CAROLINA NATURALLY: May 21, 2010

Friday, May 21, 2010

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Your recent urge to travel, for reasons of business or pleasure, is keeping you focused and alert -- so make sure that you keep going.
Make those reservations and, if you can, take a loved one along.
Anything could happen when you get there, and at the very least, you should be able to enjoy yourself like you need to.
Indulge yourself -- if anyone has earned it, it's you!

Some of our readers today have been in:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Quebec, Quebec, Canada

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium

Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Italy

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Issy-Les-Moulineaux, Ile-De-France, France

London, England, United Kingdom

Antibes, Provence-Alpes-Cote D'Azur, France

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

as well as Scotland, Finland, China and the United States in such cities as Grove City, Rocklin, Reading, Tucson and more

Today is Friday, May 21, the 141st day of 2010.

There are 224 days left in the year.

Today In History May 21

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

National Bike To Work Day

and

National Endangered Species Day

Mystery rodent scurries by as Obama lauds Wall Street vote

http://i.usatoday.net/news/_photos/2010/05/20/z-rodentx.jpg

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Mystery rodent scurries by as Obama lauds Wall Street vote

In the midst of his battle with the titans of Wall Street, President Obama was nearly upstaged by a rodent.

As for the vote itself:

Sweeping Wall Street reform bill advances in Senate

Full story

The Senate voted on Thursday to end debate on the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s, allowing a final vote on the bill later on Thursday or on Friday.

1794 silver dollar sells for record $7.85 million

What may be America's oldest silver dollar has become the world's most expensive coin, with its owner saying it changed hands in a private transaction between coin collectors for nearly $8 million.

1794 silver dollar sells for record $7.85 million

The 7 Most Incredible Sunken Forests on Earth

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sites/default/files/images/http-inlinethumb07.webshots.com-9798-2807087570105101600S600x600Q85.preview.jpg

Lake Kaindy Photo via English Russia

Check this out!

The 7 Most Incredible Sunken Forests on Earth

Gorilla Reunites With The Man Who Raised Him

It's been five years since conversationalist Damian Aspinall has seen Kwibi, a lowland gorilla he helped raise in captivity before releasing him back into the wild. But when Aspinall decided to venture into the jungles of Gabon, Kwibi's new home, no one could have expected what would happen next. This clip, which aired earlier this month on the program Gorilla School, maybe one of the most moving encounters between primate and man ever caught on film--which only goes to show that despite our differences, we may have more in common than we ever imagined.
Article continues: Gorilla Reunites With The Man Who Raised Him

Polish taxi driver relies on 'yap-nav'

Taxi driver Andrzej Szymcakowi has turned off his sat-nav after discovering that when it comes to getting from A to B without paws, his pet Yorkshire Terrier really is man's best friend.

Two-year-old Bobo - who has accompanied Andrzej, 65, in his cab in Lodz, Poland, since he was a pup - has learned every shortcut and rat-run in the book.

Now he barks instructions to his owner whenever a customer gives them an address. "He yaps and raises his right paw to show we should turn right, his left paw for left, and barks and wags his tail for straight on.

"He recognizes all the routes and tells me which way to go before the GPS does," said proud Andrzej.

Wizard of Id

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=99111b6c152526449749e709e78d5edd

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

Report confirms North Korean torpedo sank navy ship

The North Korean response has been a threat of war if they are punished for the attack.

BBC News:

A North Korean submarine's torpedo sank a South Korean navy ship on 26 March causing the deaths of 46 sailors, an international report has found.

The investigation was led by experts from the US, Australia, Britain and Sweden.

It said: "The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine.

"There is no other plausible explanation."

The report said the torpedo parts found "perfectly match" a torpedo type that the North manufactures.

Lettering found on one section matched that on a North Korean torpedo found by the South seven years ago.

What Americans won't live without

Despite the worst recession in decades, U.S. consumers refuse to give up some things.

10 new American essentials

Also:

It's The Economy Stupid

What tough new bank rules mean

Lenders aren't the only ones who will feel the effects of a financial crackdown.

Change for homebuyers, markets

Also:

Big benefits of ultralow inflation

Virtually flat inflation means it's a good time to buy a car, refinance, or hit the road.

But there's one major downside

Also:

It's Only The Environment After All

It's Only The Environment After All

EPA tells BP to use less toxic chemicals in Gulf leak

About bloody time the administration is taking charge of this mess. It's been embarrassing and disappointing to see Obama give away so much power to the slimy company who caused this problem in the first place. Outside of BP, nobody really cares what is good for BP. They do care about what is good for the US and the environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency informed BP officials late Wednesday that the company has 24 hours to choose a less-toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to government sources familiar with the decision, and must apply the new form of dispersants within 72 hours of submitting the list of alternatives.

The move is significant, because it suggests federal officials are now concerned that the unprecedented use of chemical dispersants could pose a significant threat to the Gulf of Mexico's marine life. BP has been using two forms of dispersants, Corexit 9500A and Corexit 9527A, and so far has applied 600,000 gallons on the surface and 55,000 underwater.

Gulf oil disaster's mind-boggling volume

In the best case, the oil could fill enough gallon milk jugs to stretch from New York to DC and back.

The worst case

Also:

Ziggy

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=eaec09e01f28eb423d4b65020bc31497

A turn of a phrase

The chickens come home to roost

Meaning: Bad deeds or words return to discomfort their perpetrator.

Origin: The notion of bad deeds, specifically curses, coming back to haunt their originator is long established in the English language and was expressed in print as early as 1390, when Geoffrey Chaucer used it in The Parson's Tale:

And ofte tyme swich cursynge wrongfully retorneth agayn to hym that curseth, as a bryd that retorneth agayn to his owene nest.

The allusion that was usually made was to a bird returning to its nest at nightfall, which would have been a familiar one to a medieval audience. Other allusions to unwelcome returns were also made, as in the Elizabethan play The lamentable and true tragedie of Arden of Feversham, 1592:

For curses are like arrowes shot upright, Which falling down light on the suters [shooter's] head.

Chickens didn't enter the scene until the 19th century when a fuller version of the phrase was used as a motto on the title page of Robert Southey's poem The Curse of Kehama, 1810:

"Curses are like young chicken: they always come home to roost."

This extended version is still in use, notably in the USA.

The notion of the evil that men create returns to their own door also exists in other cultures. Buddhists are familiar with the idea that one is punished by one's bad deeds, not because of them. Samuel Taylor Coleridge revived the imagery of a bird returning to punish a bad deed in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1798. In the poem the eponymous mariner kills an albatross, which was regarded as an omen of good luck, and is punished by his shipmates by having the bird hung around his neck:

Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.

Impostor stirs up new trouble for Army

A man with no military experience who allegedly tricked his way into a high- ranking job raises alarms.

A first

Also:

And I Quote

"I never intended to get in a battle of wits with Glenn Beck.

As you know, he comes only half-prepared to that battle."

~ Rep Anthony Weiner (D-NY) won his investigation of the gold market

Full Story

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

When dealing with wingnuts ... Remember the rule:

If they accuse someone of something, then they're already guilty of it.

How Rand Paul's views escaped media eye

The Senate candidate's controversial remarks on civil rights were made a month ago.

Press ignored them

Also:

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

"Don't bring distracting shirts and signs about his citizenship status

and any references to Hitler, Nazis, etc. are not welcome."

~ Senior Teabagger telling lesser Teabaggers to hide who they are,

Full Story

B.C.

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=23bac717024cc0532da7a6219cf50ca2

Renault’s plan to name new car “Zoe” upsets women called Zoé Renault

The era of the mass-produced automobile has not been kind to anyone bearing the name Mégane, Clio or perhaps even Dyane. But spare a thought for a 23-year-old Paris woman who has reason to be especially distraught by plans for a new electric car: her name is Zoé Renault.

Enraged by the French manufacturer's decision to use her identity for the latest in its long line of punchy car names, the student – who has no apparent direct family link to the company – has contacted a lawyer specializing in the protection of first names and is begging Renault to change its mind.

David Koubbi, who points out that there are about 30,000 people in France called Zoé, none of whom are likely to enjoy sharing their name with an electric supermini, has written to Renault's chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, insisting that the plans constitute an attack on the rights of his clients.

"You will easily understand that, having maturely reflected on the first name they wish to give their child, parents cannot tolerate seeing this first name made commonplace and used for … marketing," Koubbi wrote.

Zoé Renault said that she did not want her identity to be reduced to the image of a car or to be associated all her life with a vehicle. "It would be unbearable for me to hear 'the Zoé has broken down', 'we have to get the Zoé overhauled' or 'so and so killed themselves in a Zoé,'" she said.

A spokesman for Renault said the company was committed to the "memorable" name, but that it was the name of a concept car and not a definitive choice.

Scientology raid uncovers dossiers on local "enemies": sexual habits, health info, political opinions

A raid yesterday on the Scientology office in Turin, Italy uncovered dossiers containing the personal information of local "enemies" of the church, including magistrates, cops, journalists and families of former members.

La Stampa said magistrates were now examining these documents which were "chock full" of sensitive information dealing with sexual habits, health and political inclinations. In 2000, the Italian supreme Court of Cassation recognized Scientology as a religion but said it was organized as a business and thus subject to taxation.
Member are said to pay high fees for counseling or 'auditing' to advance through the religion's various 'levels'.
Scientology has been at the center of controversy because of its nature as a sect, which has led to accusations of fraud, and many countries do not qualify it as a religion.

Turin police raid Scientology chapter