From the English Russian: “This Russian animal was born numbered. It’s still is and the owners search for some good sports player who uses the number “10″ to sell the goat to him.”
Monday, December 15, 2008
Discriminating readers read Carolina Naturally
Readers in ...
Australia, Malaysia, Italy, France, Russia, England, Belgium, Kuwait. Canada, Portugal, Japan, Peru, Sweden, New Zealand and the Netherlands ... have all visited Carolina Naturally today.
Australia, Malaysia, Italy, France, Russia, England, Belgium, Kuwait. Canada, Portugal, Japan, Peru, Sweden, New Zealand and the Netherlands ... have all visited Carolina Naturally today.
Sheboygan staged shootout turns a bit too real
A staged shootout got a little too real when two people were shot with a gun mistakenly loaded with birdshot. The Sheboygan County Sheriff's Capt. Dave Adams said the shooting happened about 11 a.m. Sunday during a train robbery re-enactment held as part of the weekend Santa Steam Train event.
Adams said participants were acting out a shootout between the train robbers and police when a gun sprayed 46 shotgun pellets into the arm, leg and abdomen of 49-year-old re-enactor Thomas E. Rumpff of Sheboygan.
Two pellets struck a 14-year-old spectator. One embedded in his index finger, and another bounced off his knee.
Adams said both were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Man shot dead in Gaston hospital
In Local News:
An off-duty Gaston County police officer working as a security guard at Gaston Memorial Hospital fatally shot a man late Sunday after the suspect pointed a gun at another person in the hospital waiting room, Gaston County police say.
Authorities say Keyjuantas Devance Tims, 29, of Gastonia, was shot and wounded about 11 p.m. by Officer W.E. Howell, who was working private security when he received word that a man had a gun in the waiting room.
Tims died later.
Howell said that as he walked into the waiting room, he warned Tims several times to put his hands on a nearby counter, police say. He said as he approached Tims, the suspect allegedly drew a gun and aimed it at another person, police say.
Howell then pulled his service gun and shot Tims, police say.
Tims was treated at Gaston Memorial and then transferred to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he died overnight.
A check of court records for Tims shows a lengthy list of arrests and includes convictions on charges of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession, carrying a concealed weapon, speeding and resisting public officer charges.
Howell has been placed on paid administrative leave, and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is joining Gaston County police in investigating the incident. That is customary in cases involving police shootings.
Laura Hargett of McAdenville witnessed the shooting.
She had brought her husband to the hospital for kidney stone treatment about 10 p.m. Sunday and was watching television in the waiting room when she saw two men coming through the front entrance.
About that time, she said, Howell walked into the waiting room through another door and warned Tims several times to "put his hands on the counter."
She said Tims started backing up, and then moved toward the officer.
"I saw a flash," said Hargett, 61. "And then the gun went off again." She said Howell kicked something across the floor that she later learned was a gun.
"In my eyes, the officer did what he should have done," she said. Hargett said she tried to keep calm. "I didn't want to shock somebody and (have) them turn on me."Change is not necessary
For all the repugs out there:
It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.
~ W. Edwards Demming.
It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.
~ W. Edwards Demming.
Science News
Ancient armored amphibian had world's oddest bite
From Reuters:
From Reuters:A peculiar amphibian that was clad in bony armor prowled warm lakes 210 million years ago, catching fish and other tasty snacks with one of the most unusual bites in the history of life on Earth.
The creature called Gerrothorax pulcherrimus, which lived alongside some of the early dinosaurs, opened its mouth not by dropping its lower jaw, as other vertebrate animals do.
Instead, it lifted back the top of its head in a way that looked a lot like lifting the lid of a toilet seat.
"It's weird. It's the ugliest animal in the world," Harvard University's Farish Jenkins, one of the scientists who describe the mechanics of its bite in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, said in a telephone interview on Friday.
"You almost can't imagine holding your jaws still and lifting your head back to take a bite," Jenkins said.
"There are some vertebrates that will lift their heads slightly or the upper jaws (when they bite). Some salamanders do it slightly. Some fish do it slightly. But no animal is known to have done it this extensively," Jenkins added.
The scientists think Gerrothorax lurked at the bottom of a lake, then with a sudden movement of the skull created a mouth gape that entrapped any fish unfortunate enough to swim by.
Gerrothorax measured about 3 feet (1 meter) long and was stoutly protected by bony body armor reminiscent of chain mail. It had a very flat body and very flat head, short, stubby limbs and well-developed gills, Jenkins added.
Its jaws were lined with sharp teeth. And the roof of its mouth was studded with large fangs to keep any slippery fish from escaping its chomp.
With a special adaptation of the joint between its skull and first neck vertebra, Gerrothorax could raise its head relative to its lower jaw by as much as 50 degrees, giving it the wide gape necessary to swallow its prey.
Gerrothorax is one of a group of odd amphibians called plagiosaurs with no modern descendants that vanished along with numerous other species 200 million years ago in a mass extinction at the end of the Triassic Period. Its fossils were found in the Fleming Fjord Formation of east Greenland.
"That the same species is found in Greenland as well as Western Europe and Scandinavia suggests that their unique structure was hugely successful," Anne Warren of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, another of the scientists, said in a statement.
It was armored for good reason. It lived alongside massive, crocodile-like reptiles called phytosaurs and larger, predatory amphibians. Other fossils show dinosaurs, flying reptiles called pterosaurs and early mammals lived alongside it.
Only in Vegas
Atheist Seeks Same Access to Altar as Fake Liberaces, Elvises
“In a city launched by shotgun weddings and quickie divorces, which offers the chance to be wed by faux Liberaces, King Tuts and Grim Reapers, there remains at least one nuptial taboo: you can’t be married by an atheist. Michael Jacobson, a 64-year-old retiree who calls himself a lifelong atheist, tried this year to get a license to perform weddings. Clark County rejected his application because he had no ties to a congregation, as state law requires. So Jacobson and attorneys from two national secular groups — the American Humanist Association and the Center for Inquiry — are trying to change things. If they can’t persuade the state Legislature to rework the law, they plan to sue.
Jacobson, who spends most afternoons reading online or dining at a nearby buffet, is an admittedly reluctant plaintiff. But he’s willing to fight on principle, recalling one time he couldn’t: In the 1960s, the Army demanded that his dogtags note his religion. He reluctantly chose Judaism, which reflected his ancestry if not his beliefs.
“One of the things I like to do is stand up and say I’m a non-believer, so you know you’re not alone,” he said recently. For years Mel Lipman, a friend of Jacobson’s and the American Humanist Association president, had presided over non-religious weddings in Las Vegas. But he belonged to the Humanist Society, a secular branch of the Humanist Association whose tax status as a religious group satisfied the clerk’s requirements.
When Lipman and his wife moved to Florida this spring, Jacobson decided to become the Las Vegas atheist celebrant. “But I’m not going to do it by saying I belong to a religious organization,” he said. “That’s a sham because atheists are not religious.”
Captain Nemo of the cocaine trade
Darkside maker Enrique Portocarrero of Colombia is alleged to have designed and built up to 20 fiberglass submarines for transporting cocaine.
"He had a marvelous criminal vision," Colombian navy Capt. Luis German Borrero said. "He introduced innovations such as a bow that produced very little wake, a conning tower that rises only a foot above the water and a valve system that enables the crew to scuttle the sub in 10 minutes. He is very ingenious."...
Portocarrero was living well. Police, who reported finding $200,000 hidden in the spare tire of his car, say he had invested his reputed $1-million-per-vessel fees in the purchase of five shrimp boats.
Administrative Security officials allege that Portocarrero helped invent "semi-submersibles," as the narco-vessels are called, because they don't dive and resurface like true submarines, but cruise just below the surface.
Portocarrero's craft are difficult for counter-narcotics officials to detect on the open seas because their tiny wake creates a negligible radar "footprint." Also, authorities say, the exhaust is released through tubing below the surface, frustrating patrol aircraft's heat-sensing equipment.
Petition to "Get a Secretary of Real Food appointed" in Obama Administration
Bonnie Powell, who covers the ethics and politics of food over at Ethicurean, says:
Obama still hasn't named a Secretary of Agriculture, which is one of the most important appointments in the Cabinet, overseeing a $94 billion budget that directly affects not just farmers, but public health, the environment, animal welfare, and so much more. For years this post has been held by shills for "Big Farma" and pandered to those corporations like Cargill, Smithfield, Monsanto, and Archer Daniels Midland with massive lobbying clout. As Nicholas Kristof wrote in his NY Times column "Obama's Secretary of Food?", appointing a reformer to head the USDA would send a "powerful signal" that U.S. food policy was finally about to become more palatable.Kristof linked to a petition at fooddemocracynow.org that asks Obama's transition team to consider six candidates — all experienced, viable names of people who are ready and willing to serve — for Secretary of Agriculture who could potentially mend our broken food system. Already, after only six days, 36,000 people have signed the petition, including Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, and Bill Niman, and the Obama transition team appears to be paying attention. But for some reason, the current names still being floated in the media are not those of reformers at all.
Dave Murphy, a sixth-generation Iowan and the petition's organizer, said that he thinks if we can get the number of signers to 100,000 over the next few days, the pressure to choose someone from the sustainable agriculture and food community — not Big Farma – would be too immense to ignore.
Please consider signing the petition, blogging it, and/or forwarding this message to your personal networks and any list-servers you are on.
Visit fooddemocracynow.org now to sign.
Petition to make clean water a human right
The Article 31 petition is trying to get the UN to add a new article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one that recognizes a fundamental right to water. It comes from the people who made the amazing documentary on water rights, Flow.
In 1948, the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were ratified by all the nations of the world. These 30 articles guaranteed a broad sweep of human rights across many human endeavors, from Life to Liberty to Freedom of Thought.Now, sixty years later, recognizing that over a billion people across the planet lack access to clean and potable water and that millions die each year as a result, it is imperative to add one more article to this historic declaration, the Right to Water.
We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon the United Nations to add a 31st article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, establishing access to clean and potable water as a fundamental human right.
We believe the world will be a better place when the Right To Water is acknowledged by all nations as a fundamental human right, and that this addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights represents a major step toward the goal of water for all.
Please join us. Water is a right, not a privilege.
Free Gubmint Money
FREE GOVERNMENT MONEY!
I am going to get my share!
Every year the government is required to give away free money to citizens and residents of the United States. Over $50 billion dollars is given away each year to individuals and businesses in the form of free grants. This free money can be used for almost any purpose - including to buy a house, start a business, pay for college, buy equipment, pay salaries, buy school supplies, get out of debt, buy clothing, pay for child camp, pay for music, art or education lessons, paying off your medical bills, pay for gas for your car, and anything else you desire.
Most Corrupt State
Its largest city is legendary for machine-style politics and its elected leaders have been under investigation for years, but by one measure, Illinois is not even close to the nation's most-corrupt state.
North Dakota, it turns out, may hold that distinction instead.
Read the rest here.
The Human Face of Eviction
This is a crime!
In the third quarter of 2008, more than 700,000 Americans faced foreclosure -- a new and troubling record. While mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced last month they would temporarily halt foreclosures and evictions from Thanksgiving to Jan. 9, the moratorium is likely to affect only a small percentage of homeowners. On a cold December morning, ANP witnessed an increasingly common, but rarely documented, tragedy: someone being evicted from his home.
Eviction Day: Foreclosure Crisis Forces Man From Home
In the third quarter of 2008, more than 700,000 Americans faced foreclosure -- a new and troubling record. While mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced last month they would temporarily halt foreclosures and evictions from Thanksgiving to Jan. 9, the moratorium is likely to affect only a small percentage of homeowners. On a cold December morning, ANP witnessed an increasingly common, but rarely documented, tragedy: someone being evicted from his home.
Just in case you missed it ...
Have you noticed?
Corporate Media have been desperately trying to shoehorn Barack Obama into the ethical problems of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, even though there’s not a shred (or hint of a shred) of evidence that he was in any way involved.
And the wing-nut shrill shills are still trying to foist the lie that we have a "Liberal Media" in this country!? The Corporate media are about as Liberal as the wing-nuts who own them are!
Corporate Media have been desperately trying to shoehorn Barack Obama into the ethical problems of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, even though there’s not a shred (or hint of a shred) of evidence that he was in any way involved.
And the wing-nut shrill shills are still trying to foist the lie that we have a "Liberal Media" in this country!? The Corporate media are about as Liberal as the wing-nuts who own them are!
New Readers
Carolina Naturally would like to welcome our newest readers in our 152nd country - Namibia!
Christians, Why Do You Celebrate Christmas?
This video poses a very GOOD question!
Why do Christians use the trappings of a pagan festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus when the Bible commands believers to avoid such things?
Daily Funny
A man staggered into a hospital with a concussion, multiple bruises, two black eyes, and a five iron wrapped tightly around his throat.
Naturally, the Doctor asked him, 'What happened to YOU?'
'Well, I was having a quiet round of golf with my wife, when at a difficult hole, we both sliced our golf balls into a field of cattle.
We went to look for them and while I was looking around I noticed one of the cows had something white at its rear end.'
'I walked over, lifted its tail, and sure enough, there was a golf ball with my wife's monogram on it - stuck right in the middle of the cow's arse
Still holding the cow's tail up, I yelled to my wife, 'Hey, this looks like yours!''
'I don't remember much after that'
Naturally, the Doctor asked him, 'What happened to YOU?'
'Well, I was having a quiet round of golf with my wife, when at a difficult hole, we both sliced our golf balls into a field of cattle.
We went to look for them and while I was looking around I noticed one of the cows had something white at its rear end.'
'I walked over, lifted its tail, and sure enough, there was a golf ball with my wife's monogram on it - stuck right in the middle of the cow's arse
Still holding the cow's tail up, I yelled to my wife, 'Hey, this looks like yours!''
'I don't remember much after that'
And I Quote
On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does.
~ Will Rogers
~ Will Rogers
Bush, Iraq, Obama, Afghanistan, and journalistic shoes
Here is a good summary of recent events:
Someone has finally treated George W. Bush with the respect he deserves.
The treatment: two shoes thrown at his head. The someone: a certain Muntadar al-Zaidi, opinionated journalist of refined aim, if rather unsophisticated expression. "This is a farewell kiss! … Dog, dog!" he bellowed at Bush as he hurled the symbolic footwear, one after another.
"Throwing a shoe at someone," reports the Washington Post in a story I hope will trigger a 30-day stampede of American shoe-throwing, "is considered the worst possible insult in Iraq and is meant to show extreme disrespect and contempt."
I can't imagine a more fitting dénouement for Bush, for Iraqis, for us. But just as one miserable chapter of American interventionism inches -- maybe -- toward a close, another is ominously in the making.
Read the rest of P. M. Carpenter's piece here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
