The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You know quite well just how to make rules, follow them and delegate authority when need be.
That goes double for rules that have already been tried out and found to be workable.
A good example is 'honesty is the best policy,' which you usually find beyond reproach.
Still, now and then it's better to keep things under wraps.
This might be one of those times -- especially since your energy is working on something deeply private.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, Israel

Neumarket, Bayern, Germany

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Olomouc, Olomoucky Kraj, Czech Republic

Munich, Bayern, Germany

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

as well as France, Italy, and the United States in such cities as Issaquah, Wentzville, Centralia, Yorba Linda and more

Today is Wednesday, June 23, the 174th day of 2010.

There are 191 days left in the year.

Today In History June 23

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Let It Go Day

USA Wins 1 to Nill

USA Wins 1 to Nill

Stunning World Cup victory for the U.S.

A thrilling last-minute goal puts the United States in the next round of the World Cup.  

Game details 

Also: 

• Ref's controversial call
• England also advances
• More World Cup coverage

World Cup Soccer

Everything on the line for U.S. soccer

America’s World Cup hopes could depend on its ability to fix one troubling flaw.  

Team's keys against Algeria 

Also: 

• U.S. starter ailing
• American's fighting spirit
• Algeria scouting report

Soccer player's embarrassing missed shot

Yakubu Ayegbeni was just a few feet away from a wide open net at the World Cup. 

Watch what happened next 

Also: 

• How game ended
• Top goal scorers
• World Cup bloopers

Feuding brothers making World Cup history

The Boateng brothers were inseparable until an infamous play came between them. 

Now they'll oppose one another 

Also: 

• More on the brothers
• New World Cup rankings
• USA's fighting spirit

Helpful Hints

Helpful Hints

The biggest home decorating mistakes

Furniture that looks great in the store doesn't always work in your living room.  

Don't get overzealous with color 

Also: 

• How to pick a paint color
• Hidden storage solutions
• Inside Paris Hilton's home

Shoe

It's Only The Environment After All

It's Only The Environment After All

It's raining oil

BP's disaster in the Gulf is causing it to literally rain oil - that's right rain ... the kind that comes down from the skies.

It's Not Like We Don't Have Another One

On The Job

On The Job

What not to wear to work this summer

Casual dressers can easily veer toward the inappropriate once hot weather hits.  

The verdict on flip-flops 

Also: 

• 20 stylish office looks
• Summer fashion 2010
• Swimsuits that can slim

It's The Economy Stupid

It's The Economy Stupid

Some cities shrink with weak economy

U.S. manufacturing regions are losing the most people as workers flee in search of jobs.  

Biggest gainers 

Also: 

• Homes sales dipped in May
• State with the most jobless
• Shrinking U.S. cities

Something In The Air

Thunderclap Newman

Furor over Nazi naked Minnie Mouse

Art gallery owners in Poland are facing jail over a giant poster of a naked Minnie Mouse sprawled on a huge Nazi swastika.

The billboard - advertising an art exhibition - has infuriated locals as it is plastered next to a synagogue in Poznan.

"For me it is quite shocking, and even more so for people who remember the Second World War, and especially for people who suffered during it," said local councilor Norbert Napieraj.

During World War II the synagogue was closed and looted by Nazis before being flooded and turned into a swimming pool for German soldiers.

Now prosecutors are studying the poster to see if it promotes fascism, punishable by three years in jail in Poland.

But gallery manager Maria Czarnecka said: "This billboard is for a poster exhibition and in no way does it promote fascism or support the Nazi regime."

Bad Cops

Bad Cops

Georgia police officer arrested for battery

Florida jail guard arrested for grand theft

Georgia deputy charged with false statements in killing of preacher

Idaho cop sentenced for hit-and-run

Georgia police officer charged with battery, child cruelty

Ziggy

Most expensive feather ever fetches £4,000 at auction

A single plume from the extinct huia bird has sold for a record sum at auction in New Zealand making it the most expensive feather ever. The brown and white feather fetched NZ$8,000 (£3,800), far exceeding the NZ$500 that it had been estimated to reach. The feathers were traditionally used to adorn Maori chiefs.

The huia bird is thought to be extinct and has not been seen since 1907. The feather went under the hammer at Webb's Auction House in Auckland. Neil Campbell, the managing director of Webb's, said that the auction room had been "spellbound" as the bidding mounted.

"Starting in $100 increments, that quickly leapt into the thousands and came to rest at a world record price (for a single feather) of $8400 ($6,787)". The huia feather was bought by a family from the city of Wellington who declined to be identified. A spokesman from Webb's said that the family own a large collection of Maori artefacts. It was sold by an unidentified vendor who had had the feather in his family for generations.

The feather that sold in Auckland had been verified as authentic by experts from New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa. The previous record price for a single feather was reached when one from a bald eagle sold at a US auction for $US2,800 (£1,900). Numbers of huia birds declined rapidly after predatory mammals were introduced into New Zealand in the 1890s. Populations also suffered from hunting and deforestation.

The one that got away

How $1 million fishing prize got away

Failure to make a $15 purchase probably cost one boat's crew a huge marlin tourney payoff.  

The infraction 

Also: 

• Biggest-ever marlin
• Spill's effect on fishing
• Retreat for bass anglers

Grizzly charge captured by Canadian filmmaker

A filmmaker says he's lucky to be alive after narrowly avoiding a grizzly attack while filming in the Robson Valley, southeast of Prince George. Leon Lorenz, who lives in Dunster, B.C., was filming grizzly bears in a nearby valley last Monday evening when he spotted a bear and her cub. Lorenz said he took cover behind a spruce tree so he could film the bears without disturbing them, but the mother bear picked up his scent.

She turned suddenly, he said, and looked him right in the eyes. Then, roaring, she charged through the trees right at Lorenz. He recalls thinking, "This is for real. This is … no bluff charge." Lorenz set the camera down on a tripod, capturing everything on film, and grabbed his handgun with the hopes of firing a warning shot to scare the grizzly off.

Crouched behind the tree, he aimed his gun high and pulled the trigger — just as the grizzly burst through the branches of the tree, a few feet from where he was hiding. Lorenz said the shot spooked the bear, which he estimates weighed between 400 and 500 pounds, and she ran off with her cub. "I knew if I would have run, I wouldn't be here," he said.

"If I didn't have my handgun, even if I would have fired a shot a quarter of a second later, the blast would have been too late. She would have been on me." Lorenz said it's an experience he'll never forget. "It's something that will stay with me for life. … It was really something that I never expected and I think I've grown from it," he said.

Wizard of Id

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Humans bite stronger than apes

The lightly-built human skull is far more powerful than initially thought, according to research by the University of New South Wales, released today.

This means early modern humans did not necessarily need to use tools and cooking to process high-nutrient hard foods such as nuts.

The study, led by Dr Stephen Wroe of UNSW's school of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, used sophisticated 3D element analysis to compare digital models of CAT-scanned skulls.

Full story

United Kingdom Launches Projects to Study Ocean Acidification

Image: NOAA Ocean Explorer, Flickr

The Evil Twin of Global Warming

Ocean acidification naturally results from elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere. The oceans absorb CO2, which becomes carbonic acid as it dissolves into the sea water. Ocean acidification picked up the moniker "Evil Twin of Global Warming" at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15).
Recent research has suggested just how significantly the ocean chemistry affects life on earth. Now scientists are setting up to learn more about how our oceans are reacting to the 30% increase in pH (the measure of acidity) that has already occurred, and what might happen if the trends continue. If you were hoping the oceans could balance our act, you may be in for a grim acid oceans reality check.

Article continues: United Kingdom Launches Projects to Study Ocean Acidification

Eco Safaris Around the Globe

Photo via gillespaveau @ Flickr

A safari might sound like a nice outdoorsy, environmental kind of vacation, but they often take a toll on wildlife in the areas you visit (even when you only take pictures).
But these seven companies take a social approach to their conservation efforts: By working with local communities, they turn wildlife viewing into a source of income for the nearby people, which leads to lower incidences of poaching and hunting. Travel to one of these seven countries to see how supporting nearby villages, artisans, and guides can have a positive impact on animal populations.

Article continues: 7 Eco Safaris Around the Globe

Broom Hilda

Airline food ... take-out?!

An airline is so proud of its in-flight food it plans to start selling takeaways.

Thai Airways is introducing a line of seven ready-made curry sauces to be sold starting later this month at shops in Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai.

The company said its target market was the business traveller who had enjoyed their in-flight meal but had no time to cook Thai food at home.

The campaign is part of Thai's drive to supplement losses from recent political strife in Bangkok. It is also aimed at helping the airline standardise its Thai curries.

Pork board squeals over 'unicorn meat'

It's official: The National Pork Board says it knows unicorns don't exist. 

The industry group says it was only protecting its trademark when it issued cease-and-desist warning to online retailer ThinkGeek for calling a fake unicorn meat product "the new white meat." 

The fictional canned meat, is described as an "excellent source of sparkles."

Full story

Just the News

Just the News

Man surprised to discover gunshot wound

Tracy Durham remembers hearing the pop. But the gunshot wound the Illinois man discovered after a neighbor asked about his limp? That was a surprise.

Trapped drunk driver cracks open beer

Trapped after flipping his car while drunk driving, a New Zealand man opened another beer as he waited to be rescued.

Giant Jellyfish Sinks 10 Ton Fishing Trawler!

A 10-ton fishing boat has been sunk by a gigantic jellyfish off eastern Japan.

Grandmother jailed over WWII 'family heirloom' pistol

A grandmother has been jailed for five years for possessing a "family heirloom" World War II pistol. Gail Cochrane, 53, had kept the gun for 29 years following the death of her father, who had been in the Royal Navy. Police found the weapon, a Browning self-loading pistol, during a search of her home in Dundee while looking for her son.

She admitted illegal possession of the firearm, an offense with a minimum five-year jail term under Scots law. Cochrane told the High Court in Edinburgh that she had never contemplated she might be committing a crime by keeping the gun or that she might need to get a license for the weapon. She said: "I thought it was just a war trophy." Defense solicitor advocate Jack Brown argued that the circumstances surrounding the case were exceptional and that it would be "draconian, unjust and disproportionate" to jail the grandmother-of-six.

However, Judge Lady Smith said: "I am not satisfied that a reasonable explanation has been put forward for not handing this gun into the authorities throughout the 29-year period she says she has had it in her possession." The judge said she was unable to find herself satisfied that this was one of the rare cases in which exceptional circumstances existed. She said: "The result is I have no alternative but to sentence Mrs Cochrane to a period of five years."

When interviewed, Cochrane told police that the gun had previously belonged to her father and that she had kept it when he died. She said she believed it was a real gun, but had no ammunition for it. The weapon was sent for examination by firearms experts who concluded that it was a Czech-made pistol dating back to about 1927. Cochrane admitted having the 7.65 millimeter Browning self-loading pistol at her home without a firearms certificate and possessing the prohibited weapon without the authority of the Secretary of State or Scottish ministers.