CAROLINA NATURALLY: Apr 18, 2010

Sunday, April 18, 2010

The Daily Drift Today's horoscope says:

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
It's time for you to kick back and have some fun.
Sure, you've got a lot of work to get done first, but once you finish, your perseverance pays off with a ton of fun.
Invite your sweetie or some friends you haven't seen in a while along and enjoy yourselves to the fullest. Remember to let your loved ones know how much you care for them.
They don't hear it enough, even though you feel it often.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico

Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia

Catania, Sicilia, Italy

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

as well as Scotland, Poland and the United States in such cities such as La Porte, Banning, Erlanger, Southern Pines and more

Today is Sunday, April 18, the 108th day of 2010.

There are 257 days left in the year.

Today In History April 18

There are no unusual holidays or celebrations for today

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

'Human sacrifice' suspected in Indian temple

The severed head and torso of a man has been found in a temple in the Indian state of West Bengal in what the police say is a case of "human sacrifice".

The head and the body were found at the local temple to the goddess Kali near Chotomakdampur village in the western district of Birbhum. Police say they have detained a tribal villager for questioning.

Human sacrifice is illegal in India. But a few cases do occur in remote and underdeveloped regions.

"This man has been sacrificed to propitiate the gods," said local official Kalyan Mukherjee.

"This is a shame for Bengal where the ruling Left coalition claim they have eradicated social evils and combated superstition," an opposition leader Samir Kumar Ray said.

Though human sacrifice has long been banned in India, some people, mostly the poor and illiterate, fall under the influence of "witch doctors" in the hope of reversing their fortunes.*****

The State Of The Nation

The State Of The Nation

Caught On Tape: Scooter Rider Catches Allege Thief In Walmart Parking Lot

A television crew captured the scooter chase and take down of a man who allegedly stole a jar of money from kids fundraising for charity.

Neo-Nazis, counter-demonstrators square off in LA

A neo-Nazi white supremacist group rallied against illegal immigration in downtown Los Angeles Saturday as hundreds of counter-protesters gathered to shout them down in a tense standoff that included several arrests, thrown rocks and police in riot gear.

Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality

Huntersville Farmers Market opens May 1

The Huntersville Market at Main and Maxwell opens for the 2010 growing season May 1. Sponsored by the Huntersville Parks and Recreation Department, the farmers market has offered local fresh produce, baked goods, jewelry and crafts for years.

Racking up the fees

George Washington racks up late fees

The first president never returned legal tomes that he took from a New York library.

Library would like books back

Also:

It's in his kiss

Elephant seal really wants a kiss

These large ocean creatures usually keep their distance, but this one actually likes to cuddle.

Pucker up

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Faced with death sentence, Canadian rat is 'deported'

Matilda is a pet rat, and Alberta is a proud rat-free province, the only one in Canada. Recently, she moved to Calgary from Vancouver with her family, only to discover she was to be given a death sentence.

The family did not know that Alberta law does not allow for rats to be kept even as indoor pets. Instead of paying a $5,000 fine, they decided to give up the pet so it could be put down.

She was to be euthanized, but a rescue group came forward to fly her back to British Columbia, and save her life. Matilda flew out of Calgary on Friday.

"We had the ability to transport it at no cost to the taxpayer. It's a humane choice," said Bill Bruce, who is the director of Calgary's animal bylaw services.

***

For a minute there I thought they were talking about Mr. Harper

Small towns with the funniest names

Small towns with the funniest names

Carefree and Truth or Consequences are just a couple of U.S. cities with the quirkiest names.

Welcome to Boring

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Interesting In General

Interesting In General

Facebook unfriends Osama bin Laden

Full Story

We've written about the use of social networking by terrorists before.
Facebook has apparently just unfriended a high profile extremist: Osama bin Laden.

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

Teabaggers fine with speaker talking about taking up arms, but freak out when he questions Sarah Palin

Whether or not this guy was an infiltrator, i.e, a Democrat posing as a Teabagger, what's most interesting is that the beginning of his speech, where he suggests that they all need to take up arms against the government got zero reaction from the crowd. But when he suggests that maybe they all shouldn't vote for Sarah Palin, suddenly everyone rises up and says he's an infiltrator.

So, taking up arms against the government is not extreme enough to brand you as not part of the Tea Party movement, but not voting for Sarah Palin is. Very interesting.

Teabaggers hate facts.

Show this to them anyway.

Look at the big spenders - Reagan, Bush and Bush

And what did we get for it?

Three wars, 5000 dead soldiers, a broken military and a bankrupt economy.

It's The Economy Stupid

America's best tax break is untouchable

The government's most lucrative writeoff ends up helping higher-income families most.

Why politicians won't touch it

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The 'budget' car from Rolls-Royce

The 'budget' car from Rolls-Royce

Starting at $245,000, the new Ghost is more than $100K cheaper than the Phantom.

What you get for the price

A cheapskate's guide to riches

A cheapskate's guide to riches

A personal finance writer reveals how he and his wife retired in their 40s without a mortgage.

Focus on the big savings

Also:

How much will the class of 2010 earn?

How much will the class of 2010 earn?

New grads will make less money in their first year of work than the class of 2009.

But one group's salary soars to $60K

Also:

Ways to supersize your salary

8 ways to supersize your salary

One trick is to become an expert at a few major tasks to make yourself indispensable.

An overlooked tactic

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Worst ingredients in processed foods

In Matters Of Health

Worst ingredients in processed foods

These nine stand out as among the most questionable additives in packaged foods.

Why they are bad for you

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Ways to become an optimist

5 ways to become an optimist

Too many people assume that optimism is an inborn trait that only a lucky few have.

What to pay attention to

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Catch Rare and Awesome "Oceans" Views to Save Coral Reefs

Asian Sheepshead off Sado, Japan. Photos courtesy of Disneynature

A cast of coral eggs, dugong, bigeye trevally, leaf scorpionfish, and 90 other marine creatures are the stars of Oceans. Last year, Disneynature released Earth, and helped reforest the Amazon. This year, for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the studio releases Oceans in theaters April 22 and donates to protect endangered Caribbean waters. Seven years in the making, the film dives into never-before-seen depths. Says the director, the goal was to achieve oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau's ideal of "becoming a fish among fish." But there's more than weird creatures and breathtaking scenes lurking under three-quarters of the earth's surface.

Article continues: Catch Rare and Awesome "Oceans" Views to Save Coral Reefs

Inside the volcanic ash cloud

Inside the volcanic ash cloud

As a reporter drives into Iceland's restricted zone, a sunny day turns black.

Swans swimming in ash

Also:

Tiny challenges of big marine life census

Tiny challenges of big marine life census

More than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries are trying to count all life forms in the ocean.

5,000 discoveries

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Mysterious radio waves emitted from nearby galaxy

There is something strange in the cosmic neighbourhood. An unknown object in the nearby galaxy M82 has started sending out radio waves, and the emission does not look like anything seen anywhere in the universe before.

"We don't know what it is," says co-discoverer Tom Muxlow of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics near Macclesfield, UK.

The thing appeared in May last year, while Muxlow and his colleagues were monitoring an unrelated stellar explosion in M82 using the MERLIN network of radio telescopes in the UK. A bright spot of radio emission emerged over only a few days, quite rapidly in astronomical terms. Since then it has done very little except baffle astrophysicists.

Full Story