The Daily Drift

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Today in History

1618		Sir Walter Raleigh is executed. After the death of Queen Elizabeth, Raleigh’s enemies spread rumors that he was opposed the accession of King James.
1787		Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni opens in Prague.
1814		The Demologos, the first steam-powered warship, launched in New York City.
1901		Leon Czolgosz is electrocuted for the assassination of US President William McKinley. Czolgosz, an anarchist, shot McKinley on September 6 during a public reception at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, N.Y. Despite early hopes of recovery, McKinley died September 14, in Buffalo, NY.
1927		Russian archaeologist Peter Kozloff apparently uncovers the tomb of Genghis Khan in the Gobi Desert, a claim still in dispute.
1929		Black Tuesday–the most catastrophic day in stock market history, the herald of the Great Depression. 16 million shares were sold at declining prices. By mid-November $30 billion of the $80 billion worth of stocks listed in September will have been wiped out.
1945		The first ball-point pen goes is sold by Gimbell’s department store in New York for a price of $12.
1949		Alonzo G. Moron of the Virgin Islands becomes the first African-American president of Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia.
1952		French forces launch Operation Lorraine against Viet Minh supply bases in Indochina.
1964		Thieves steal a jewel collection–including the world’s largest sapphire, the 565-carat "Star of India," and the 100-carat DeLong ruby–from the Museum of Natural History in New York. The thieves were caught and most of the jewels recovered.
1969		The U.S. Supreme Court orders immediate desegregation, superseding the previous "with all deliberate speed" ruling.
1969		First computer-to-computer link; the link is accomplished through ARPANET, forerunner of the Internet.
1972		Palestinian guerrillas kill an airport employee and hijack a plane, carrying 27 passengers, to Cuba. They force West Germany to release 3 terrorists who were involved in the Munich Massacre.
1983		More than 500,000 people protest in The Hague, The Netherlands, against cruise missiles.
1986		The last stretch of Britain’s M25 motorway opens.
1998		South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports condemns both sides on the Apartheid issue for committing atrocities.
1998		John Glenn, at age 77, becomes the oldest person to go into outer space. He is part of the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-95.
1998		The deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record up to that time, Hurricane Mitch, makes landfall in Honduras (in 2005 Hurricane Wilma surpassed it); nearly 11,000 people died and approximately the same number were missing.
2004		For the first time, Osama bin Laden admits direct responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US; his comments are part of a video broadcast by the Al Jazeera network.
2008		Delta and Northwest airlines merge, forming the world’s largest airline.
2012		Hurricane Sandy devastates much of the East Coast of the US; nearly 300 die directly or indirectly from the storm.

This Company Raised Minimum Salaries To $70,000, And Is Already Seeing The Benefits

Revenue and profit has doubled since the CEO announced the lowest paid employees will get tens of thousands of dollars in raises.

United Airlines apologizes after disability advocate with cerebral palsy forced to crawl from plane

United Airlines apologizes after disability advocate with cerebral palsy forced to crawl from plane

Neal — who has cerebral palsy — is unable to use in-flight restroom facilities and after the long flight, he needed access to a toilet.

NRA pushing new bill to legalize silencers ...

NRA pushing new bill to legalize silencers — to protect hunters ears

With public support moving towards more restrictions on guns and gun ownership following the recent mass shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College, the NRA is doggedly surging ahead pushing a new bill aimed at making it easier for gun owners to buy silencers.

Burglar who forced victim to make him some toast caught when police called stolen phone

Burglar Adrian Thorley forced his terrified victim to make him toast while he stole his belongings. The 35-year-old raised his fist and ordered the man to prepare some breakfast as he helped himself to DVDs and a mobile phone. Thorley had earlier got into the home for vulnerable adults and made himself a snack. But as he was looking for items to steal, he woke up one of the residents who he started to boss around. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard he also threatened to attack another resident. He was caught later that day after the stolen mobile rang in his pocket when a police officer dialed the number and his DNA was found on a can of drink. Now the defendant, of Stoke, is starting a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to burglary.
Jailing him, Recorder Martin Hurst said: "You spent a lot of time with the victim, including causing him to make a drink and toast. It may have started off as opportunistic but it would have become clear they were no match which is why you took as long as you did. I accept you did not target these premises but they were occupied by vulnerable people." Prosecutor Peter McCartney said Thorley entered the house in Hanley, at 6am on July 1.
He said: "A resident woke to find the defendant in his doorway with some of his belongings. The defendant had eaten from the kitchen already but asked for further food. The resident was intimidated. Thorley raised his fist to him and threatened to attack another resident." The victim then called a taxi to fetch Thorley. But the defendant was aggressive towards the driver so he was asked to get out. Hamish Noble, mitigating, said: "He understands it was a distressing and unpleasant experience for the resident."

Thief used custom-made fishing rod to steal vast array of bras and panties over three-year period

Police in the eastern Chinese city of Liyang have caught an underwear thief after he was found to have stashed more than 285 worn bras and 185 worn panties in his van.

The 32-year-old lingerie thief was caught in September with the haul of underwear as well as 102 other items of clothing in a routine check on a suspicious van.
According to local police, the thief reportedly used a custom-made tool similar to a fishing rod to steal the undergarments. The haul of unmentionables takes up the space of half a basketball court when laid out together. Police said the amount of stolen items was sufficient for a criminal case to be launched.
The man confessed that his crime spree had not been brief, but had been stealing the items of clothing over a three-year period. He told police that he started stealing only a few items at first but soon became unable to control himself, stealing the clothes more frequently. Police said they will seek psychological help for the man.

Criticism over Chinese professor's wife-sharing proposal for poorer men

A Chinese professor's suggestion that poorer men could share wives has sparked debate on how to solve China's gender imbalance. Zhejiang University economics professor Xie Zuoshi's proposal has been met with heavy criticism that it is immoral. China has one of the biggest gender imbalances in the world, with about 118 boys born to every 100 girls. The imbalance is largely due to the one-child policy and cultural preferences for male children. Increasing wealth and population movement also means many women are leaving the countryside to work in cities, with men who stay behind struggling to find partners.

Prof Xie noted there were reports that China could possibly have 30 to 40 million bachelors by 2020. The huge demand for women and the lack of supply would result in the "value of women going up", he wrote. "Men with high incomes will have an advantage in finding women, because they can afford the high price. And what about the low income men? One way is for several men to band together to find a wife. This isn't some pie-in-the-sky idea of mine. In some remote and poor areas there are cases where brothers jointly marry one wife, and they can live happily and harmoniously." He also advocated for greater economic growth so that poorer bachelors could earn more income and could thus attract women from other regions such as South East Asia or Africa.
The shortage of wives in some rural parts of China has led to more men marrying women from neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar, but has also fueled human trafficking and wedding scams. Prof Xie's essay, which was published last week, attracted mostly appalled derision from readers, who criticized his idea as immoral and illegal. "If you can't find a mate then don't bother, if women are just only meant for producing heirs and have to mate with many men just to solve the population growth issue, how does this make us any different from animals?" said one woman. Jing Xiong, a project manager with Chinese women's rights group Media Monitor for Women Network, said that the gender imbalance problem 'is basically a problem stemming from teachings that prioritize men over women'. "And now the solutions are still very much male-centered. This is extremely ridiculous.
"Prof Xie's suggestion ignores the wishes and rights of women, and casts women as tools used to satisfy men's needs for sex, marriage and reproduction... this suggestion is basically sexual discrimination." In a subsequent essay, Prof Xie said he had been bombarded with angry phone calls. But he stuck to his guns, arguing that laws and morals were mutable. "If we wave the big stick of morality, keep to the one-husband-one-wife social contract, and let 30 million bachelors have no women and no hope, they hate society, then we would have a serious social problem. So please don't talk to me about morals. If we don't let the 30 million bachelors have women, their lives would have no hope and then they may go around raping, killing, setting off bombs... (let me emphasize that this is a possibility, I'm not saying they would definitely do that). Don't tell me that is your morality?" he said.

Pat Robertson Proclaims: Gay Marriage Is Illegal!

Methinks he doth protest too much

Religio-wingnuts can't face up to the reality of gay marriage.

Don’t Look At Her Face And Raping Your Wife Is Just Awesome, Says 'Christian' Website

This 'christian' sex guru explains that it’s OK to rape your wife, but seeing the despair and hatred in her eyes is just a mood-killer (for you).

Read more 

Creationist moron Ray Comfort mocks ‘dumb’ Hindus injured or killed by falling Ganesh statue

Creationist moron Ray Comfort mocks ‘dumb’ Hindus injured or killed by falling Ganesh statue

One man was killed and three people were injured when a statue of the elephant god Ganesh collapsed during a worship service last month in India, and a video of the tragedy was circulated and widely reported last week.

World's Newest Country May Be Next Coffee Hotspot

World's Newest Country May Be Next Coffee Hotspot

Welcome to our mugs, South Sudan.

Burning Hell Coming for Mideast Deserts

Burning Hell Coming for Mideast Deserts

Desert regions of the Mideast could become uninhabitable by the end of the century as the climate warms.

Our Ancestors and Red Meat

Didn't Our Ancestors Eat Red Meat?

Red meat may cause cancer, a study reported this week. But didn’t we evolve to eat it?

Oldest ABCs

Oldest ABCs Primer Found on Ancient Pottery

Ancient Egyptians reviewed their ABCs with the help of this 15-century B.C. inscription.

Ancient warrior's tomb and huge treasure hoard found in Greece

US archaeologists in Greece have uncovered the skeleton of an ancient warrior that has lain undisturbed for more than 3,500 years along with a huge hoard of treasure, the Greek culture ministry announced Monday.The treasure is "the most important to have been discovered in 65 years" in continental Greece, the ministry said.
The wooden coffin of the unknown soldier -- evidently a person of some importance -- was found on the site of the Mycenaean-era Palace of Nestor on Greece's Peloponnese peninsula.

He had been laid to rest with an array of fine gold jewellery, including an ornate string of pearls, signet rings, a bronze sword with a gold and ivory handle, silver vases and ivory combs.

The jewellery is decorated in the style of the Minoans, the civilization that flourished on the island of Crete from around 2000 BC, with the figures of deities, animals and floral motifs.

The archaeologists, Jack L. Davis and Sharon R. Stocker from the University of Cincinnati, have identified more than 1,400 pieces "whose quality testifies to the influence of the Minoans" on the later Mycenaeans.

The Mycenean civilization spread from the Peloponnese across the whole of the eastern Mediterranean in the 2nd century BC.

The tomb, which stands at 2.4 metres (7 feet 10 inches) long and 1.5 metres wide, was unearthed during excavations begun in May near Pylos, on the site of the palace of Nestor.

Built between 1300 and 1200 BC, the palace's ruins were discovered in 1939.

‘Quantum spookiness’ and chasing Schrödinger’s cat

Physicists prove ‘quantum spookiness’ and start chasing Schrödinger’s cat

The world of quantum mechanics is weird. Objects that are far apart can influence each other in what Albert Einstein called “spooky action at a distance”, and cats can potentially be dead and alive at the same time.

Baby Giant Squid

First Baby Giant Squid Caught Off Japan

Never before have the young of the elusive creature been studied.

Miniature horse captured after hours-long chase by police, animal welfare officers and cowboys

A miniature horse ran wild in downtown Oklahoma City early on Friday morning. Police, animal welfare officers and cowboys from the Oklahoma National Stockyards chased after the horse for hours.

Animal Pictures