The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You're not quite sure what to do about your latest financial issue, especially when it comes to sharing resources.
Since you don't have enough data to work with yet, your best bet is to find the one person you're sure can help, thanks to their trustworthiness and their experience with similar financial matters.
For now, you need to sit tight.
Times like this aren't made for action -- they're made for careful thought.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Quebec, Quebec, Canada

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Karlskrona, Blekinge Lan, Sweden

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium

San Jose, San Jose, Costa Rica

Annecy, Rhone-Alpes, France

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

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia

Varese, Lombardia, Italy

as well as South Africa, and the United States in such cities as Naugatuck, Provo, Lutz, Portland and more

Today is Tuesday, June 1, the 152nd day of 2010.

There are 213 days left in the year.

Today In History June 1

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

Heimlich Maneuver Day,

National Go Barefoot Day

and

Say Something Nice Day

June is ...

Great Outdoors Month

International Men's Month

National Bathroom Reading Month

National Iced Tea Month

and

National Smile Month

Which means a lot of posts about the outdoors, men, bathroom reading material, iced tea and smiles this month - you have been warned ...

For The Love of The Game

Softball Team Forfeits Game To Teach Neophyte Opponents How To Play

Susie Madrak posted this over at Crooks and Liars:

We have so many things to worry about right now, I figure we can stand a little good news, right? Whenever I read a story like this column by Rick Reilly, it makes me feel a lot less hopeless about humanity:

We live in a world where Peyton Manning walks off the Super Bowl field without shaking anybody's hand. Where Tiger Woods leaves the Masters without a word of thanks to the fans or congratulations to the winner. Where NFL lineman Albert Haynesworth kicks a man's helmetless head without a thought.
So if you think sportsmanship is toast, this next story is an all-you-can-eat buffet to a starving man.
It happened at a junior varsity girls' softball game in Indianapolis this spring. After an inning and a half, Roncalli was womanhandling inner-city Marshall Community. Marshall pitchers had already walked nine Roncalli batters. The game could've been 50-0 with no problem.
Yes, a team that hadn't lost a game in 2½ years, a team that was going to win in a landslide purposely offered to declare defeat. Why? Because Roncalli wanted to spend the two hours teaching the Marshall girls how to get better, not how to get humiliated.
It's no wonder. This was the first softball game in Marshall history. A middle school trying to move up to include grades 6 through 12, Marshall showed up to the game with five balls, two bats, no helmets, no sliding pads, no cleats, 16 players who'd never played before, and a coach who'd never even seen a game.
One Marshall player asked, "Which one is first base?" Another: "How do I hold this bat?" They didn't know where to stand in the batter's box. Their coaches had to be shown where the first- and third-base coaching boxes were.
That's when Roncalli did something crazy. It offered to forfeit.
Yes, a team that hadn't lost a game in 2½ years, a team that was going to win in a landslide purposely offered to declare defeat. Why? Because Roncalli wanted to spend the two hours teaching the Marshall girls how to get better, not how to get humiliated.
"The Marshall players did NOT want to quit," wrote Roncalli JV coach Jeff Traylor, in recalling the incident. "They were willing to lose 100 to 0 if it meant they finished their first game." But the Marshall players finally decided if Roncalli was willing to forfeit for them, they should do it for themselves. They decided that maybe -- this one time -- losing was actually winning.
That's about when the weirdest scene broke out all over the field: Roncalli kids teaching Marshall kids the right batting stance, throwing them soft-toss in the outfield, teaching them how to play catch. They showed them how to put on catching gear, how to pitch, and how to run the bases. Even the umps stuck around to watch.
"One at a time the Marshall girls would come in to hit off of the [Roncalli] pitchers," Traylor recalled. "As they hit the ball their faces LIT UP! They were high fiving and hugging the girls from Roncalli, thanking them for teaching to them the game."
This is the kind of thing that can backfire with teenagers -- the rich kids taking pity on the inner-city kids kind of thing. Traylor was afraid of it, too.
"One wrong attitude, one babying approach from our players would shut down the Marshall team, who already were down," wrote Traylor. "But our girls made me as proud as I have ever been. ... [By the end], you could tell they were having a blast. The change from the beginning of the game to the end of the practice was amazing."
Roncalli wasn't done. Traylor asked all the parents of his players and anybody else he knew for more help for Marshall -- used bats, gloves, helmets, money for cleats, gloves, sliders, socks and team shirts. They came up with $2,500 and worked with Marshall on the best way to help the program with that money. Roncalli also connected Marshall with former Bishop Chatard coach Kim Wright, who will advise the program.
"We probably got to some things 10 years quicker than we would have had without Roncalli," says Marshall principal Michael Sullivan.
And that was just the appetizer. A rep from Reebok called Sullivan and said, "What do you need? We'll get it for you." A man who owns an indoor batting cage facility has offered free time in the winter. The Cincinnati Reds are donating good dirt for the new field Marshall will play on.
"This could've been a thing where our kids had too much pride," says Sullivan. "You know, 'I'm not going to listen to anybody.' But our kids are really thirsty to learn."
And they are. Marshall never won a game, but actually had leads in its last three games. In fact, it went so well, the players and their parents asked if they could extend the season, so they're looking to play AAU summer softball.

These girls are still undefeated and will never be defeated even if they never win another softball game ever! 

These girls have class!

Ozzy Osbourne scares people at wax museum

Ozzy Osbourne pretends to be his own wax sculpture, and scares the shit out of people.

Bond, James Bond

Rare James Bond car up for auction

The Aston Martin made famous in "Goldfinger" is for sale, and some of its spy gadgets still work.  

Very pricey 

Also: 

• More on the car's history
• 'The Hobbit' director quits
• 'Shrek' wins the weekend

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

Harsh fallout from Israel's botched raid

Israel's bloody takeover of a Gaza-bound Turkish aid vessel is complicating Mideast peace efforts.

Analysis 

Also: 

• Video of the showdown
• Investigation demanded
• Gaza naval blockade

Chinese police rescue slaves from brick kiln

Chinese police have freed 33 slave labourers who were held in a brickworks and tortured with electric shocks when they disobeyed their masters.

The brutal conditions at the kiln — the latest to be exposed in a series of rural slavery scandals — came to light when a man escaped and told police. The farmer, named as Mr Song, had made his way from the dirt-poor coal-producing Shanxi province in northwestern China to a city farther east, where he hoped to earn more to feed his family back home.

The moment that he arrived at Shijiazhuang railway station on April 17, he was approached by a stranger and offered a job.

Instead of the promised employment, Mr Song found himself working as a slave with 33 other men at the brick kiln.

Conditions were appalling. The workers were regularly beaten, and those who protested were given electric shocks. At night they were herded into a room and the door was locked. They were not paid and were forced to work between 14 and 18 hours a day and watched at all times by guards — who even followed them into the latrines.

But Mr Song was not cowed. He tried to escape but was swiftly recaptured and beaten with staves. On the evening of May 18, he made another attempt. This time he succeeded, and went to the police. They organised their forces and launched a raid to take the owners by surprise. They struck early in the morning on May 21 and arrested 11 people — including the foreman and owner. They also found the machine used to administer the electric shocks.

The State Of The Nation

The State Of The Nation

Suspects must say they want to be silent

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent to invoke Miranda protections during criminal interrogations, a decision one dissenting justice said turns defendants' rights "upside down." A right to remain silent and a right to a lawyer are the first of the Miranda rights warnings, which police are required to give all persons they arrest - at least for now...

Full story

OK, you idiots ... if they say they wish to remain silent then they have given up that right by vocalizing their desire to remain silent. (But that is the idea, right, morons).

Just another wrong, illegal and very damaging decision the current criminal court is guilty of.

We need to impeach and remove the criminal ideologues that are foisting these erroneous and illegal decisions upon this nation and we need to do so NOW!

Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality

Mother charged after naked toddler found wandering in street

A neighbor found the child around midnight Saturday at an apartment complex along Milton Road. The toddler did not have any clothes on and was alone.

Al-Jazeera Anchors Quit Over Newsroom Dress Code

Five Al-Jazeera anchorwomen have left their jobs at the Middle Eastern news service, claiming management criticized and insulted them for not dressing “modestly” enough. The women, Joumana Nammour, Lina Zahr al-Din, Jullinar Mousa, Luna al-Shibl and Nawfar Afli, say that deputy editor-in-chief Ayman Jaballah made “offensive remarks” about them for appearing on camera wearing makeup and without covering their heads.

Full Story

The truth about Opus Dei

 Opus Dei, the ultra-secretive catholic organization mostly present in Spain, Italy and South America, is also active in the UK.

Full story

Al Qaeda's #3 leader killed in Afghanistan

From Crooks and Liars:

 

Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, financial director for Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, has been killed in Afghanistan.
MSNBC:

One senior U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told NBC News that Saeed was killed in an attack by a missile-carrying drone aircraft.

Another official said that "in terms of counterterrorism this would be a big victory," describing Saeed as "the group's chief operating officer, with a hand in everything from finances to operational planning. He was also the organization's prime conduit to Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. He was key to al-Qaida's command and control."

In a series of interviews with Al Jazeera last year, al-Yazid swore that Pakistani nuclear weapons would be used against the US and allied countries if they obtained access to them. (See video above)
More information here about Al-Yazid and his involvement in terrorist training and Afghanistan.

Paranoia Strikes Deep

Paranoia Strikes Deep 

Canadian child kidnapped by US government for two years

Almost two years after a 12-year-old Calgary boy was whisked into foster care in the United States in a bizarre custody dispute, an Oregon court judge has decided he's coming home.

Noah Kirkman will be back home in Canada in a few weeks, but there was no suggestion that anything was amiss that caused the youngster to be kept from his family for almost two years.

The legal nightmare began when Noah was vacationing with his stepfather in small-town Oregon, while his mother and younger sister remained at home in Canada.

The boy was riding his bike without a helmet when he was stopped by police, but had trouble answering questions. He has severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but maintains an A average in school. Officials checked out his background and found an open social services file in Canada, which was the result of his special needs assistance, and that he was in the U.S. without his mother, his legal guardian and deemed her note permitting care by his stepfather wasn’t enough.

Noah was taken into custody to protect his welfare

Full Story

Planet Earth

Planet Earth

At least 115 people have died after a tropical storm battered Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador over the weekend, officials in those countries reported. Guatemala was hit hardest, with at least 92 deaths, 54 people missing and 59 injured, emergency officials said. Nearly 112,000 people have been evacuated and more than 29,000 are living in temporary shelters, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said in an address to the nation late Sunday.

The devastation has been widespread throughout Guatemala with mudslides destroying homes and buildings and burying some victims. At least nine rivers have dramatically higher levels and 13 bridges have collapsed, the nation's emergency services said.

In the northern part of Guatemala City, the downpour created a giant sinkhole that swallowed up a space larger than the area of a street intersection. Residents told CNN that a three-story building and a house fell into the hole.

Full Story

 First a volcanic eruption and now this ...

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Ghost hunters Researchers set off on an expedition to the Dominican Republic to track down an elusive 'living fossil'. Sniffing caves to find solenodons

Harsh drought hit American colony A study of discarded oyster shells reinforces the idea that the first British colonists in America faced an unusually severe drought. Putting Jamestown into context

Meet the bone-eating snot-flower worm

Osedax mucofloris—otherwise known as the bone-eating snot-flower worm—is a species of undersea worm discovered in 2005. It eats the bones of deceased whales. On the surface of the bone, the worm looks like a curly, pink flower. Burrowed into the bone is a mass of  tissue that, presumably, does the actual eating.

News of the positive sort

News of the positive sort

Pennsylvania pair born in same hospital on same day to wed

Full story

An engaged eastern Pennsylvania couple, Amy Singley and Steven Smith, were born on the same day in the same hospital - and their mothers even shared a room in the maternity ward.

"Local Smoke"

 

Photo: National Post (Dario Ayala/Canwest News Service)

It's been a hot, dry start to summer - and Quebec is burning. A blanket of smoke descended on Montreal early Monday morning, blown in from forest fires raging in the northwest region of Quebec. The effects of the blaze were seen today as far south as Boston, Cape Cod and other parts of New England, reducing visibility to only three miles in some places.

Article continues: "Local Smoke" Forecast for Quebec As Forest Fires Rage; Haze in New England

Interesting In General

Interesting In General

Summer Snow: Scottish Ski Resort Stays Open

As most of Britain recovers from its record-breaking cold winter, snow is continuing to fall on Scotland.

4.5 billion-year-old rock found on roadside

A man who tossed an odd-looking rock into his truck years ago discovers it's a scientific marvel.

Estimated worth 

Also: 

• $5 mil moon rocks missing
• Eye-catching sky show
• How to identify rocks

Just so you know ...

Pot was legal for almost 200 years in the U.S. 

The Founding Fathers grew it.

On The Job

On The Job

10 ways to make any job healthier

Constant job stress can lead to weight gain and other problems, but you can counteract the effects.  

Easy changes 

Also: 

• Your chair is killing you
• A diet to look younger
• Healthy office snacks

Extreme job-search tactics to avoid

Most attention-getting gimmicks, like sending flowers to a recruiter, are a bad idea. 

But some clever stunts can help 

Also: 

• Networking tips that work
• Job-hunting mistakes
• Office 'frenemy' risks

Wizard of Id

It's The Economy Stupid

It's The Economy Stupid

How to catch up on retirement savings

Maxing out on your 401(k) now might earn you almost half a million bucks over the next decade.

Get dramatic results 

Also: 

• Protect your nest egg
• Retirement risks to know
• Personal finance blogs

Important info credit-card offers leave out

When you get an offer, look at these four factors to see if it's actually a good deal.  

What to know about due dates 

Also: 

• 'Gotcha' credit-card tactics
• How to use credit wisely
• Boost your credit score

Some homeowners embrace foreclosure

"It's really been a blessing," says one couple no longer making their house payments.  

How it helps them 

Also: 

• Housing woes hit economy
• How to buy a foreclosure
• Foreclosure laws

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

The unhealthiest chips and dips

These snacks will never be considered health food, but some can lead to a diet disaster.

What to munch on instead 

Also: 

• 100-calorie snacks
• Helpful snacking tips
• Unhealthiest juices

Seven easy dinners

Try serving this classic breakfast or brunch dish as a hearty dinner entrée.  

Get recipes for the week 

Also: 

• Budget-friendly recipes
• Tips for grilling seafood
• 10 tasty veggie recipes

*****

Helpful Hints

Helpful Hints

The dangers of using a debit card

Paying with debit rather than credit can leave you open to phantom charges or drained accounts.

$39 cup of coffee 

Also: 

• 5 ways to thwart hackers
• Facebook security tips
• Best credit card rates

Germ-carrying ticks should tweezed out of skin, killed quickly

Last summer, I learned that antiseptic mouth rinse kills ticks immediately. When I found a tick, I used to remove it and put it into rubbing alcohol, where it died after a minute or so.

Full story

And I Quote

Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something. 

 

~ Pancho Villa

Policed called on Census worker

Cameras roll as woman calls police on pushy census worker

Cameras were rolling when A U.S. Census worker and an Albuquerque, New Mexico homeowner got into an argument that prompted a response by police.

In the video the homeowner asks then tells the census worker to leave her property - he refused saying he had a federal right to be there ... WRONG - the census worker was guilty of criminal trespass the instant he was asked to leave and he refused and should have been arrested on the spot by police when they arrived in answer to the homeowner's call. Census workers have NO special privileges or rights beyond those of any citizen - although some as evidenced by this idiot think they have.

In addition the only question that a census worker is allowed to ask anyone BY LAW is the number of persons living at a residence ... all other questions are not required by law nor are they required by law to be answered. The census law is one of the simplest on the books - Every ten years the federal government is required to count the numbers of persons living within the boundaries of the United States (Citizens living outside of the US are not required to be counted) nothing more and nothing less to be used in determining allotment of resources and representation of those persons living within the boundaries of the US. All other data, i.e., name, birthdate, race, etc., are not required or necessary.

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

When dealing with wingnuts ... Remember the rule: 

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

Liars and Fools

Faux's Glenn Beck sounds just like a militia leader from the 1990s: A 'new world order' of 'global governance' is coming!. 

Demented and Delusional is no way to go through life.

Faux's Glenn Beck caps two weeks of violent fear mongering about progressives by warning that eventually "they just start shooting people". 

That'd be the mindless dolts who listen to you, you douche bag and they won't be 'eventually' starting to shoot people, they already have.

Sean Hannity and Faux News laughingly try to give credibility to conspiracy theory accusing the Left of working with Muslims to instate Sharia Law and sabotage America. 

Oh, stop it ... my sides ache from the laughter!

Faux's Glenn Beck says Obama administration and environmentalists "don't have a real problem" with Gulf oil disaster. 

Wrong, that would be you and your ilk there asshole.

Wingnut Michael Berry says he hopes mosque is "blown up, and I mean that". 

 And you wonder why the world views Americans with suspicion? Nut case in point.

 Arizona: the Whitest state in the nation!

Bad Cops

Bad Cops

Pennsylvania police officer arrested in Delaware, charged with sexually abusing three girls repeatedly over nine years

New York cop arrested after allegedly breaking wife's nose

Two New York police officers are arrested in unrelated domestic violence incidents

Mother claims Texas police officer, who's been arrested for terrorist threats, also assaulted her teenage son

Virginia cases in jeopardy after convicted felon is fired from sheriff's office

Florida cops like to handcuff/confine prisoners before administering beatings

New York cop in SUV accidentally runs over sunbather

Just the News

Just the News

Two Arrested For Abusing 3-Month-Old

A man and woman were both charged with attempted murder and placed on a $10 million bond each.

Onlookers try in vain to help burning woman

Horrified onlookers have spoken about how they tried in vain to save a woman who was set on fire at a Melbourne petrol station this morning but were prevented from doing so by a man wielding a knife.

The woman is in a critical condition in hospital with burns to 100 per cent of her body ...

 Full Story

She has since died.

Non Sequitur

In Matters Of Health

In Matters Of Health

Attacking cancer

Genetic research paves way to new approach

Douche Bag or Colostomy Bag

Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) is blocking the nomination of Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Berwick is not at all a controversial nominee, which is why you never heard of him before this paragraph and once he's confirmed or rejected you'll never hear of him again.

But he once described America's health care sort-of system as — brace yourself — a means of rationing health care. Of course, that's what it is, what virtually any system would be. Our current health care system makes sure that some people get top-quality health care, others get far lesser-quality health care, and millions get no health care at all. That's rationing, and Berwick's saying so (once, long ago) is what's earned him Roberts' wrath.

Two very obvious observations, plain to anyone who's discussing politics with any honesty or integrity:
First, while the recent health insurance reform that dripped out of DC will, slowly, eventually, make the American rationing of health care noticeably less vulgar, cruel, and inhuman, the problems are far from solved and it's irresponsible and disingenuous to suggest that there's no rationing of health care.
And second, an even less debatable point, Senator Roberts is a colossal douche bag or maybe a humongous colostomy bag - whichever you prefer.

Full Story

Four fun moves to achieve flatter abs

Add these effective exercises to your workouts and say goodbye to the jiggle. 

How tummy tamer, core cincher help 

Also: 

• Arm-sculpting exercises
• Beating workout excuses
• 12 mental exercises

Using light to heal wounds

In the near future, wounds may be treated with a flash of light. A process called photochemical tissue bonding can replace conventional stitches, staples and glues in repairing skin wounds and even reconnecting nerves and blood vessels.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, working with funds from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, recently completed a pilot study to determine the effectiveness of light bonding compared to traditional stitches. The study involved patients who had skin lesions removed and needed stitches.

Full Story

Things They Won't Tell You

Things They Won't Tell You

Louisiana fishermen, drafted to help fight back the oil, are being sickened by the toxins in BP's chemical dispersants. 

NewsFlash: If exposure to the dispersants causes short-term sickness, it's almost certainly doing long-term damage too.

Full Story

US Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation of BP Oil Spill

From Treehugger:

BREAKING NEWS

photo: banspy via flickr

I can here the collective cry of 'Right on!' and 'About effing time!' rising up from the TreeHugger readership... CNN is reporting that US Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the Gulf Gusher. We'll have more as it emerges, but this is what we know so far:

Article continues: BREAKING: US Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation of BP Oil Spill

Pot Kettle Black

Hypocrisy in action ... thus proving once again the rule: when dealing with wingnuts - if they accuse someone of something, then they are already guilty of it!

It's Only The Environment After All

It's Only The Environment After All

Oil could threaten Mississippi, Alabama

Weather forecasts predict the oil may spread north to unscathed areas this week.  

Leak may last until August 

Also: 

• What happens this summer
• Photos from the spill
• World's worst spills

Man repeatedly calls 911 after mom takes his beer

32-year old Charles Dennison of Pasco, Florida was charged $150 after repeatedly calling 911 because his mother stole his beer.

Now that's just Bizarre

Now that's just Bizarre

And the Stupid-i-fication begins ...

Creationism to be taught in Queensland.

Creationism and intelligent design will be taught in Queensland state schools for the first time as part of the new national curriculum.

Creationists dismiss the science of evolution, instead believing that living things are best explained by an intelligent being or God, rather than an undirected process such as natural selection.

In Queensland schools, creationism will be offered for discussion in the subject of ancient history, under the topic of "controversies".

Full Story

Mozart has billions and billions more fans than we thought

Image via hoasm

It looks like Mozart has billions and billions more fans than we thought -- and much smaller ones, too. Evidently, sewage-eating microbes are major appreciators of the Austrian composer. One pioneering waste treatment plant in Germany has taken to playing Mozart on an expensive stereo to the microorganisms that break down sewage -- and it found that it greatly increased their speed and efficiency, and could save the plant thousands of dollars a year.

Article continues: Mozart Makes Microbes Eat Sewage Faster

Woman sweetening coffee drives into river

 Idiot of the Day Award winner:

An Oregon woman lost control of her SUV and plunged into the Santiam River on Saturday morning.

State police said 42-year-old Trena Fiels was trying to put sugar in a cup of coffee when her SUV left Highway 22 just west of Big Cliff Dam and Detroit Lake.

Fiels' SUV drifted off the road and she overcorrected to the left, swerving across the highway and a large shoulder turnout before plunging down a 40-foot embankment, troopers said.

Police said Fiels' vehicle came to rest partially submerged in the Santiam River. Fiels lives in Detroit. She was taken to a hospital by an ambulance to be treated for minor injuries

Odds and Sods

Odds and Sods

Hiker kills grizzly bear

Full story

A backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear with his handgun in Alaska's Denali National Park, officials said.
Even with a .45cal handgun you'd have to be what the old Western Serials called a "Dead-Dyed Dick" to bring down a grizzly with a handgun (although this "dead-eyed dick" must suffer from astigmatism because it took him nine rounds to do it.)