CAROLINA NATURALLY: Jun 26, 2010

Saturday, June 26, 2010

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Today's reaction is stronger than you had expected, whether you're jumping for joy or howling with displeasure.
You might wish that you'd had a private moment to absorb the news prior to letting loose with your knee-jerk response -- but hindsight is twenty-twenty.
While those around you aren't used to you emoting so much, it doesn't mean they don't understand.
It may even end up being a good thing!

Some of our readers today have been in:

Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt

Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Sunbury, Victoria, Australia

Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Iceland

Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Brighton, England, United Kingdom

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

London, England, United Kingdom

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Moscow, Moskva, Russia

Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland

Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India

Seoul, Kyonggi-Do, Korea

Hull End, England, United Kingdom

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Madgeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

as well as Scotland, Brazil, and the United States in such cities as Bacliff, Tewksbury, Coppell, Manteo and more

Today is Saturday, June 26, the 177th day of 2010.

There are 188 days left in the year.

Today In History June 26

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

There are none.

President Obama's Weekly Address

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Weekly Address
Washington, DC

This weekend, I’m traveling to Toronto to meet with members of the G20. There, I hope we can build on the progress we made at last year’s G20 summits by coordinating our global financial reform efforts to make sure a crisis like the one from which we are still recovering never happens again. We’ve made great progress toward passing such reform here at home. As I speak, we are on the cusp of enacting the toughest financial reforms since the Great Depression.
I don’t have to tell you why these reforms are so important. We’re still digging ourselves out of an economic crisis that happened largely because there wasn’t strong enough oversight on Wall Street. We can’t build a strong economy in America over the long-run without ending this status quo, and laying a new foundation for growth and prosperity.
That’s what the Wall Street reforms currently making their way through Congress will help us do – reforms that represent 90% of what I proposed when I took up this fight. We’ll put in place the strongest consumer financial protections in American history, and create an independent agency with an independent director and an independent budget to enforce them.
Credit card companies will no longer be able to mislead you with pages and pages of fine print. You will no longer be subject to all kinds of hidden fees and penalties, or the predatory practices of unscrupulous lenders.
Instead, we’ll make sure credit card companies and mortgage companies play by the rules. And you’ll be empowered with easy-to-understand forms, and the clear and concise information you need to make the financial decisions that are best for you and your family.
Wall Street reform will also strengthen our economy in a number of other ways. We’ll make our financial system more transparent by bringing the kinds of complex trades that helped trigger this crisis – trades in a $600 trillion derivatives market – finally into the light of day.
We’ll enact what’s called the Volcker Rule to make sure banks protected by a safety net like the FDIC can’t engage in risky trades for their own profit. We’ll create what’s called a resolution authority to help wind down firms whose collapse would threaten our entire financial system. Put simply, we’ll end the days of taxpayer-funded bailouts, and help make sure Main Street is never again held responsible for Wall Street’s mistakes.
Beyond these reforms, we also need to address another piece of unfinished business. We need to impose a fee on the banks that were the biggest beneficiaries of taxpayer assistance at the height of our financial crisis – so we can recover every dime of taxpayer money.
Getting this far on Wall Street reform hasn’t been easy. There are those who’ve fought tooth and nail to preserve the status quo. In recent months, they’ve spent millions of dollars and hired an army of lobbyists to stop reform dead in its tracks.
But because we refused to back down, and kept fighting, we now stand on the verge of victory. And I urge Congress to take us over the finish line, and send me a reform bill I can sign into law, so we can empower our people with consumer protections, and help prevent a financial crisis like this from ever happening again.

Editorial Comment

There are some websites on the internet that are too full of themselves.
Of course this is also true in real life as well as there are people who are too full of themselves.
(Funny how the two coordinate almost seamlessly)
There are those sites that claim copyright when they do not have those rights.
There are those that are 'private' and 'exclusive' or at least they think they are - in the real world they're called snobs and are snubbed by all the important people - so they can go play with themselves alone while the rest of the world has fun being together.
Here at Carolina Naturally we do not claim any copyright we do not have nor are we private and exclusive.
We are pretty straight forward with our philosophy and as a result readership has grown wildly over the past few years.
This 'open philosophy' also tends to rankle those that are too full of themselves as well (an unintended but quite nice benefit) and some of the inbox missives we receive are really obscene in the use of expletives - not to mention poor spelling and atrocious grammar.
Thus proving we have the correct view on this thing called Life.
When those that think they are better than you continue to prove they are not you've done a good job.

Things they're saying

About Carolina Naturally
When writing the editorial today we realized we haven't check the inbox in a few so we looked and the reaction was 'Holy, Crap!'.
There was over 2000 messages waiting on us - and yes any long time reader can tell you we are notorious for not reading them in a timely manner.
But here are a few recent comments:
(we left out the inane, insane, inept, etc., ones)

A refreshing look on events

Mark in Scotland

Honest and entertaining
Joaine in North Carolina

Keep hammering the wingnuts, we're loving it

Kyle and Carol in San Francisco

There is always something to learn

Nyuen in Singapore

My morning coffee and Carolina Naturally and I'm good to go

Pilar in Mexico

We'll post some more as we read the missives - and we do read them (maybe we should read them daily instead of whenever because 'whenever' takes forever)

Americans Kidnapped

Hikers' moms shocked by new revelations

A fresh account of the arrest suggests the three Americans weren't even in Iran when taken captive.

Witnesses' fears

Also:

World Cup Soccer

Damnit!

Ghana knocks U.S. out of World Cup

The U.S. soccer team's run comes to an end after losing in extra time to Ghana, 2-1

Game details

Also:

Who's to blame for U.S. World Cup loss

Bob Bradley needs to be held responsible for his "lethal" mistakes, a writer says.

Time to boot coach

Also:

World Cup roller coaster continues for U.S.

Expect plenty more thrilling moments in Saturday's showdown with Ghana, a writer says.

Five things to watch

Also:

American fed up with World Cup floppers

Coach Bob Bradley has harsh words for players who writhe on the ground with make-believe injuries.

He calls one out

Also:

Viral video brings tears to U.S. star's eyes

Landon Donovan gets emotional after watching soccer fans react to his heroic game-winning goal.

See the video

Also:

Goalie's embarrassing gaffe at World Cup

Spain scores from nearly 50 yards out after Chile's Claudio Bravo makes a costly decision.

See what happened

Also:

Bizarre World Cup sock-coloring scene

During a match, a Danish player is sent to the sidelines to draw on his socks with a red marker.

Watch him color

Also:

Secrets behind magical World Cup spray

Trainers often use a mysterious substance when a player gets injured during a game.

What it really is

Also:

Octopus picks World Cup winners

After correctly predicting Germany's first three matches, "Paul" has become a celebrity.

His pick for game vs. England

Also:

What It Takes To Be A FIFA Referee

Officiating at the FIFA World Cup is the greatest career challenge a football referee will face. The eyes of the world are on the referees and the scrutiny is intense. Becoming a FIFA referee entails strenuous fitness evaluations, workshops and aptitude tests to prepare physically and psychologically for the challenge.

For officials, the road to the World Cup is as competitive and demanding as it is for players. Referee and assistant referee candidates have their fitness monitored monthly in the three years leading up to the Cup. They meet with a psychologist who analyzes their game demeanor. They attend seminars on the rules in an attempt to apply them equally across every continent where soccer is played. They go online to a virtual classroom to discuss their doubts and concerns with instructors and colleagues.

Full Story

And I Quote

The President of the United States hears a hundred voices telling him that he is the greatest man in the world.

He must listen carefully to hear the one voice that tells him he`s not.

~ President Harry S. Truman

Be active this summer

Summer workouts that blast calories

Activities like hiking burn up to 400 calories an hour and improve heart health.

What is Speedminton?

Also:

Man gets no reward for calling 911 before hotline

From the "That's Whack!" Department:

Full story

A Florida man who reported a suspect wanted in a string of bomb threats will not get a $5,000 reward because he called 911 before the local crime hotline.

Lightning strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time!

Pool with a view

If you fancy a dip in this pool, you’ll need a head for heights – it’s 55 stories up at the Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore.
But swimming to the edge won’t be quite as risky as it looks. While the water in the infinity pool seems to end in a sheer drop, it actually spills into a catchment area where it is pumped back into the main pool. At three times the length of an Olympic pool and 650ft up, it is the largest outdoor pool in the world at that height.

Via: Bits & Pieces

Most expensive cities in the world

In the priciest city on the planet, expect to pay $22 for a movie ticket and $18 for a restaurant lunch.

Top 10

Also:

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Presumed extinct

Scientists rediscover an ancient fern on one of Britain's overseas territories

Waterlily saved from extinction

Tutankhamen 'killed by sickle-cell disease'

A new interpretation of pathological evidence from the boy king's mummy suggests he succumbed to an inherited blood disorder

Ice shelf was kept intact by underwater ridge

A newly discovered sub-sea ridge stopped warm water melting an Antarctic ice shelf – but what are its prospects now a gap has appeared?

Musical instruments at war

The carnyx, a Celtic instrument.

The carnyx (plural: carnyces)... was a Celtic-Dacian variant of the Etruscan-Roman lituus and belongs to the family of brass instruments. It was an ſ-shaped valveless horn made of beaten bronze and consisted of a tube between one and two meters in length, whereas the diameter of the tube is unknown. Archaeological finds date back to the Bronze Age, and the instrument itself is attested for in contemporary sources between ca. 300 BC and 200 AD. The carnyx was in widespread use in Britain, France, parts of Germany, eastward to Romania and beyond, even as far as India, where bands of Celtic mercenaries took it on their travels...

The sound of the carnyx was described as lugubrious and harsh, perhaps due to the loosened tongue of the bell... The carnyx was held vertically so that the sound would travel from more than three meters above the ground...

In addition the bronze jaw of the animal head may have been loosened as well in order to produce a jarring sound that would surely have been most dreadful when combined with the sound of a few dozen more carnyces in battle. The demoralizing effect of the Gallic battle music must have been enormous: When the Celts advanced on Delphi under Brennus in 279 BC, the unusual echoing effects of the blaring horns completely overawed the Greeks, before even a single fight could commence...

Brass instruments were regularly used as a means of communication during battle, relaying orders for troop positioning, movement and tactics...

Science Headlines

Should We Worry About the Polio Outbreak in Tajikistan?
Should We Worry About the Polio Outbreak in Tajikistan?

Earthquakes Rock in Synchrony, Study Suggests
Faults can fall in sync, causing earthquakes to trigger other temblors.

Lice and Human Migration
Over the years, lice have evolved in parallel with their human hosts. Studying the differences between lice from different geographic regions can actually provide insights into how and when human populations migrated.

Rarest Animal on Earth

What's the rarest animal in the world?

On the Galapagos Islands, "Lonesome George" is the only known survivor of his species.

People provide details

Also:

Wildlife Photography

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByquB0aB369gEWJx_C1IjRqq9VsUCGKr_fKbsjS9QeyVZxCYM9x1KRzMq86xHZqOaKtm3y8ArrlbOmMbcaBbwUxlidrnlxNGwhOhCU56oCYfOiccSprgc3hjaTKeoTU0fOfGKy5Z2Njk/s400/Wildlife+photography.jpg

The young are always curious

Surprisingly Lethal Animals

Everyone knows cobras, sharks and lions are killers. But there are plenty of other animals that are just as dangerous as the usual suspects. There are some rather surprising, not to mention frightening, species that if bothered, can kill humans.

http://www.womansday.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/03-slow-loris-cute-animals-that-kill/943419-1-eng-US/03-Slow-Loris-Cute-Animals-That-Kill.jpg

Whether it's their bite, sting or strong limbs, these animals are some of the most lethal in the world, so find out which wild things not to mess with.

In Matters Of Health

In Matters Of Health

http://cdn.crooksandliars.com/files/uploads/2010/06/cf_nation_rankings_2010_d9d8a.jpg

Image via Crooks and Liars

Note: The higher the number the worse the rating

US spends the most on health care, gets the least

From NPR:

The U.S., by contrast, was last in every category except quality, where it was second to last, squeaking in ahead of Canada. At $7,290 in annual spending per person in 2007, the U.S. also dwarfed second-place Canada at $3,895 and third-place Netherlands at $3,837.

About the only good news for America, said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis, who was also the study's lead author, is that the new health law could put the U.S. on a path towards improvement.

10 symptoms not to ignore

What's the big deal? A waist circumference of more than 35 inches may put you at risk for metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that raises your risk for diabetes and heart disease, even if you're at a healthy weight.

Burn more calories on the treadmill

With a steep incline, you can burn 482 calories during a half-hour workout.

One trick to fight belly fat

Also:

See what you can catch if a walrus sneezes on you

... a 35-year old guy started feeling a pain in his eye and went to his doctor. The doctor looked under his eyelid and ... found - and removed - a single mite of the species Orthohalarachne attenuata... that normally is found in the nasal passages of fur seals, sea lions, and walruses. In seals, the mites can be both prevalent (as in almost every single seal has them) and abundant (as in more than 1000 mites per seal and in a few cases in one study, more than 2000!). These incredibly high infestations can cause problems for the seal's breathing, but can also do damage in the lungs and leave the seals susceptible to other infections, too. Transmission between seals occurs by -- sneezing on each other, of course. So, how did this young guy in California get a nasal mite in his eye? Turns out that two days before his first doctor's visit, he had visited Sea World - where he stood too close to some walruses and got sneezed on.

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

Best hot dog joints across America

This all-beef link comes with relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport pepper, and celery salt.

9 to try

Also:

Helpful Hints

Helpful Hints

How to beat the bugs this summer

Keep annoying pests away from your outdoor activities with these five strategies.

Repellents that really work

Also:

Winter Relaxation Spiritual Flute

Winter Relaxation 2 Spiritual Flute

Just what we need during this heat wave ... cool scenery and soothing sounds

It's The Economy Stupid

What financial reform won't do for you

Sweeping new rules on banks are meant to protect consumers from greedy lenders.

But they won't do everything

Also:

Tax collectors try to take pay cut but can’t

Several Idaho officials wanted to show solidarity with state workers who were having their wages cut.

Not allowed

Also:

Americans blame repugicans for the bad economy

From Media Matters Action's Political Correction:

Earlier this week, former Gov. Jeb Bush (retard-FL) criticized President Obama for blaming the nation's economic troubles on the previous administration. "It's childish," said Bush. "This is what children do until they mature. They don't accept responsibility." The former governor's comments echoed other repugican leaders, who claim that Obama's policies have "failed" while averting any blame for the disastrous policies that led to the downturn.

However, a new poll shows that the American people aren't fooled by the repugican spin. Asked which party is "more responsible for the country's current economic problems," the clear answer was "the repugicans"..

Non Sequitur

BP bets on Kevin Costner's oil machine

The actor's mostly self-funded solution gets taken more seriously after success in trial runs.

How it works

Also:

B.C.

Planet Earth

Planet Earth

Dolphins' dangerous search for safe water

Since the oil spill, 47 dolphins have beached themselves on Gulf shores.

'They're running from something'

Also:

Optical illusion to 'magnify' the moon

A partial eclipse set for early Saturday could look supersized to some lucky viewers.

Best regions to see it

Also:

Just the News

Just the News

Biggest gold coin fetches hefty price

An extremely rare, 220-pound piece of change is snapped up for four times its face value.

Last owner in hot water

Also:

'Godzilla' storm leaves Conn. city reeling

An eerie and fast-moving storm collapses buildings and splits trees in half.

'A noise I never heard before'

Also:

Cat follows owners 2,000 miles

A cat reportedly trekked 2,000 miles to find his owners after they moved house without him. Ravila Hairova, 52, thought her gray cat Karim would find the change too upsetting so she asked neighbors to take him in.

She even left his favorite chair, cushion and food bowls behind in Gulistan, Uzbekistan, so he would feel at home. But two years later she found her bedraggled, starving pet waiting on her doorstep at her new home in Liska, Russia.

"I knew he had disappeared from my neighbors' home a few days after we left which was very sad but we never heard another word about him," she said. "Then I was walking along the road and I saw this cat which seemed to be waiting for me. When I go closer I saw it was Karim - thin, and in very poor condition but it was him. He is very happy now and so are we. I've no idea how he found us but I'm very glad he did."

Ravila's husband Lev Kondratyev, 46, said: "He looks like he used up all of his nine lives to get to us - but it's definitely him. There are certain marks on his body including a scar on his tail when it was caught in the door that show us he is 100 per cent our Karim - and he obviously recognized us as well."

Police quell Ryanair mutiny with chocolate

Police in Scotland had to buy emergency supplies of chocolate and water for a planeload of Ryanair passengers who were close to mutiny after spending four hours on the tarmac without any food and drink. Strathclyde police were called to the Ryanair flight at Prestwick airport in Ayrshire yesterday after the plane was held on the runway due to delays caused by an air traffic controllers strike in France.

The flight, to Girona in Spain, had been due to leave at 2pm but by 6pm the flight's besieged crew called the police. The 168 passengers, many with children, became increasingly angry after the crew refused to open the refreshment trolleys, saying they were forbidden from doing so until the flight was in the air. Others wanted to get off the plane.

Officers decided to buy Mars bars, Double Deckers and water at the force's expense and brought the supplies on board. The flight eventually left shortly before 8pm. A Strathclyde police spokeswoman said: "Officers attended at 6pm to assess the situation and assist cabin crew. Officers subsequently purchased water and chocolate for every passenger on board and took it to them.

"Some of the passengers were slightly fraught after a delay in their flight departing. [Police] remained at the airport until after the plane had left." Ryanair said it was unable to allow the passengers to disembark. "Ryanair asked passengers to remain on board while awaiting take-off authorization, to minimize passenger inconvenience and avoid a further delay or likely flight cancellation," a spokesman said.

Mother's Little Helper

Rolling Stones

Mother's Little Helper
What a drag it is getting old
Kids are different today,
I hear evry mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though shes not really ill
Theres a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mothers little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

Things are different today,
I hear evry mother say
Cooking fresh food for a husbands just a drag
So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of a mothers little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day

Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

Men just arent the same today
I hear evry mother say
They just dont appreciate that you get tired
Theyre so hard to satisfy, you can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mothers little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight

Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

Lifes just much too hard today,

I hear evry mother say
The pusuit of happiness just seems a bore
And if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mothers little helper
They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day

Bong Baby

http://www.anorak.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/baby-bong.jpg

Teenage Mom Explains Why Baby Smokes A Bong On Facebook

The teenage mom who posted picures in Facebook of her baby smoking a marijuana bong explains why she did it.

Couple become wedged in drainage pipe after being catapulted off their motorbike

A couple found themselves perhaps too close for comfort after apparently shooting off their motorbike and becoming stuck tight in a drainage pipe.

The pair were reportedly thrown from the vehicle after hitting a tree at speed, resulting in them being catapulted into the mouth of the tube. The force of their collision saw them wedged tight and requiring firefighters to free them.

On arrival the rescue teams were greeted with the sight of two pairs of legs sticking out of the mouth of a roadside drainage pipe in Fangzian, Hubei Province, China.

'Without immediate rescue, they would have been in trouble because of the polluted air in the tunnel and the dirty water,' said Officer Yu Chunyou.

The pipe, which reportedly measured less than 50cm in diameter, was surrounded by concrete gutter walls, meaning that firefighters were forced to dig out the silt in order to ease the couple out.

After ten minutes of frantic digging, the couple were freed and taken to hospital.

£10,000 compensation given to worker who told boss to f**k off

A sacked factory worker yesterday won at least £10,000 compensation after telling a foreman to "f*** off". Machine operator Keith Bodman, 45, lost his job for swearing even though his workmates had only had written warnings for misconduct.

The shop steward, who said he had a 16-year clean work record, claimed he was singled out by bosses. He said: "I'm not proud of the language I used. But the factory floor was a very male environment. I never thought I'd end up losing my job, especially as colleagues only got written warnings for worse."

The Unite union said a "culture of foul language" existed at the Yuasa Battery factory in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. Local co-ordinator Bryan Godsell insisted Mr Bodman, from Blackwood, reacted after bosses quizzed him over his private life.

Yuasa Battery (UK) Ltd settled an undisclosed five-figure sum out of court after Mr Bodman took them to an employment tribunal. A spokesman denied the firm singled him out.

Machete gang hacks off man's fingers and nose

A security worker is recovering after a machete attack outside his home in Kenya, his mother said yesterday. Mike Minihane, 45, lost his fingers and nose in the assault by a gang of five men in the Nairobi suburb of Karen. Mr Minihane was returning home with his wife Christine and their five-year-old son on June 13 when he was attacked.

He was taken to hospital in Nairobi and had eight hours of surgery. He is expected to have further reconstruction work, his mother said. Helen Minihane from Dollar, Clackmannanshire, said: "They hacked off his fingers but they have been reattached. He suffered a fractured skull and I believe he lost his nose, part of his jaw and his teeth. He may have to have a metal pin put behind one of his eyes. But he can walk and talk and he's quite lucid."

Mr Minihane, who has dual British-Irish nationality, has worked in Kenya for around 10 years. He was on a month's leave when he was attacked, in what is thought to have been an attempted carjacking. Mrs Minihane was on holiday in Canada when her other son, who lives in Dublin, called her to tell her what had happened.

She said: "They had been out to dinner somewhere and his wife and his little boy were in the car. They drove round a lane to get to the steel security door and Mike had got out to open it. There were five men and they had a machete, an axe and a machine gun. But at least he survived."