CAROLINA NATURALLY: Jun 6, 2011

Monday, June 6, 2011

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Bravado will be your best ally.
If you're stuck in a situation that's a bit over your head, call upon your best bluffing techniques to get you through.
Whatever has fallen through the cracks might rain down on you, but you'll have fun dodging the bullets and dancing as fast as you can.
This will all be a great lesson on how to prioritize things in the future.
Don't be too rough on yourself -- you're sharp, but you can't possibly stay on top of every little detail.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Florence, Toscana, Italy
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Seoul, Kyonggi-Do, Korea
Vilnius, Vilnaius Apskritis, Lithuania
Burghausen, Bayern, Germany
Edinburgh, Scotland. United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Berne, Bern, Switzerland
Leicester, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

as well as Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Austria, Norway, Georgia, Mexico, Peru, Kuwait, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Afghanistan, Belgium, Tibet, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Paraguay, Sudan, Vietnam, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Qatar, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland

and in cities across the United States such as Bensalem, Union City, Boise, Kirkland and more.

Today is:

Today is Monday, June 6, the 157th day of 2011.

There are 208 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

Drive-In Movie Day
and
Daniel Boone Day.

Today is D-Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Vouchercare Is Not Medicare

By PAUL KRUGMAN

What’s in a name? A lot, the National Republican Congressional Committee obviously believes. Last week, the committee sent a letter demanding that a TV station stop running an ad declaring that the House Republican budget plan would “end Medicare.” This, the letter insisted, was a false claim: the plan would simply install a “new, sustainable version of Medicare.”

But Comcast, the station’s owner, rejected the demand — and rightly so. For Republicans are indeed seeking to dismantle Medicare as we know it, replacing it with a much worse program.
I’m seeing many attempts to shout down anyone making this obvious point, and not just from Republican politicians. For some reason, many commentators seem to believe that accurately describing what the G.O.P. is actually proposing amounts to demagoguery. But there’s nothing demagogic about telling the truth.
Start with the claim that the G.O.P. plan simply reforms Medicare rather than ending it. I’ll just quote the blogger Duncan Black, who summarizes this as saying that “when we replace the Marines with a pizza, we’ll call the pizza the Marines.” The point is that you can name the new program Medicare, but it’s an entirely different program — call it Vouchercare — that would offer nothing like the coverage that the elderly now receive. (Republicans get huffy when you call their plan a voucher scheme, but that’s exactly what it is.)
Medicare is a government-run insurance system that directly pays health-care providers. Vouchercare would cut checks to insurance companies instead. Specifically, the program would pay a fixed amount toward private health insurance — higher for the poor, lower for the rich, but not varying at all with the actual level of premiums. If you couldn’t afford a policy adequate for your needs, even with the voucher, that would be your problem.
And most seniors wouldn’t be able to afford adequate coverage. A Congressional Budget Office analysis found that to get coverage equivalent to what they have now, older Americans would have to pay vastly more out of pocket under the Paul Ryan plan than they would if Medicare as we know it was preserved. Based on the budget office estimates, the typical senior would end up paying around $6,000 more out of pocket in the plan’s first year of operation.
By the way, defenders of the G.O.P. plan often assert that it resembles other, less unpopular programs. For a while they claimed, falsely, that Vouchercare would be just like the coverage federal employees get. More recently, I’ve been seeing claims that Vouchercare would be just like the system created for Americans under 65 by last year’s health care reform — a fairly remarkable defense from a party that has denounced that reform as evil incarnate.
So let me make two points. First, Obamacare was very much a second-best plan, conditioned by perceived political realities. Most of the health reformers I know would have greatly preferred simply expanding Medicare to cover all Americans. Second, the Affordable Care Act is all about making health care, well, affordable, offering subsidies whose size is determined by the need to limit the share of their income that families spend on medical costs. Vouchercare, by contrast, would simply hand out vouchers of a fixed size, regardless of the actual cost of insurance. And these vouchers would be grossly inadequate.
But what about the claim that none of this matters, because Medicare as we know it is unsustainable? Nonsense.
Yes, Medicare has to get serious about cost control; it has to start saying no to expensive procedures with little or no medical benefits, it has to change the way it pays doctors and hospitals, and so on. And a number of reforms of that kind are, in fact, included in the Affordable Care Act. But with these changes it should be entirely possible to maintain a system that provides all older Americans with guaranteed essential health care.
Consider Canada, which has a national health insurance program, actually called Medicare, that is similar to the program we have for the elderly, but less open-ended and more cost-conscious. In 1970, Canada and the United States both spent about 7 percent of their G.D.P. on health care. Since then, as United States health spending has soared to 16 percent of G.D.P., Canadian spending has risen much more modestly, to only 10.5 percent of G.D.P. And while Canadian health care isn’t perfect, it’s not bad.
Canadian Medicare, then, looks sustainable; why can’t we do the same thing here? Well, you know the answer in the case of the Republicans: They don’t want to make Medicare sustainable, they want to destroy it under the guise of saving it.
So in voting for the House budget plan, Republicans voted to end Medicare. Saying that isn’t demagoguery, it’s just pointing out the truth.

D-Day veteran recalls the day he stormed Normandy beach in World War II turning point

'I'm laying with six dead guys around me'

Today marks the anniversary of the pivotal World War Two invasion

Sixty-seven years ago, American soldier Walter Ehlers landed on a Normandy beach in France, leading a squad of 12 men on D-Day who had no battle experience and had spent their Army tours entertaining the troops.

Ehlers's squad scrambled up the beach under heavy fire, and all his men survived that historic turning point of June 6, 1944.

Over 9,000 Allied soldiers died or were wounded. Ehlers's own brother, Roland, was among those killed on another part of the French coastline.

Full Story

WWI-Era Dazzle Camouflage Could Protect Modern Military Vehicles

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During World War I, the navies of the world experimented with dazzle camouflage. The odd angular shapes and lines, such as those seen on the British minelayer pictured above, broke up the visual patterns of the vessels, making them harder to see at a distance. Now researchers at the University of Bristol (UK) think that it could still be useful for land vehicles on modern battlefields:

High-contrast dazzle camouflage could throw off an attacker’s perception of a target’s speed by a wide enough margin to cause a miss, the researchers said.
“In a typical situation involving an (rocket-propelled grenade) attack on a Land Rover, the reduction in perceived speed would be sufficient to make the grenade miss where it was aimed by about a meter (3.3 feet), which could be the difference between survival or otherwise for the occupants of the vehicle,” said Nick Scott-Samuel of the University of Bristol.

They arrived at this conclusion by examining the ability of people to perceive the speeds of objects covered variously by dazzle and conventional camouflage patterns. Participants experienced a 7% greater difficulty gauging the speed of the dazzle-covered objects — which could be enough to save the lives of a significant number of soldiers.

Full Story

Dr. Seuss' Short-Lived Newspaper Comic Strip

In 1935, Theodore Geisel composed a syndicated weekly newspaper strip called Hejji. It told the adventures of Hejji and the Mighty One as they travel through the mysterious land of Baako. The strip was not a commercial success and was cancelled. But you can read several installments of it here.

Australian Toddler 'Paints Like Picasso'

Aelita Andre is said to be the youngest professional painter on the planet at just four years old, fetching up to A 6,100 each for her work.

Full Story

Cinder Block Planter

Annette Guttierez made a cheap and simple but elegant planter for a patio using cinder blocks. Here’s how she did it:

The wall was built with 12″ cinder blocks (the kind you would use to build a column) and we used Liquid nails to hold them together because I didn’t want grout lines and also it gave us more flexibility. In fact in order to make bottoms for the blocks that are sticking forward, we cut pieces of cinder block to fit the inside and then liquid nailed them in. We love liquid nails.

Full Story

It's a Blond World

How can you tell when a Blond sends you a fax?

It has a stamp on it.

The Truth about religion

Non Sequitur

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TSA using the no fly list to intimidate journalists

A House representative said Thursday she is requesting an investigation after learning a CNN reporter was put on the federal no-fly list shortly after his investigation of the Transportation Security Administration.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff about "a curious and interesting and troubling phenomenon" that CNN Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin was added to the list.

"My question is, why would Drew Griffin's name come on the watch list, post-his investigation of TSA?" Jackson Lee said.

Full Story

Barber Pulls A Mike Tyson

In New Jersey: Barber is accused of biting customer's ear in half after complaint about slow haircut.

A Trenton barber was arrested Thursday afternoon after allegedly biting a customer’s ear in half following a dispute over how long a haircut was taking, police said.
James Dillard, 40, was at work inside the Beauty and the Beast Barber Shop on the 700 block of Chambers Street around 5:30 p.m. In his barber chair was a 24-year-old city man.
Dillard and his client began arguing about how fast Dillard was cutting the hair, and the client decided to get up and leave the shop, police said. The client slammed the barbershop’s front door behind him, causing the glass in it to shatter.
In response, Dillard rushed outside and confronted the young man, police said. The two began to fight, and during the struggle Dillard bit the 24-year-old’s ear nearly in half, police said.

Where Does China Get Its Chopsticks?

China Buys Its Chopsticks From A Small Georgia Town.

It seems everything we buy these days says “Made in China.” But millions of the Asian nation's iconic chopsticks are proudly made in the U.S.A.
Two hours south of Atlanta lies the source of millions of Chinese chopsticks. Who would have thought? It's hard to imagine a place more quintessentially red, white and blue – the town, nestled firmly in the heartland of Georgia, is called Americus.
And their luck runs as deep as their love for country: Americus has the ideal type of wood for making chopsticks. The abundant forests of poplar and sweet gum trees in the area strike the perfect balance between hardness and softness, making a comfortable yet sturdy eating utensil for many across the world.

Three Days In Armenia

Armenia's capital Yerevan. Its the capital to a country with a long history including the times when Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union. Major reconstruction of Yerevean started in 1924 during its Soviet occupation. During this period the city's appearance changed since church-like architecture was

introduced and new streets created. Most of the old buildings were destroyed. It was a new era for Yerevan. Armenia's beauty is not actually found at its modern cities. The real beauty is found at the mountains, where nature itself lies undisturbed with breathtaking picturesque landscapes.

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Where Prisoners Can Do Anything They Want, Except Leave

Available: free lodging with frequent bikini parties, drugs, and guns. All you have to do, is get caught smuggling into Venezuela.

Welcome to the infamous San Antonio Prison on Margarita Island, where the inmates run the show and prisoners can do anything, except leave:
On the outside, the San Antonio prison on Margarita Island looks like any other Venezuelan penitentiary. Soldiers in green fatigues stand at its gates. Sharpshooters squint from watchtowers. Guards cast menacing glances at visitors before searching them at the entrance.
But once inside, the prison for more than 2,000 Venezuelans and foreigners held largely for drug trafficking looks more like a Hugh Hefner-inspired fleshpot than a stockade for toughened smugglers.
Bikini-clad female visitors frolic under the Caribbean sun in an outdoor pool. Marijuana smoke flavors the air. Reggaetón booms from a club filled with grinding couples. Paintings of the Playboy logo adorn the pool hall. Inmates and their guests jostle to place bets at the prison’s raucous cockfighting arena.
“The Venezuelan prisoners here run the show, and that makes life inside a bit easier for us all,” said Fernando Acosta, 58, a Mexican pilot jailed since 2007.

Full Story

'Miracle' plane hits snag

'Miracle' plane's unscheduled N.J. stop

The aircraft that landed safely in the Hudson River in 2009 hits a snag on its way to a museum.

See the video

Also:

Awesome Pictures

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Astronomical News

Moons like ours 'could be common'
Simulations show that moons as proportionally large as Earth's moon - once thought to be a "cosmic rarity" - may in fact be common.

Strange sight on Mars images

'Armchair astronaut' spies oddity on Mars

David Martines claims the 750-foot cylinder looks like something people could inhabit.

What one scientist says

Also:

Antimatter Matters

Science ups the 'anti' on matter Artist's conception of an anit-hydrogen atom being released from the trap after 1,000 seconds

Scientists succeed in trapping atoms of anti-hydrogen for more than 15 minutes, greatly improving their ability to study the mirror of the material from which our Universe is made.

Volcano puts on eerie show

Volcano blast unleashes eerie scenes

An eruption in Chile puts on a wild show as it shoots clouds of ash and rock six miles into the sky.

See the photos

Also:

Small earthquake rumbles beneath Los Angeles

Officials say a small earthquake was felt around Los Angeles early Monday but there were no reports of any injuries or damage.

Full Story

Ziggy

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What college robes mean

Meaning behind college graduation robes

Graduates' sleeve shapes, hoods, colors, and hats all carry special significance.

Famous schools' looks

Also:

Great time to buy a house

Why it's a great time to purchase a house

Experts say today’s huge opportunities for buyers might not last very long.

One 'tremendous deal'

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Get paid what you should

How to get paid what you deserve

Telling your boss you need more money is the wrong way to wring out a raise.

Consider asking for 'silent benefits'

Also:

U.S. farmers' labor crisis

A new labor crisis for U.S. farmers

Tough immigration laws are having a big impact on crop-producing states.

Up to 50 percent drop

Also:

The truth be told

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The truth about sports drinks

The truth about sports drinks vs. water

Beverage companies tout the benefits of enhanced drinks over just plain water.

What the experts say

Also:

Culinary DeLites

Tasty, creative dinners all week long

A ginger-apple glaze can add a zesty new flavor to your plain old grilled chicken.

Try a healthier steak burrito

Also:

Ten foods for allergy relief

10 foods and herbs for allergy relief

Broccoli might help you clear out blocked-up sinuses, and oranges pack a helpful vitamin.

Anti-allergy soup

Also:

Everyday cancer risks

Seven everyday cancer risks

Tanning beds are no surprise, but even something as common as coffee might be dangerous.

Talcum powder?

Also

B.C.

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Dog missing for six months found 1,300 miles from home

A dog missing since November is back home with his owners after turning up 1,300 miles away. Buster Brown, a labrador mix, disappeared in November 2010 from his family's front yard in Denver, Colorado.

About six months later, on May 20, he turned up in Salinas, California, and was taken to a local animal shelter. Salinas Animal Services found a microchip implanted under Buster's coat designed to alert his owners if he became lost.

But there was a snag: the phone numbers associated with the microchip didn't work. On May 31, just one day before Buster was scheduled to be handed over to the state of California, his owner, Samantha Squires, received a letter in the mail saying Buster had been found.

YouTube link.

"It's like your child coming home," Ms Squires said. "You think they're gone, but they're not." Buster Brown flew home on Frontier Airlines, which donated the cost of the flight, and was reunited with his family. "I don't know what his life has been for the past seven months," Ms Squires said. "He looks quite a bit older and quite a bit fatter."

Wheeee

Wow, 615 New Species Found in Madagascar in Ten Years

Photo: Frank.Vassen / cc

Sometimes it seems as if centuries of careful study has left little to be discovered on this planet of ours, but nature holds plenty of secrets yet. According to the WWF, 615 unique species were discovered on the island of Madagascar -- and that's just between1999 and 2010! Despite the excitement over each of these new discoveries, however, there exists the troubling reality that countless other creatures will become extinct before they are ever found, what with the specter of environmental crises continuing to loom.

Article continues: 615 New Species Found in Madagascar in Ten Years

The 10 Most Spectacular Butterflies In The World

image credit

Butterflies are for sure the jewels of the natural world. Their short life, majestic colors, fascinating metamorphosis and impressive space orientation skills are things that deserve our admiration. However, no matter how special is their life cycle, the way they beautify the world with their presence is what makes them miracles of the natural world.

Beauty Of The Underwater World

Photography is a major hobby of Alexander Safonov. The last few years he tirelessly traveled through remote corners of the world, photographing members of the underwater world. Author's artworks have received several prestigious awards and have been published in BBC Wildlife Magazine and National Geographic.

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Turkeys Crossing Road Cause Fatal Accident

Turkeys crossing a road caused a fatal accident Sunday evening, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Full Story

Animal Pictures

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Monday, June 6, 2011

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