The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Your peers may see adversity, but you see something that can help you stay focused.
With that kind of attitude, how can you go wrong?
You've got what it takes to regain control of your vehicle and get back onto the right track.
The work may be arduous, but all you need to do is believe in yourself to get where you're going.
All the time and effort will not go to waste -- a big payoff is in store, and soon!  

Some of our readers today have been in:

Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

London, England, United Kingdom

Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt

Athens, Attiki, Greece

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Luton, England, United Kingdom

Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Solihull, England, United Kingdom

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark

Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan

Omsk, Omsk, Russia

Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

as well as the United States in such cities such as Woodstock, Hazard, Spring Lake, Bottineau, Provo, Palm Bay and more

Today is Sunday, May 2, the 122nd day of 2010.

There are 243 days left in the year.

Today In History May 2

Today's unusual holidays and celebrations are:

National Play Tour Ukulele Day

Roberts Rule Of Order Day

World Laughter Day

and

Lag B'Omer

Surprisingly easy way to boost your mood

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Surprisingly easy way to boost your mood

As little as five minutes of a "green activity" can raise your self esteem, study finds.  

What to do, and how often 

Also: 

• Simple happiness secrets
• Stop dwelling, start doing
• Sunlight and depression

Rare flower given police protection

A rare flower is being given police protection.

Wildlife groups and police want to ensure the future of a rare plant that is more than 100 years old. The Lady’s Slipper orchid is the rarest species of British wild flower, is protected by law, and grows at Silverdale Golf Course. The plant has been mutilated twice in six years.

Vandals are being warned they face arrest. The plant may be monitored by covert CCTV cameras.

PC Tony Marsh, community beat manager for Silverdale, said: “The Lady Slipper orchid is an incredibly important plant, having survived for over a hundred years when all other plants were thought extinct. It is iconic to many people who enjoy wildlife in Britain. People travel from all ends of the country on what is almost a pilgrimage to view the plant in bloom.”

PC Duncan Thomas, wildlife officer for Lancashire Police, added: “We have been monitoring this amazing plant for a number of years and you can’t help being impressed by not only its rarity but the incredible display when flowering. Sadly there are persons who will seek to steal it and as such we are working with Natural England staff to ensure its continued success.”

Anyone with concerns about the Lady’s Slipper is asked to contact police.

Car bomb scares Times Square

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Car bomb scares Times Square

Police clear thousands from the streets after finding an explosive device inside an SUV.

Who spotted the car 

Also: 

• Images from the incident
• Officials recover evidence
• Spot suspicious activity

Airline says Taiwan flight to China diverted after passenger claims explosives on board

A scheduled flight from the Taiwanese capital of Taipei to the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai was diverted to a nearby Chinese airport Saturday after a passenger told cabin crew his luggage contained explosives.

Full story

And I Quote

To paraphrase Mr. Samuel Clemons aka Mark Twain:

There is no sadder sight than a young wingnut.

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist. 

~ Mark Twain

Congressman arrested at White House immigration protest

Good for him.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) was arrested outside the White House on Saturday during a May Day protest for immigration reform.

Guiterrez had been speaking to a crowd of hundreds at Lafayette Square when he announced that he was going to go to the White House fence with other protesters, sit down, and not move until he was arrested or until comprehensive immigration reform was signed.

Arizona Police Arrest Sandoval During Game

Yesterday afternoon at Chase Field, Arizona state police arrested San Francisco Giants' league leading hitter catcher Pablo Sandoval.  At the time of arrest, Sandoval was batting with the score tied, two outs and the bases loaded.  Police Sergeant Ernest T. Rohm, said: "He looked like a wetback to me, and he wasn't carrying any identification papers.".

Arizona to ban Mexican-American studies & English teachers with heavy accents

Seriously Folks. (These people need help!)

Arizona's new immigration law is just about crime, its supporters say, but given that the state's new education policy equates ethnic studies programs with high treason, they may not be using the commonly accepted definition of "crime."

Under the ban, sent to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer by the state legislature Thursday, schools will lose state funding if they offer any courses that "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment of a particular race or class of people, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

As ThinkProgress notes, the Tucson Unified School District's popular Mexican-American studies department is the target here. The state superintendent charges that the program exhibits "ethnic chauvinism."

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

What type of killer whale was Willy?

Long-held assumptions that all killer whales belong to the same species have been blown apart by a DNA analysis of 139 orcas.

South Pacific tribe preparing for return of ’god’ Prince Philip

On a remote island in the South Pacific, villagers are counting the days until they welcome their god back to his rightful home. The people of Yaohnanen on the island of Tanna believe a man descended from one of their spirit ancestors will return next month to live among them. While he was away he lived in a vast palace, but when he comes home he will sleep in a hut and hunt wild pigs with his tribe.

The man they are waiting for is the Duke of Edinburgh and they claim he promised them more than 30 years ago that he would return on June 10, his 89th birthday, to Tanna, which is part of the nation of Vanuatu. Siko Nathuan, the chief of Yaohnanen, said: “He made a promise that in 2010, on his birthday, he will arrive in Tanna. We know he is a very old man, but when he comes here he is going to be young again, and so will everyone else on the island.” Kirk Huffman, an anthropologist who has studied Vanuatu, said: “Those who are expecting something to happen will have earmarked pigs to be used in rituals. They will have been creating songs and dances to be performed whether he turns up or not.”

The villagers’ belief seems to center on a trip that the Queen and Prince Philip made in 1974 to Vanuatu aboard Britannia. Tannese legend has it that during a reception at the consulate in the capital Port Vila, the Duke shook only the hands of men from Tanna. This news reached the residents of Yaohnanen, who were waiting for a gift in return for a pig they had given to a British officer some years before. The tribe sent a letter to Port Vila, asking where their gift was and inquiring about the Duke. In response the British delivered a framed portrait of the Duke, and the worship began. The villagers sent the Duke a “nal nal” hunting club, which he duly posed with in London, sending a photograph back. He even sent the tribe a letter of condolence when their chief died last year.

All his correspondence, newspaper clippings about him and his portraits are kept in a hut that has become a shrine. Children are taught about a god who lives in England and will one day return. Mr Huffman said: “Some people might say what a load of codswallop, but they have a link with him and they have a right to revere him.” On the off chance that the Duke doesn’t make it to Tanna, Mr Huffman said: “If he doesn’t turn up, they have their own ways of explaining why not, it won’t destroy the belief.”

Snail Farming Could Save Endangered Gorillas

 

The sole Cross River gorilla in captivity in Cameroon, Nyango (Photo: Julie Langford on Wikipedia)

How can the lowly snail save the world's most endangered gorilla species? For the impoverished locals that inhabit the same region as the critically threatened Cross River gorilla, farming snails could provide an alternative - a steadier and more attractive - source of income than gorilla poaching. That's what the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is betting on in their new and experimental initiative to rehabilitate and sponsor former poachers in the new vocation of snail farming.

Article continues: Snail Farming Could Save Endangered Gorillas

US Army captain becomes king in Afghanistan

In the U.S. Army, Casey Thoreen is just a 30-year-old captain. Around here, he's known as the "King of Maiwand" district -- testimony to the fact that without the young captain and a fat international wallet, local government here as in much of the insurgency-ravaged south could not function at all.

Full story

Some profit from wives despite French polygamy ban

 

In this Friday, April 23, 2010 picture Lies Hebbadj, left, and his wife who refused to be identified, speak to reporters in Nantes, western France. She was fined for driving a car with a veil covering all but her eyes. Now, her husband is suspected of polygamy. The situation appears to be a boon to President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is trying to rush through controversial legislation forbidding burqa-style Islamic veils that cover the face on the grounds they don't respect French values or women's dignity. (AP Photo/David Vincent) 

The burqa, or face-covering veil, is getting all the attention in the debate over Muslim immigrants in France. But another controversial tradition among some immigrants is less noticed and far more widespread: Polygamy.

Full Story

When it's time to buy a new car

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When it's time to buy a new car

Even costly repairs could be cheaper in the long run than taking on a new car loan.  

Fix it or get rid of it? 

Also: 

• Used-car values
• Incentives for going green
• Auto loan calculator

Safety Dance

Men Without Hats

Odds and Sods

Odds and Sods

German Castle Opens SS Museum

The castle Wewelsburg, in northern Germany, holds a sinister fascination for midnight visitors.

Groups battle over UFOs

Denver residents are set to vote in August on whether to allow a commission to investigate if the government has covered up the existence of aliens, but another group of Coloradans is attempting to put a stop to the probe.

Academy To Offer Doctorate In Dreams

Students dreaming of an advanced degree could try a doctorate in dreams -- something that might soon become a reality in a new Saudi academy offering undergraduate and graduate degrees.