- Some days you're a bug, some days you're a windshield.
- ~ Price Cobb
Monday, March 15, 2010
Social Security hits worrisome turning point
Social Security hits worrisome turning point
The agency begins calling in the trillions Washington has borrowed, and the timing couldn’t be worse.
Also:
The Top-Secret Official History Of The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops.
America's Ghost Army
The Top-Secret Official History Of The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops.(Image Courtesy of Rick Beyer.
An invisible army, operating in obscurity, mastering the arts of illusion, deception, and disinformation to defeat the Nazis in World War II. This could be a description of the French Resistance fighters, the band of brothers who operated in utmost secrecy under the noses of the German occupation forces, and have been called "The Army of Shadows." But it also describes an amazing division of American troops stationed in the European Theatre: the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, AKA "The Ghost Army." This top-secret unit, so highly classified that its very existence was denied by the Pentagon for 50 years, is finally being not just exposed but placed in the spotlight, by a Michigan Library and an award-winning documentary filmmaker.
Scots energy giant given grant to help plan 'clean' power station.
Energy companies ScottishPower and E.ON have been awarded funding to design power plants which can trap and store carbon emissions permanently underground.
Hadrian's Wall got 'torched' Saturday night
Hadrian's Wall came to life Saturday night as 500 volunteers lit flaming torches along its length to celebrate 1,600 years since the end of Roman rule.
Britain's longest historic monument, marking the Roman Empire's northern frontier, became a sparkling line of light as gas lamps were lit at 250-meter intervals along the Hadiran's Wall Path National Trail.
Hadrian's Wall was built in 122 AD on the orders of the Roman emperor Hadrian to mark his empire's northern frontier.
(Actually, it was built to keep the Scots from laying waste to the Romans in northern England - didn't work.
(Actually, it was built to keep the Scots from laying waste to the Romans in northern England - didn't work.
No word on whether the Scots were invited to this little shindig or not.)
A Good One
Scientists are using lawyers for experiments instead of rats, because no one cares about lawyers and there are just some things a rat won't do.
Fish Have Feelings Too, You Know
From Treehugger:
Photo: Georgia Aquarium
A new book, Fish Feel Pain?, is hoping to dispel the notion that fish are somehow incapable of experiencing pain or unable to learn. The book, which is being met with some controversy, says that fish have gotten a bad rap as unfeeling simpletons, destined to be thought of as food--even among some who call themselves vegetarians. In fact, fish may be much more complex and sensitive than ever imagined. Sound fishy? You may be surprised.
Article continues: Fish Have Feelings Too, You Know
Defining Terms
From the modern dictionary :
ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing
in the middle.
BEAUTY PARLOR: A place where some women go to dye.
CANNIBAL: Someone who is fed up with people.
CHICKENS: The only animals you eat before they are born and after they
are dead.
COMMITTEE: A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
DUST: Mud with the juice squeezed out.
EGOTIST: Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.
HANDKERCHIEF: Cold Storage.
INFLATION: Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.
MYTH: A female moth.
MOSQUITO: An insect that makes flies look good after all.
ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing
in the middle.
BEAUTY PARLOR: A place where some women go to dye.
CANNIBAL: Someone who is fed up with people.
CHICKENS: The only animals you eat before they are born and after they
are dead.
COMMITTEE: A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
DUST: Mud with the juice squeezed out.
EGOTIST: Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.
HANDKERCHIEF: Cold Storage.
INFLATION: Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.
MYTH: A female moth.
MOSQUITO: An insect that makes flies look good after all.
Words of Truth
An editor is someone who separates the wheat from the chaff and then prints the chaff.
~ Adlai Stevensom
Ritalin boosts learning by increasing brain plasticity
Doctors treat millions of children with Ritalin every year to improve their ability to focus on tasks, but scientists now report that Ritalin also directly enhances the speed of learning.
In animal research, the scientists showed for the first time that Ritalin boosts both of these cognitive abilities by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine deep inside the brain. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers neurons use to communicate with each other. They release the molecule, which then docks onto receptors of other neurons. The research demonstrated that one type of dopamine receptor aids the ability to focus, and another type improves the learning itself.
The scientists also established that Ritalin produces these effects by enhancing brain plasticity – strengthening communication between neurons where they meet at the synapse. Research in this field has accelerated as scientists have recognized that our brains can continue to form new connections – remain plastic – throughout life.
Fake war report sparks outrage
Fake war report sparks outrage
Panic sweeps across the nation of Georgia after a TV station says Russian forces are invading.
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And I Quote
- The nice thing about being a celebrity is that when you bore people, they think it's their fault.
- ~ Henry Kissinger
How to master your credit-card debt
How to master your credit-card debt
Jeffery Taylor once ran up $200,000 in debt on 12 cards, but now lives debt-free.
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Reasons you won't be getting the job
10 reasons you won't be getting the job
Overlooking these small details in your job search will hurt your chances of getting hired.
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How long should your resumé be?
How long should your resumé be?
A resumé must highlight your skills, but these blunders may hurt your chances.
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Shanghai Expo gives Chinese a closer look at U.S
For millions of Chinese, the USA pavilion's show at the Shanghai World Expo will be the closest they'll ever come to an experience of America.
Outraged by Glen Brick's Salvo, christians Fire Back
You got to love it when the wingnuts turn on each other!
Jeffrey and Marci Beagley sentenced to 16 months of prison for their son’s faith-healing death
Should have been twenty to life!
Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Steven Maurer sentenced Jeffrey and Marci Beagley to 16 months in prison this afternoon, calling the couple’s decision to not seek medical care for their 16-year-old son, Neil Beagley, a “crime that was a product of an unwillingness to respect the boundaries of freedom of religious expression.” [...]
“The idea of sending Jeffrey and Marci Beagley to prison is heart-wrenching,” Maurer said in a lengthy explanation of his sentence. “I think, certainly, that I’m in complete agreement with the jurors who observed that the Beagleys are good people.”
But Maurer said too many children had died unnecessarily because of the church’s beliefs: “It needs to stop.”
Clarence Thomas' wife becomes Teabagger leader, wants to stop Obama's 'hard-left agenda'
Science, media, government - their goal, for whatever reason, is to undermine. It's what they're doing to congress and the presidency, it's what they've been doing to the courts for years (arguing that courts are no longer impartial arbiters), and now it's what they're doing to the Supreme Court. It's no coincidence that at the same time Clarence Thomas' wife is taking corporation donations to influence elections and policy, Justice Roberts is picking a partisan fight with the White House, and Justice Alito had the temerity to speak out against the President at the State of the Union.
republicans believe in destroying institutions of authority in our country.
In January, Virginia Thomas created Liberty Central Inc., a nonprofit lobbying group whose website will organize activism around a set of conservative "core principles," she said.
The group plans to issue score cards for Congress members and be involved in the November election, although Thomas would not specify how. She said it would accept donations from various sources -- including corporations -- as allowed under campaign finance rules recently loosened by the Supreme Court.
Must be nice to have your husband help give a kick start to your new financial venture.
The wife of Clarence Thomas launches Tea Party Group and is intrigued by Glen Brick
Con Man Jailed for Selling Fake Organic Eggs
From Treehugger:
Image from doh.sd.gov
This is not a yolk. It's something many of us may have thought about: how do we know that the eggs we are buying really are organic or free range? The answer is: we don't.
Last week a man was jailed for selling more than 100 million eggs that were supposedly free range or organic. Instead, it turns out that they were raised in battery cages and sold to Britain's biggest supermarkets under false pretenses over an 18 month period.
Article continues: Con Man Jailed for Selling Fake Organic Eggs
What happens if Greece really defaults?
What happens if Greece really defaults?
The nation's economic collapse could ignite a crisis that spreads far beyond Europe.
Also:
How Nature Inspired the Alphabet
From Treehugger:
32,000 years ago, ancient humans gathered in a cave in Lascaux, France, where, by firelight, they created the first hand-drawn forms--scenes depicting man's relationship with the natural world. The favorite subject in those first drawings was the ancient ox, so impressive in stature and strength, that it was deified by our earliest ancestors. This reverence for nature remained as civilizations formed, and with it, written language. It is no wonder then that subtly hidden within our alphabet today lie the remnants of these ancient forms--many of which reflect the earliest relationships between man and nature. To find them, you just have to look a little closer.
Article continues: How Nature Inspired the Alphabet
Today is ...
Today is Monday, March 15, the 74th day of 2010.
There are 290 days left in the year.
Today's Unusual holidays and celebrations are:
Napping Day,
Buzzards Day,
World Consumer Rights Day
and
The Ides of March
Our Readers
Some of our readers today have been in:
Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada
Sydney, new South Wales, Australia
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
as well as Serbia, Scotland and the United States in such cities as Mocksville, Miami, Cohasset, mesa, Muscle Shoals, Copperopolis, Bowie, Hicksville, Salt lake City and more
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
The stars have assembled a lovely planetary package for you -- the kind that makes for passion, romance and permanence.
But, you may not be able to share the news with anyone just yet, because of your current situation or theirs.
But you really won't mind.
Feeling this good doesn't happen often, and you won't want to jeopardize it, but you should at least think about talking it over with a friend.
At times like this, nothing is more valuable than an objective viewpoint.
This is good.
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