The Daily Drift

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Today in History

1220		After promising to go to the aid of the Fifth Crusade within nine months, Frederick II is crowned emperor by Pope Honorius III.
1542		New laws are passed in Spain giving Indians in America protection against enslavement.
1757		The Austrian army defeats the Prussians at Breslau in the Seven Years War.
1847		In New York, the Astor Place Opera House, the city’s first operatic theater, is opened.
1902		A fire causes considerable damage to the unfinished Williamsburg bridge in New York.
1915		The Anglo-Indian army, led by British General Sir Charles Townshend, attacks a larger Turkish force under General Nur-ud-Din at Ctesiphon, Iraq, but is repulsed.
1919		A Labor conference committee in the United States urges an eight-hour workday and a 48-hour week.
1928		British King George is confined to bed with a congested lung; the queen is to take over duties.
1935		Pan Am inaugurates the first transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila.
1936		1,200 soldiers are killed in a battle between the Japanese and Mongolians in China.
1942		Soviet troops complete the encirclement of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad.
1948		Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam requests admittance to the UN.
1963		Lee Harvey Oswald assassinates President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president.
1964		Almost 40,000 people pay tribute to John F. Kennedy at Arlington Cemetery on the first anniversary of his death.
1973		Great Britain announces a plan for moderate Protestants and Catholics to share power in Northern Ireland.
1980		Eighteen Communist Party secretaries in 49 provinces are ousted from Poland.
1982		Reagan calls for defense-pact deployment of the MX missile.
1986		Justice Department finds memo in Lt. Col. Oliver North’s office on the transfer of $12 million to Contras of Nicaragua from Iranian arms sale.
1988		First prototype of B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bomber unveiled for public viewing.
1989		Lebanese President Rene Moawad killed when a bomb explodes near his motorcade in West Beirut.
1990		Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher confirms the end of her premiership by withdrawing from the leadership election of the Conservative Party.
1995		The first feature-length film created entirely with computer generated imagery – Toy Story – premiers.
2004		The Orange Revolution, protesting a primary election believed to have been rigged, begins in the Ukraine. On Dec 26 Ukraine’s Supreme Court orders a revote..
2005		Angela Merkel becomes the first woman ever to be Chancellor of Germany; the former research scientist had previously been the first secretary-general of the Christian Democratic Union.
2008		Hamas and Israel begin a cease-fire following eight days of violence and 150 deaths.

Non Sequitur

Selfless Woman Buys Out Entire Toy Store, Donates It To Homeless Children

“I have to say that this is the first time anybody ever bought out an entire store and donated to the children of shelters.”

Read more 

Carly Simon Admits Who 'You're So Vain' Is About

Carly Simon Admits Who 'You're So Vain' Is About

Which Foods Are Healthy?

Which Foods Are Healthy? It Depends on You

Everyone metabolizes food differently, so what's healthy for one person might be unhealthy for the next.

Cooking With Maple Syrup

4 Great Recipes
Syrup can be so much more than a condiment.

Some Prescription Drugs Now Cost More Than Household Incomes

Report: Some Prescription Drugs Now Cost More Than Household Incomes

Strangers Raise Money For Walmart Worker Fired For Picking Up Cans

Walmart says what Thomas Smith did was stealing and wouldn't let him pay the money back days later. But a white cashier who yanked $20 out of a cash register was allowed to stay on after she returned her loot.

The U.S. Is Beaten By 27 Other Countries When It Comes To Women’s Equality

While some countries move ahead, the U.S. recently fell in global rankings on women's equality.

Hawaii Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Construction Of Giant Telescope

Hawaii Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Construction Of Giant Telescope

Thousands stranded in three-day 30-mile traffic jam

Kenyan police have been deployed to ease a traffic jam reportedly stretching for 30 miles (50km) on the highway between Mombasa and Nairobi.
The road is crucial for East Africa's economy as it links the port of Mombasa to landlocked countries, such as Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda. The worst-affected area is around Taru, about 80km from Mombasa.
Correspondents say the jam has been caused by repairs to the road following heavy rains. Traffic jams are common in Kenya and are often caused by its badly maintained road network but this is said to be the worst for several years.

YouTube link. Alternative Kenyan news YouTube video.

More than 1,500 trucks have been stuck, Willingtone Kiberenge, acting chief executive of the Kenya Transporters Association, said. Some motorists have been stuck in the countryside

Boyfriend Spy

Woman Finds Out Boyfriend of Six Years Is Undercover Cop Spying on Her and Her Friends 

Jared Fogle Gets 15 Years, 8 Months In Prison, Lawyer Blames 'Horrible Sex Addiction'

 At no loss for pithiness, Margolis said that Fogle "traded a horrible food addiction for a horrible sex addiction."

Oklahoma Man Arrested For 42 Drive-By Shootings In One Night

 He was just letting off a little steam!

Cop attacks California Deputy Attorney General for ‘speaking loudly’ in court — and gets away with it

Cop attacks California Deputy Attorney General for ‘speaking loudly’ in court — and gets away with it

Before calling for backup, the bailiff continues to hold down Kelly while pointing a finger and seeming to threaten another female attorney. At least six deputies immediately can be seen on the surveillance video restraining the nonviolent deputy attorney general while placing her in handcuffs.

Corporate tax rates are a sham

From Robert Reich:
Corporations based in the U.S. are supposed to pay a 35 percent corporate income tax on whatever profits they earn around the globe. But those taxes are reduced by any tax payments they make to foreign governments. And they don’t have to pay any U.S. tax until they bring their profits home.
Nonetheless, Pfizer’s CEO, Ian Read (below) recently complained that the firm was at a “tremendous disadvantage” because some its foreign competitors pay only a 15% tax rate, and he reported to investors that it paid 25 percent of last year’s profits in taxes. But according to today’s Wall Street Journal, the actual rate of U.S. tax Pfizer paid last year was 7.5 percent. It would have paid 25 percent if it brought all its profits back to the U.S. but it stockpiles its profits overseas. In fact, Pfizer is now considering merging with Allergan – thereby moving its headquarters to Ireland, and no longer even being American.
In other words, Pfizer’s complaint is bogus. Moreover, it should be paying a 25% tax rate because as a U.S. based pharmaceutical company it enjoys special advantages such as access to basic research from the National Institutes of Health, and U.S. representation in global trade talks (such as the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is giving pharmaceutical companies extra intellectual property protection abroad). These benefits should end if it leaves the U.S.

More

The Shadows of a New American Fascism

The Shadows of a New American Fascism: Why Our Surging Xenophobia Could Have Some Very Dangerous Consequences 

The Dalai Lama Drops The Mic On Everyone Who Wants A Holy War Between Islam And The West

Finally, a religious leader who has the courage to say it like it is.
Read more 

Twenty Facts About Muslims For Wingnut Idiots

Here are twenty facts that expose the ignorance of wingnut anti-Muslim hysteria.
Read more 

Hate Crimes Against Muslims On The Rise, As Wingnut Terror Cabals Thrive

Hate Crimes Against Muslims On The Rise, As Wingnut Terror Cabals Thrive

The FBI released their annual Hate Crime Statistics Report this week. It shows that the number of hate crimes committed in 2014 fell for all minority groups...

New York Teen Accused Of Supporting ISIL To Be Tried As Adult

New York Teen Accused Of Supporting ISIL To Be Tried As Adult

FYI, ISIL Once Freaked Out About Women Buying Cucumbers

FYI, ISIL Once Freaked Out About Women Buying Cucumbers

Ziggy

Skeleton of Burnt 'Witch Girl' Found in Italy

Skeleton of Burnt 'Witch Girl' Found in Italy

The harsh burial of the teenage girl suggests she was seen as a danger even when dead.

More than half of the Amazon's tree species could be at risk of extinction

More than half of the Amazon's tree species could be at risk of extinction

Ancient Fossil Forests Discovered in the Arctic

Ancient Fossil Forests Discovered in the Arctic

A dense 380-million-year-old forest found in Norway could have caused one of the Earth's most extreme climate shifts.

Red panda on the loose after escaping from zoo

Masala, a young female red panda, is missing from the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, California. City staff and the Eureka Police are searching for her.

Gretchen Ziegler, zoo manager, said staff got a report late on Thursday afternoon from "someone in the community that they saw a red panda in their neighborhood." At that point staff confirmed that that they were one panda short and an animal was missing from its enclosure.
"We have no idea how she got over the fence," said Ziegler. "It's contained red pandas since it was built. Animals can do things you can't imagine. We're going to try to figure it out." Ziegler added that there are a number of concerns about Masala's safety. "She's only been in the panda exhibit her whole life so she's pretty naive. We'll be searching all day and all night," she said.
The City of Eureka have issued a statement saying: One of the City’s Red Pandas has escaped from the Zoo and has been seen in the Sequoia Park forest behind the Zoo. The Red Panda is NOT a danger to humans. Zoo staff is concerned for the safety of the Red Panda. City staff along with EPD are searching for the panda. If anyone sees the Red Panda, please don’t try to approach or capture. Please call the police.

Animal News

Weird Sea Mollusk Has Hundreds of Eyes Made of Armor

The animal has a shell made of overlapping plates, allowing it to roll up in defense if a predator pries it from the tidal-zone rock it calls home.

Tiny Skin Structures Make Fish 'Invisible' to Predators

Scientists work out an enduring mystery about how some fish can seem to disappear.

Eyeless 'Smeagol' Daddy Longlegs Found in Brazil

The new arachnid was discovered in its underground lair, a limestone cave.

Animal Pictures