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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Thursday, January 14, 2010

Diplomat is 1st American Quake Victim

The first American reported killed by the earthquake in Haiti was a foreign service officer crushed when her home collapsed.

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Bomb donated to museum goes out with a bang

A World War II relic that was displayed outside an Alaska bar for years turned out not to be a dud.

Bomb donated to museum goes out with a bang

'We want our money back'

Obama: 'We want our money back'

President Obama wants to recoup every taxpayer dollar spent on the bailouts.

Credit-card firms profit from Haiti donations

Credit-card firms profit from Haiti donations

As aid pours in from around the world, banks and credit-card companies stand to make millions.

New obstacles for aid workers in Haiti

New obstacles for aid workers in Haiti

Food and water shortages add a layer of danger to rescue efforts as the search for survivors continues.

Dimbulb joins Pat Robertson on hot seat

Dimbulb joins Pat Robertson on hot seat

Lush Dimbulb's remarks about the Haiti disaster and Obama have stunned many.

China holds firm in favor of censorship

Did anyone really think the repressive Chinese government would back down to Google or any other foreign company?
China would much rather have a local search engine company such as Baidu who they can control.
Google, Yahoo! and other US based internet companies should have known this all along and held firm to their ideals instead of selling out earlier.
Were they really so naive?
Minister of the State Council Information Office, Wang Chen, said that online pornography, fraud and "rumors" were a menace. He said Internet media must help "guide public opinion" in China, which has the world's biggest number of Internet users at 360 million. He did not mention Google.

Wang's comments suggested little room for compromise in the Internet dispute that could stoke tensions between China and the United States, already at odds over the yuan currency, trade, climate change, and Taiwan.
On a more amusing note, China's top internet search engine was the victim of attacks by Iranian hackers.
Very strange.

Dimbulb says don't help Haiti

Dimbulb dissuades listeners from donating to Haiti. Says US has helped them enough, and that relief effort is all an Obama plot.
This idiot is astounding. He ranks up there on the asinine scale with Pat Robertson saying that Haiti made a pact with the devil and that's why all these bad things are happening.
The Haitian ambassador then responded to Robertson on the Rachel Maddow show last night.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What will be their response to Dimbulb?
Hell, even Don Imus wants to be the one to pull the lever on Pat Robertson when he gets the electric chair like he deserves.

Men more different from chimps than women

The result of rapid evolution taking place over the six to seven million years.

In genetic terms, as everyone but religious extremists acknowledges, human beings are in general very similar indeed to chimpanzees.

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Life Sentence for Seattle Jewish Office Shooting

A man who went on a shooting rampage at a Seattle Jewish center, killing one woman and wounding five others, appealed for forgiveness and blamed his medication as a judge sentenced him Thursday to life in prison without parole.

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California woman's car repossessed with toddler inside

Police in California say a car dealer who repossessed a San Jose woman's Honda Accord left with something a bit more valuable: her 2-year-old son.

California woman's car repossessed with toddler inside

Still glowing strong after 109 years

The world's oldest light bulb has been burning for 109 years - so little wonder it has a fan club with thousands of members and its own website.

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Teen booted off flight for spiky Goth shoes

A British teenager was forced to wear plastic bags on her feet by airport security because her Goth boots were considered a terror risk.

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Boston cops: citizen recording of abusive busts is "illegal wiretapping"

And of course they are wrong ...

Boston cops are using the Massachusetts electronic surveillance laws to arrest and prosecute citizens who use their cellular phones to record abusive arrests. Though they haven't been successful in prosecuting the acts, it hasn't stopped the arrests -- presumably the point isn't to secure convictions, but rather to chill the recording of illegal police activity. However, police have convicted citizens who secretly recorded their own abusive arrests, charging them with illegal wiretapping.
Simon Glik, a lawyer, was walking down Tremont Street in Boston when he saw three police officers struggling to extract a plastic bag from a teenager's mouth. Thinking their force seemed excessive for a drug arrest, Glik pulled out his cellphone and began recording.

Within minutes, Glik said, he was in handcuffs.

"One of the officers asked me whether my phone had audio recording capabilities,'' Glik, 33, said recently of the incident, which took place in October 2007. Glik acknowledged that it did, and then, he said, "my phone was seized, and I was arrested.''

The charge? Illegal electronic surveillance.

Mexico's Museum of Drugs

Marijmuseee The Mexican military's Museum of Drugs, opened in 1985 in Mexico City, is now running out of exhibit space.
Sadly, it's a private museum, open only to government officials, diplomats, and members of the army.
The Washington Post's William Booth got a tour, accompanied by photographer Sarah L. Voisin.

From the Washington Post:
Probably the best-known exhibit is the life-size diorama of a grower in the countryside guarding his crop. Montane flips a switch and a cassette player begins a bouncy narco-corrida, the popular ballads honoring the derring-dos of drug outlaws. In the corner, a mannequin lounges in his dark shades, a shotgun across his lap, beside a pile of empty Tecate beer cans. In front are beans on the stove and a bust of Jesús Malverde, a highwayman who legend has it was killed by authorities in 1909 and is revered as a patron saint of traffickers and a Robin Hood for the poor.

Around the corner, the exhibits show how drugs are smuggled, and here human ingenuity is on full display. There is dope hidden inside picture frames, logs, gas tanks, clay pots, tamales, concrete blocks, truck tires, soda cans, car bumpers, shoes, stuffed armadillos and a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

There is a kind of James Bond or Dr. Evil quality to some exhibits. An attache case confiscated from an outlaw surveillance team holds computer boards and other gadgetry to monitor cellphone calls. The cartels now employ their own fleets of semi-submersible submarines. On display is a large sea buoy with a coded beacon device the traffickers attach to huge payloads of drugs they can dump into the sea and pick up later. Also, apparently, the narcos now have their own line of clothes. There are dark blue polo shirts sporting a kind of family crest for the Zetas, a notorious cartel founded by former special forces soldiers that controls vast swaths along the Gulf of Mexico from Brownsville, Tex., to Cancun. The shirts, which appear to be 100 percent cotton, are emblazoned with a Z and the words: "Cartel del Golfo."

Early signs of Alzheimer's are in the eye

A simple eye test could soon help diagnose Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's (Image: Bruce Ayres/Stone/Getty)
A simple eye test could soon help diagnose Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's

A new way of counting dying eye cells could allow Alzheimer's disease to be diagnosed before other symptoms show up.

Early signs of Alzheimer's are in the eye

Poor neighborhoods can kill

The strain of life in a crime-ridden inner city seems to send tumors into overdrive. And cancer is just one disease fueling US health inequalities

Poor neighborhoods can kill

Five emotions you never knew you had

There are six emotions that we know everyone feels.
But others may also be universal – and for good biological reasons.

Five emotions you never knew you had

Major Antarctic glacier is 'past its tipping point'

A catastrophic collapse is imminent, according to the latest study (Image: NASA/Jane Peterson, NSERC)
A catastrophic collapse is imminent, according to the latest study

A major Antarctic glacier has passed its tipping point – it is poised to collapse in a catastrophe that could raise global sea levels by 24 centimeters.

Major Antarctic glacier is 'past its tipping point'

Science News

From BBC-Science:

THE BIG PICTURE
Click to reveal

Cop News

Why Haiti keeps getting hit with disasters

Why Haiti keeps getting hit with disasters

Geography isn't the only factor behind the island nation's unending string of catastrophes.

How to really get a free credit score

How to really get a free credit score

These companies will tell you where your credit rating stands — without costing you a dime.

Stop your biggest cash-flow leaks

Stop your biggest cash-flow leaks

Find thousands of dollars in your budget by answering these basic questions.

How to slash your car insurance rates

How to slash your car insurance rates

A simple phone call to your insurance company can help shave up to $400 off your premiums.

Entry-level jobs with big earning potential

Entry-level jobs with big earning potential

Careers in these fields will allow you to learn while your pay and responsibilities increase.

Cities where homes aren't selling

5 cities where homes aren't selling

In some areas, prices are still falling, and houses sit on the market for more than half a year.

Eat more of these foods and lose weight

Eat more of these foods and lose weight

Eating an egg a day can keep the weight away, and so can a delicious plate of pasta.

Big dangers for American economy

4 big dangers for American economy

If any of these four scenarios happen, it could stop the current recovery — and scare off hiring.

Obesity Rate Increases In Teen And Pre-Teen Boys

Obesity Rate Increases In Teen And Pre-Teen Boys
Researchers blame the usual culprits -- soft drinks, video games and inactivity.

Obesity Rate Increases In Teen And Pre-Teen Boys

NY Court OKs Internet Music Sales Lawsuit

NY Court OKs Internet Music Sales Lawsuit
The lawsuit brought by music purchasers had been tossed out by a lower court judge.

NY Court OKs Internet Music Sales Lawsuit

NC officers find pot growing in buried school bus

Underground School Bus Of Marijuana Found In NC

A search dog fell through a camouflaged trap door leading down to a full-length school bus buried eight feet under a backyard tool shed.

Underground School Bus Of Marijuana Found In NC

Boy can't get off U.S. terror watch list

From the "This is a sick joke" & the "What is with these people" Department:

Boy can't get off U.S. terror watch list

Mikey Hicks was first patted down at 2 years old.

At 8, he is still aggressively frisked.

Today is ...

Today is Thursday, January 14, the 14th day of 2010.

There are 351 days left in the year.

Today In History January 14

Today's unusual holidays and celebrations are:

Dress Up Your Pet Day

and

Organize Your Home Day

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Canarias, Spain
Malmo, Skane Lan, Sweden
London, England, United Kingdom
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Enfield, England, United Kingdom
Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia
Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

as well as Northern Ireland, Portugal, Wales, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

After days of hibernating, you've had it with dim lights, soft music and rented videos.
You're ready for some lively company, some exciting entertainment and some personal attention.
The good news is that you probably know exactly who to contact to have all that and more delivered right to your door.
Well, place your order -- but don't stay in once it arrives.
It's time to meet the world again.

Party!