deer's head and antlers.
The carcass was left behind.
Taxidermy shops in the Houston area were being advised about the crime.
Charges including felony animal cruelty and poaching could be pursued against any suspects.
One Liner
DMT lab busted in Buffalo, NY
Four men were arrested this morning (November 25, 2008) as federal drug agents busted a South Buffalo laboratory where a potent psychedelic drug known as dimethyltryptamine — or DMT — was being manufactured illegally.The clandestine drug lab was believed to have been operated for at least the past six months in a house on Fredro Street, in the Clinton-Bailey area, said Dale Kasprzyk, a Buffalo supervisor of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“To our knowledge, this is the first DMT lab busted in Western New York, and only the third ever in New York state,” Kasprzyk said. “DMT is a drug that is just beginning to emerge in this area.”
As Taboos Ease, Saudi Girl Group Dares to Rock
“They cannot perform in public. They cannot pose for album cover photographs. Even their jam sessions are secret, for fear of offending the religious authorities in this ultraconservative kingdom. But the members of Saudi Arabia’s first all-girl rock band, the Accolade, are clearly not afraid of taboos.
The band’s first single, “Pinocchio,” has become an underground hit here, with hundreds of young Saudis downloading the song from the group’s MySpace page. Now, the pioneering foursome, all of them college students, want to start playing regular gigs — inside private compounds, of course — and recording an album. “In Saudi, yes, it’s a challenge,” said the group’s lead singer, Lamia, who has piercings on her left eyebrow and beneath her bottom lip. (Like other band members, she gave only her first name.) “Maybe we’re crazy. But we wanted to do something different.”
In a country where women are not allowed to drive and rarely appear in public without their faces covered, the band is very different. The prospect of female rockers clutching guitars and belting out angry lyrics about a failed relationship — the theme of “Pinocchio” — would once have been unimaginable here. But this country’s harsh code of public morals has slowly thawed, especially in Jidda, by far the kingdom’s most cosmopolitan city. A decade ago the cane-wielding religious police terrorized women who were not dressed according to their standards. Young men with long hair were sometimes bundled off to police stations to have their heads shaved, or worse.”
Texas police turn traffic tickets into toy drive
Some police officers in a North Texas suburb are playing Santa Claus with naughty drivers.
For the next month, some motorists pulled over in Sansom Park will be given a "ticket for tots" instead of a formal citation. Drivers are then asked to drop off a $10 toy at the police station.
"This is a low-income community. A lot of the kids are not going to have a Christmas at all," Martinez says.
While it's not mandatory to donate a toy, police think forgoing writing motorists a ticket could lead people to return the kindness.
Officers have discretion over who gets issued a citation or "ticket for tots" depending on the violation.
Police point out that the average traffic ticket in Sansom Park - a Fort Worth suburb - costs about $165.
New Zealand billboard thief gets his own ad campaign
A billboard on the corner of a major road intersection in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 24, 2008. A thief who stole expensive fittings from a billboard in New Zealand's largest city has become the subject of giant "Wanted" posters after the company that owns them obtained a photograph of the crime. The unidentified thief was photographed by a suspicious onlooker as he uncoupled 15 expensive electrical transformers that boost the lighting of a billboard in Auckland in October.
*****
A thief caught on camera stealing expensive equipment picked the wrong target if wanted to keep a low profile: a billboard company that has plastered his image around New Zealand's largest city seeking his capture.
The unidentified thief was photographed by a suspicious onlooker as he uncoupled 15 electrical transformers used to boost the lighting on a billboard in Auckland.
The photographer knew the pillaged sign belonged to Mark Venter, who runs OTW Advertising, one of New Zealand's oldest billboard companies.
So when the photographer offered pictures of the thief in action it cost Venter nothing to mount the images on four city billboards with the inscription: "Who is this Thief? Reward $500."
The photo of "the ratbag" was "too good an opportunity to let go," Venter told The Associated Press. "We've all had stuff stolen ... but usually they don't leave this calling card."
He said he had received more than 100 calls since the photograph was posted six days ago, though most were calls supporting his campaign rather than offering information on the crime.
Police Sgt. Roy Simpson said several calls to police and to Venter had named the same man as the possible thief, and he was now being sought by police.
Venter noted the thief had had one piece of good luck: If he had tried stealing the transformers at night "when they have 50,000 volts going through them - he'd be dead."
Student arrested for 'Passing Gas'
The Spectrum Junior-Senior High School was arrested November 4.
A school resource officer placed the boy under arrest after he confessed about his behavior, according to the report. He was charged with disruption of school function and released to his mother.
Man shot by his dog
Marcum's father, Henry, said his 23-year-old son was about to tie up an 11-foot open aluminum boat, when his 3-year-old Labrador, Drake, jumped into the boat.
Matthew Marcum said his dog, Drake, is a good dog and he isn't upset with him.
Hope he didn't use all his luck
The entry also netted him a guitar and gold-plated Bon Jovi records.
But that was his second free vehicle. Horton was notified Oct. 5 he had won a Mitsubishi Lancer in a contest sponsored by Bic lighter.
As if that weren't enough, he also won tickets to a recent Kansas City Chiefs game in another drawing.
Horton said rather than collecting the Lancer, he opted to take the cash-in value of $28,800 for the car. He said that will help pay the income tax and personal property taxes on his winnings.
Less than brilliant there bucko
They say the 49-year-old pried an ATM loose from a credit union early Sunday by using a stolen skid loader. Then, in a bid to break open the 3,000-pound cash machine, the man used the skid loader to drop it down a 50-foot wooded embankment.
Police Chief Patrick Kitchens says the problem is, when the ATM fell, the skid loader and the thief plummeted right along with it.
The man was found trapped inside the battered machine and was taken to a hospital. His injuries were not considered life-threatening, but Kitchens says he could end up facing federal charges.
Welcome readers
Jet pack pilot flies across 1,500-foot-wide canyon
The stunt's sponsors says Eric Scott took 21 seconds to cross the Royal Gorge at 75 mph on Monday and that he didn't use a parachute while flying across the 1,100-foot-deep canyon.
He was wearing a jet pack powered by hydrogen peroxide and developed for stunts, promotions and other events.
Hit and run shoe thief
Witnesses told police that a vehicle hit a parked car and that the driver fled the scene on foot. Several minutes later, police said they received a call that a man matching the driver's description had entered a nearby residence, was bleeding and stole a pair of shoes before leaving the home.
Police said they arrested the man a short time later.
You might Be A Neocon If ...
This is so accurate and so hilarious. RS Janes puts it all in line for us.
By RS Janes
With a hat tip to Jeff Foxworthy, it’s time to play:
You Might Be A Neocon If…
… you believe any of the following: Barack Obama is (a) a socialist; (b) a Muslim; (c) the illegitimate son of Malcolm X; (d) the illegitimate son of Uncle Ben.
… you think Obama was a domestic terrorist who helped Bill Ayers plant bombs in the Pentagon; that he doesn’t have a legal birth certificate proving he’s an American citizen; and that his middle name indicates anything more than sheer coincidence.
… You believe President Obama’s first act will be to make the ‘nation’ of Africa our 51st state and send every resident a free Cadillac.
… you heard Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 and don’t think it was a state then, thereby making it illegal for him to be president, but are too lazy to look it up before you forward the email.
… you believe Sarah Palin is really intelligent and informed and that the reason most of America thinks otherwise is due to the liberal media and their evil ‘gotcha’ questions.
… you think an unwed teenage girl’s pregnancy is a sign of the moral failings of permissive secular parents and liberalism in general, except for 17-year-old Bristol Palin.
… you believe Sarah Palin is (a) a real feminist; (b) a true populist; (c) a ‘good ole gal just like me!’; (d) winking at you seductively through the TV.
… you think it was fine for the Big Media to criticize every detail of Hillary Clinton’s campaign and excoriate her for her laugh, her clothes, her personal taste, or minor mistakes, yet Katie Couric asking Sarah Palin to name what newspapers and magazines she reads ‘every day’ is an outrageous and out of bounds ‘gotcha’ question.
… you thought John Kerry’s record of military heroism didn’t entitle him to be president, but John McCain’s did.
… you believe that, despite everything, this remains a ‘center-right’ nation.
… you think any of the following windbags are still politically relevant: (a) Rush Limbaugh; (b) Bill O’Reilly; (c) Sean Hannity; (d) Michael Savage; (e) Glenn Beck; (f) John McCain’s brother Joe.
… you actually believe that Big Media corporations are owned by flaming liberals, except Fox News.
… you think Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch is ‘too liberal’ because he once held a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and employs Alan Colmes.
… you believe any of the following are real-live conservative intellectuals: (a) Bill Kristol; (b) Pat Buchanan; (c) Dinesh D’Souza; (d) Joe the Plumber.
… you think prayer in school is more important than a good education in school.
… you believe that courts should not ‘make law’ but go by a strict interpretation of the Constitution, except in the case of Bush v. Gore, Terry Schiavo, and keeping those designated as ‘terrorists’ by the president in prison without due process.
… you think Swift Boater Jerome Corsi is a great investigative journalist.
… you think Michael Moore is a communist dedicated to overthrowing the country’s health care system and forcing you to go to a government doctor for free.
… you’ve never read anything by Karl Marx other than a quote or two, yet consider yourself an expert on what is Marxist.
… you believe liberals and/or Democrats are all (a) atheists (b) liars (c) commies (d) America-haters (e) arugula eaters (f) always sitting around trying to think up ways to take away your guns.
… you think anyone who disagrees with you is unpatriotic, even if it’s an old woman in a wheelchair yelling at you for parking in the Handicapped space.
… you think Handicapped parking spaces are liberal commie plots to take away our freedoms.
… you believe wearing a flag pin is more important than living up to the Constitutional law of the land.
… you think the Constitution was signed by men who were all devout Christians and the nation was founded with a Christian rather than secular government.
… you’ve ever rendered a strong opinion on any book, magazine article, website, film, TV show or play you’ve never actually read or seen.
… you think waterboarding is no different than a fraternity prank.
… you think there was actually a War on Christmas outside of Bill O’Reilly’s head.
… you think any government program that helps ordinary people is horrible socialism, but when our tax money is spent to pay contractors for shoddy work and overcharges, that’s free market capitalism at work.
… you think questions surrounding the events of 9/11 are ridiculous, but firmly believe that the Clintons had something to do with the death of Vince Foster and should be subject to further investigation.
… you think Bush ignoring the August 6, 2001 CIA brief entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in United States” was understandable, since he was on vacation, but are convinced that 9/11 happened because Bill Clinton ignored Al-Qaeda during his presidency.
… you think Osama bin Laden is a lying terrorist sack of crap, yet was telling the truth when said he wanted John Kerry as president in 2004, right before Election Day.
… you still believe Bush and Cheney are moral men with your best interests at heart.
… you don’t want to pay a dime for national health care, yet expect a taxpayer-funded emergency room to treat you immediately after you’ve had an accident.
.. you still think Bush is right even when he’s proven wrong, again and again.
… you think every problem America has can be traced to liberals and/or Democrats.
… you’ve ever called anyone a ‘pinko’ or ‘commie,’ especially someone who demonstrably isn’t either.
…you don’t know the difference between socialism and communism and you don’t really care either.
… you think a) Saddam Hussein had WMD and hid them somewhere outside of the country right before the US invaded, or b) you think we found WMD in Iraq.
… you think former CIA covert agent Valerie Plame ‘deserved’ to be outed because her husband is a ‘traitor’ who revealed the truth about Bush’s phony claims that Iraq tried to buy Niger uranium.
… you think junkies should spend long sentences in jail but Rush Limbaugh should be forgiven for his human frailty.
… you think Ann Coulter is hilariously funny.
… you think talk show blabber Dennis Prager is either a religious expert, conservative intellectual, political philosopher, entirely sane, or all four.
– you are a Christian who experiences temporary blindness whenever you read the Sermon on the Mount.
… you think every word in the Bible was written by God in English, even the letters to the Greeks by Paul.
… you are waiting for Armageddon and believe you will be taken up into heaven during ‘The Rapture,’ even though you lie to your customers, sell products that are made by slave labor overseas, or own a private mercenary company that murders people in other countries.
… you think individual people need strong laws and strict enforcement to keep them in line, but corporations should be able to make their own rules without government interference.
… you think no-bid contracts are a smart way for the government to do business.
… you think Richard Nixon was brought down by the ‘liberal media.’
… you think ‘habeas corpus’ has something to do with hamsters, so what’s the big deal?
… you hate the theory of evolution even though you’ve never read it. You also hate Charles Darwin without knowing anything about him, and point him out as the perfect example of a ‘know-nothing’ American liberal. (He was actually British.)
… you’ve ever read a rant by Michelle Malkin without laughing out loud at its sheer rancorous stupidity.
… you think Charles Krauthammer is sane.
… you still think Karl Rove is a great man.
… you believe might makes right since the Surge is working and the Afghanis just love us.
.. you watch “24″ and believe if we only had a guy like the fictional Jack Bauer in charge of our intelligence operations, we could lick the terrorists in a month or two.
… you are a self-hating closeted gay male Republican politician.
Why does failure inspire some and demoralize others?
Stanford Magazine reports on the applications from psychological research Carol Dweck's work, which uses careful experiments to determine why some people give up when confronted with failure, while others roll up their sleeves and dive in.
Through a series of exercises, the experimenters trained half the students to chalk up their errors to insufficient effort, and encouraged them to keep going. Those children learned to persist in the face of failure—and to succeed. The control group showed no improvement at all, continuing to fall apart quickly and to recover slowly. These findings, says Dweck, “really supported the idea that the attributions were a key ingredient driving the helpless and mastery-oriented patterns.” Her 1975 article on the topic has become one of the most widely cited in contemporary psychology.Attribution theory, concerned with people’s judgments about the causes of events and behavior, already was an active area of psychological research. But the focus at the time was on how we make attributions, explains Stanford psychology professor Lee Ross, who coined the term “fundamental attribution error” for our tendency to explain other people’s actions by their character traits, overlooking the power of circumstances. Dweck, he says, helped “shift the emphasis from attributional errors and biases to the consequences of attributions—why it matters what attributions people make.” Dweck had put attribution theory to practical use...
...[S]ome of the children who put forth lots of effort didn’t make attributions at all. These children didn’t think they were failing. Diener puts it this way: “Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, I’m a problem solver, and I’ll try something else.’” During one unforgettable moment, one boy—something of a poster child for the mastery-oriented type—faced his first stumper by pulling up his chair, rubbing his hands together, smacking his lips and announcing, “I love a challenge.”
Such zest for challenge helped explain why other capable students thought they lacked ability just because they’d hit a setback. Common sense suggests that ability inspires self-confidence. And it does for a while—so long as the going is easy. But setbacks change everything. Dweck realized—and, with colleague Elaine Elliott soon demonstrated—that the difference lay in the kids’ goals. “The mastery-oriented children are really hell-bent on learning something,” Dweck says, and “learning goals” inspire a different chain of thoughts and behaviors than “performance goals.”
The bailout is going to cost us ... Big Time
Here's a clue:
Barry Ritholtz says:
In doing the research for the "Bailout Nation" book, I needed a way to put the dollar amounts into proper historical perspective.And the repugicans still say they are better at handling the economy!? What a crock! It took only eight years to ruin our economy and screw us over for more than any time in history!If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars.
People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.
Crunching the inflation adjusted numbers, we find the bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:
• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billionTOTAL: $3.92 trillion
Never again!
Daily Horoscope
Hey, Congress are you listening!?