CAROLINA NATURALLY: 04/01/2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Look to your past to provide any answers you may need.
This is especially true if you've hit a big roadblock keeping you from the future you long for.
Which patterns, imbalances and problems have kept reoccurring throughout your life?
What brings you joy?
What are your special gifts?
All those answers and more are recorded in your history, and you can dredge them up if you're able to view it with a detached and discriminating eye.

Some of our readers today have been in:

San Jose, San Jose, Costa Rica

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Moscow, Moskva, Russia

Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain

Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark

London, England, United Kingdom

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Karlskrona, Blekinge, Sweden

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

as well as Norway, Scotland, and the United States in such cities such as White Hall, Nashua, Gladwin, Woodinville and more

Today is Friday, April 30, the 120th day of 2010.

There are 245 days left in the year.

Today In History April 30, 2010

Today's unusual holidays and celebrations are:

National Honesty Day

National Hairball Awareness Day

and

Tonight happens to be Walpurgis Night

Beltane

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3594/3513619004_4d6b4ba6fc.jpg

Today is Beltane

Arbor Day

http://media-files.gather.com/images/d508/d695/d744/d224/d96/f3/full.jpg

Today is Arbor Day

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

World Expo transforming Shanghai's skyline

The event, beginning this week, is expected to draw 70 million visitors to China's largest city.

See photos

Also:

Belgian Lawmakers Pass Burqa Ban

German pigs find World War II anti-tank weapon

German police say a couple of hungry pigs digging for food came nose-to-nose with a long-buried World War II anti-tank weapon.

Full story

The State Of The Nation

The State Of The Nation

U.S. Navy to allow women on submarines

The military orders an end to one of its last gender barriers, but some sailors' wives are worried.

Their concerns

Also:

Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality

Graham Police say the man is accused of using his cellphone to take pictures or video of a 17-year-old while she was in a tanning room.

Man Took Pictures Of Teen At Tanning Salon

You say that like it's a bad thing?!

"A new survey finds Americans continue to find it difficult to name a leader of the repugicans.

Only 29% of respondents named someone, while 18% said nobody and 52% were unsure."

~ Political Wire,

Full Story

You say that like it's a bad thing?!

Man stabs 29 children at kindergarten in China

A girl sitting on the back of her mother's bicycle is pushed away by people crowding at the gate of Zhongxin Kindergarten in Taixing in east China's Jiangsu Province Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Full story

Cones

Defining Terms

Self Control: The ability to eat just one peanut.

Get ready for the next repugican lie to defend the banks: The checkbook tax

The next lie that the repugicans will be using to defend Wall Street against reform has been revealed.

From Greg Sargent via McJoan:

The Democrats supporting the current legislation have assured an anxious electorate that whatever funds are used to create whatever regulatory scheme created will come from the banks, not the taxpayers. Let me emphasize that so that even casual readers will catch it: the Democrats promise that you won’t pay for their legislation, banks will.

Really?

Since when have corporations ever paid taxes, fees or penalties? Employees end up paying in the form of lower salaries and benefits. Customers end up paying in the form of higher costs.

And in this case, every account holder will be forced to pay higher fees on their checking account and savings account. That’s you, my friendly reader. Can you say “checkbook tax”? I can, and I think lots of candidates will be saying it come November.

You'll be surprised to hear that it too is a lie.

(Not - surprised that is)

Correcting the Court

Democrats Seek Disclosure On Political Ads

Full story

Two repugicans are joining with congressional Democrats on new legislation to force disclosure of corporate money in politics. House and Senate versions of the bill were rolled out Thursday, nearly four months after a Supreme Court decision that gives corporations and unions the First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts on campaign advertising.

Or as they put it over at Crooks and Liars:

Democrats Unveil Tough New Legislation to Remedy “Citizens United”

Congressional Democrats have just introduced a new package of legislation – the DISCLOSE Act – to blunt the Supreme Court’s disastrous January ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, which opened American elections at all levels to unlimited corporate spending. The 5-4 ruling gave companies like Goldman Sachs and Exxon Mobil the same right as individual Americans to spend money in elections, but unlike you or me these companies have billions in the bank and billions more at stake in Congress and state legislatures.
Now Democrats are racing to pass legislation before a wave of corporate cash sweeps through the mid-term elections. They have overwhelming public opinion on their side, but the US Chamber of Commerce and other corporate lobbyists are working hard to head them off and time is short.
The newly unveiled DISCLOSE Act is all about forcing election spending out into the open, where it belongs. Thanks to the Roberts Court, giant companies can spend unlimited amounts to support or oppose candidates – without disclosing a dime of it. They can simply pass the money through a front group or PR agency. The legislation would close this glaring loophole, as Sen. Chuck Schumer explained on Thursday:

Our bill will follow the money. In cases where corporations try to mask their activities through shadow groups, we drill down so that ultimate funder of the expenditure is disclosed.

Corporations would be required to disclose political spending to their shareholders, and a broad array of corporations and advocacy groups would be required to disclose previously confidential details about their political spending, including funding sources. Foreign corporations, government contractors, and recipients of government bail-outs would be altogether banned from spending money in elections.
The DISCLOSE Act is a huge first step in restoring genuine democracy in the wake of the Roberts Court's irresponsible activism, but it's just a first step. Only a constitutional amendment or new ruling by a more progressive Supreme Court can truly 'fix' Citizens United.
In the meantime, maybe we should require politicians to wear the logos of their "sponsors." Hey, if it works for NASCAR, why not Congress:

Its Only The Environment After All

Its Only The Environment After All

The realities of the Gulf oil spill cleanup

BP and the Coast Guard say they'll contain the spill, but past efforts paint a sobering picture.

'Overwhelming'

Also:

Massive oil spill reaches fragile Gulf Coast

The slick threatens hundreds of species and may eclipse the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Obama halts new drilling

Also:

AT&T asks government to create national censorwall and system for disconnecting accused infringers

In its comments to Victoria Espinel, the American IP enforcement czar, AT&T calls on the government to hold tribunal in which accused infringers will lose their internet access. It doesn't want a full court to evaluate claims of infringement, just a high-speed, traffic-court-style process by which entire families will lose their lifelines to the electronic society. AT&T also wants the government to establish a list of banned websites that all ISPs are ordered to block.

But that doesn't mean AT&T is opposed to various forms of "three strikes" or "graduated response" programs meant to deter online copyright infringement; it just wants someone else to implement them. If the government wants to get into the enforcement business, AT&T would be fine with that. Actually, the company would be more than fine with the proposal--it suggests that the government get into the business of adjudicating such cases and dishing out penalties. This might sound like a role for the courts, but AT&T and rights-holders argue that the current legal process is simply too slow and too expensive to deal wisely with online copyright infringement. Instead, AT&T proposes a "streamlined and reasonable adjudication system for rights holders to resolve civil infringement claims against end users." Call it "court lite..."
Also, AT&T thinks that getting the US government into website blocking would be a pretty terrific idea. AT&T suggests that the Department of Justice "create and maintain a list of international websites known to host and traffic in infringed copyrighted works."

AT&T wants 3 strikes tribunal, government website blacklist

It's The Economy Stupid

Businesses that bucked the recession

A pharmaceutical giant grew its profits 65% in the terrible economy, but another firm did 614%.

Variety of industries

Also:

Economy grew at annual rate of 3.2% in first quarter

Good economic news:

The United States economy continued to expand in the first quarter, but economists cautioned that the pace of growth is still not nearly fast enough to recover ground lost during the recession.

National output grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.2 percent last quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday, after growth of 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 2.2 percent in the third quarter.

The steady growth has quelled fears that the downturn is not quite over.

“It’s been a case of, when will they stop worrying and learn to love the boom?” said Robert Barbera, chief economist at ITG, who said that many economists have been too hesitant to acknowledge the steady recovery because the job market is still weak.

I'm just guessing here but I believe people will love the boom when the jobs are back.

Tomorrow's real estate trouble spots

The housing crisis is expected to get worse in these cities, where buying a home could be a gamble.

Risky areas

Also:

'Middle-skill' jobs hit harder by downturn

Low-skill and high-skill careers have suffered fewer job losses than those in between.

Which occupations

Also:

Daily Comic Relief

tree rats rule scientists drool by donielle.

Sixty percent of Americans Live Where Pollution "Reaches Dangerous Levels"

The effective manner in which the US has dealt with air pollution in cities since the passage of the Clean Air Act is a point of pride for environmentalists as well as legislators. But that's not to say that pollution doesn't persist in many parts of the nation -- far from it. One recent report found that a staggering 175 million Americans -- 6 out of 10 people -- live in areas where particulate pollution reaches dangerous levels.

Article continues: 60% of Americans Live Where Pollution "Reaches Dangerous Levels"

On The Job

On The Job

Your office chair is ruining your body

New research is coming to a startling conclusion: Sitting is a public-health risk.

Chronic symptoms to watch

Also:

*****

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

Faux's Glen Brick lies: Obama administration is pushing us toward "dependency and regulation" -- "Our founding fathers used to call it slavery.
Nope, that was the 'de-regulatory' shrub, et al, that was doing that - continuing the rape of America started by ronnie raygun.

Lush Dimbulb accuses Obama "regime" of "personal jihad" against Arizona.
Wrong, it is an national groundswell of resistance to stupidity.

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (retard-Alabama) lies: Obama "sees the Constitution as an inconvenience".
Wrong again Bucko - that was the shrub and the cabal who viewed the Constitution as such ... does the words "Damn, piece of paper" ring any bells?

http://www.sensibleerection.com/images/entry_thumbnails/1272658436_

Oklahoma repugicans considering anti-immigrant legislation more draconian than AZ

Oh, My, Yes, because, like, it would be really hard to add Oklahoma to the boycott, you know - it would.

A group of state lawmakers said they will consider filing an immigration bill this session that would be tougher than Arizona’s new law.

Confiscating vehicles driven by illegal immigrants and preventing children from becoming citizens at birth if both their parents are illegal immigrants are proposals being discussed, Rep. Randy Terrill said Thursday.

"The focus is going to be very similar to what Arizona’s done, and we’re going to see if we can’t beef up some of the law enforcement, public safety aspects of cracking down on illegal immigration and rolling up the welcome mat for illegal aliens here in the state of Oklahoma,” said Terrill, R-Moore.

The Arizona law makes it a state crime to be in that state illegally and requires law officers to check documents of people they reasonably suspect to be illegal immigrants.

Ten States Now Contemplating Arizona-Like Anti-Immigration Legislation

From Crooks and Liars:

(courtesy of Americans Opposed to Racial Profiling on Facebook)

Despite the drubbing in the media, the threatened boycotts and the planned marches and protests, there is a segment of xenophobic Republican lawmakers empowered by Arizona's anti-immigration law enough to try to emulate it in their home state. ThinkProgress has a breakdown of the states (Utah, Georgia, Colorado, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska) and the actions being contemplated.
Not content with letting others take the xenophobe crown alone, Texas Sen. John Cornyn has also introduced legislation to strengthen the border.

“For many in Washington, border violence is merely a talking point, but for those who live along our southern border it has become a fact of life. Talk is cheap, but talk means nothing until we follow through and deliver the tangible resources our law enforcement needs to keep border residents safe,” said Senator Cornyn. “Our government has abdicated its responsibility when it comes to border security for far too long, leaving state and local taxpayers no choice but to pick up the slack to protect communities from cartel, gang violence, and cross-border trafficking. This bill will require the federal government to do its job.”
“For communities along the border with Mexico, the threat of violence is becoming all too real, but the federal government has yet to fully step up and do what is necessary to take on these challenges,” said Senator Hutchison. “This failure costs our state and local governments millions every year and puts lives in danger.”
Based largely on input from local law enforcement officers near the Texas border, Sen. Cornyn introduced The Southern Border Security Assistance Act to create a $300 million border grant program for state and local law enforcement within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, which will help quickly provide resources to purchase equipment, upgrade critical information systems, and hire additional officers. The bill also requires additional federal judges to handle the caseload from increased criminal prosecutions along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Not too pick too fine a nit, but I would mention that Cornyn, complaining that the federal government is not doing enough, is actually a MEMBER of the federal government.

Some are idiots

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Helpful Hints

Power's out? Don't open the fridge

These simple tips can help keep your food from spoiling during an electrical outage.

Know the '4-hour' rule

Also:

Tiny dog helps save a stranger's life

A 5-pound dog named Cheeka becomes an unlikely hero in the middle of the night.

Leads owner to accident scene

Also:

Thousands of bees cling to vehicle

A beekeeper came to the rescue after a sport utility vehicle was swarmed by thousands of bees.

Full story

A 72-year-old granny and her own grandson are set to have baby

From the "That's just not right" Department:

Grey-haired Pearl Carter has shocked family and friends after beginning a bizarre relationship with her 26-year-old grandchild Phil Bailey

Full story

Life Has Memories

http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/081427ba2eec6fdc_large1.jpeg

Life has memories. Who can forget "Roller Derby".

Health Points

First Prostate Cancer "Vaccine" Approved It's called a vaccine, the Boston Globe reports, but it treats a disease rather than prevents it. It does that the way vaccine's do: it trains the body's immune system to fight tumors.
Fast Foods Speed Aging Fast foods, it turns out, speed up more than a meal: they may also shorten our lives.

Countries where people are living longer

Despite its wealth, the U.S. takes a tumble in a new ranking of global mortality rates.

Who came out on top

Also:

No big rate hike for Anthem policyholders

Insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross drew public outrage and criticism by President Barack Obama as a poster child for out-of-control health care costs when it proposed raising rates for Californians by as much as 39 percent.

Full story

Weird Home Cures That Work

Prevention magazine has listed their top home cures that really work, based on a browse through the "Big Doctors Book of Home Remedies."

Weird Home Cures That Work

In Matters Of Health

In Matters Of Health

FDA approves breakthrough cancer therapy

A totally new prostate cancer treatment uses the body's immune system to fight the disease.

Hailed as a milestone

Also:

Do you often fall asleep in a fetal position?

This common way to lie down reveals clues about who you really are, experts say.

'Starfish' sleepers are helpful

Also:

Going to the dogs

Nothing is more fun than playing with your dogs

Sunken oil rig had history of accidents

In nine years at sea, the Deepwater Horizon had a series of spills, fires, and even a collision.

Human error, failures

Also:

FBI Investigates Bribery Allegations After Coal Mine Tragedy

Photo via the Post-Gazette

Surprise, surprise. I have to say that it would have been more unexpected had this not come to light: Massey Energy, the company that owns the Upper Big Branch Mine where 29 coal workers lost their lives, is under investigation for bribing safety inspectors. Very little has been confirmed yet except that the FBI is indeed conducting an investigation, but here's what we know so far:

Article continues: FBI Investigates Bribery Allegations After Coal Mine Tragedy

A Tale of Two Frogs

Photos via Mundo Gump

For many frogs, it's the worst of times.

Take the Poison dart frog, for example--the most poisonous vertebrae in the world. These tiny frogs contain enough alkaloid poison in their skin to kill around fifteen people, or two adult elephants. Despite this deterrent, these frogs, native to the forests of South America, are being wiped out as their habitat slowly disappears. On the other end of the extreme, there's the Goliath frog of west Africa, the world's largest frog. Humans eating them or taking them as pets, not to mention habitat loss, has dwindled their numbers as well. So is the case for many frog species around the world, which, for various reasons, have seen their populations plummeting in the last few decades.

Article continues: A Tale of Two Frogs for "Save the Frogs" Day

Space Balloon Crashes In Australian Outback

The launch of a giant space balloon went badly wrong Thursday in the Australian Outback when it and its heavy payload of scientific equipment broke from a mooring and dragged across the desert, overturning an SUV and narrowly missing bystanders.

Full story

A turn of a phrase

Full of piss and vinegar

Meaning: Rowdy, boisterous, full of youthful energy.

Origin: The earliest citation I've found is from 1938 in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath:

Grampa walked up and slapped Tom on the chest, and his eyes grinned with affection and pride. "How are ya, Tommy?"
"O.K.," said Tom. "How ya keepin' yaself?"
"Full a piss an' vinegar," said Grampa.

There are other similar phrases that came before that which may be the source.

In 1922 Joyce has this in Ulysses - "All wind and piss like a tanyard cat."
As far back as 1602, in Return from Parnassas - "They are pestilent fellowes, they speake nothing but bodkins, and pisse vinegar."

Those earlier citations appear to indicate a more negative meaning to the phrase. 'Wind and piss', or as it is more often given 'piss and wind' is usually taken to mean empty talk, full of bombast. Vinegar is associated with sourness and acidity in many other citations. Peter B. Kyne's 1922 novel They Also Serve includes what seems to be a straightforward polite alternative to 'piss and vinegar':

"He's full of pep and vinegar and wild for exercise."

Vinegar has been in the language as the name of the familiar liquid since the 12th century. During the 1920s vinegar was used to mean vitality and energy and that's the meaning in 'piss and vinegar' and 'pep and vinegar'. At that time many phrases indicating a general perkiness and vitality entered the language, often for no other reason than linguistic exuberance. It's most likely that the phrase originated around then, possibly as an adaptation of the existing 'vig and vigour', which means much the same.

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

The new 'dirty dozen' of produce

Two newcomers debut on a list of foods to avoid due to pesticides — unless they're organic.

Lettuce replaced

Also:

Illinois Strip Club To Hold Palin Lookalike Contest

The Admiral Theatre strip club is holding a Sarah Palin lookalike contest, on the same day the real Palin is coming to the area.

Full story

Want to bet she can't 'win' even that.

Parma High School student campaigns for change in sex education

Danny Sparks, 17, advocate for comprehensive sex education, and his mother, Ann.

Full story

Geek Girls

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Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Huge blizzard on Saturn found by amateurs

A raging storm on the ringed planet is so large and fierce that it can be seen from Earth.

Beyond 'snowmageddon'

Also:

Interesting In General

Interesting In General

Kentucky Derby's biggest long shot ever

Ninety-seven years ago, a thoroughbred named Donerail stunned the crowd with an upset victory.
The payoff
Also:

World’s Smallest Poisonous Frog

“He is less than a centimeter long and is gripping for all its worth to the tip of a pencil. But don’t be fooled by the size of this baby ‘poison dart’ frog, its skin is 200 times more toxic than morphine. The frogs, among the most poisonous amphibians on the planet, are found only in the wild on the western slopes of the Andes in Ecuador, South America. But now dozens of the rare species have been bred at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Portsmouth, Hampshire. When adult they turn bright red with three usually greenish fluorescent stripes, but grow to only a centimeter in length. Aquarium spokeswoman Jenna MacFarlane said: ‘These beautiful frogs are under increasing threat in the wild due to loss of habitat and pollution and we are delighted to have been able to breed them successfully here.” w/ photos

Meet the world's biggest bunny

This record-setting rabbit is a whopping 4 feet, 3 inches long and weighs 50 pounds.

His weekly diet

Also:

Man claims to have had no food or drink for 70 years

Indian military scientists are studying an 82-year-old who claims he has not had any food or drink for 70 years. Prahlad Jani is being held in isolation in a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gurjarat, where he is being closely monitored by India's defence research organization, who believe he may have a genuine quality which could help save lives.

He has now spent six days without food or water under strict observation and doctors say his body has not yet shown any adverse effects from hunger or dehydration.

Mr Jani, who claims to have left home aged seven and lived as a wandering sadhu or holy man in Rajasthan, is regarded as a 'breatharian' who can live on a 'spiritual life-force' alone. He believes he is sustained by a goddess who pours an 'elixir' through a hole in his palate. His claims have been supported by an Indian doctor who specializes in studies of people who claim supernatural abilities, but he has also been dismissed by others as a "village fraud."

India's Defence Research Development Organisation, whose scientists develop drone aircraft, intercontinental ballistic missiles and new types of bombs. They believe Mr Prahlad could teach them to help soldiers survive longer without food, or disaster victims to hang on until help arrives.

"If his claims are verified, it will be a breakthrough in medical science," said Dr G Ilavazhagan, director of the Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences.

"We will be able to help save human lives during natural disasters, high altitude, sea journeys and other natural and human extremities. We can educate people about the survival techniques in adverse conditions with little food and water or nothing at all."

Update: There's a news video here.