Here are a few of the comments from the inbox:
Awesome blog, Dude! - Charles in Los Angeles, CA
Wow, what a place. - Stefanie in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario
Willow wand or cudgel, whatever it takes to get their attention. - Mack in Mooresville, NC
I find the jokes very subtle and the science news is wonderful. - Andie in Oshkosh, WI
Great job! - Hans in Berlin, Germany
I love you - Connie in Homestead, FL
(Ok, Connie but the Mrs., and the girlfriend have dibs)
And now some of the inane rantings of those forever anonymous Haters:
Sarah is GOD and you better leave her alone!
(Might be god/the gods has something to say about that one)
McCain is a war hero and that is all that matters
(Might want to fact check that one ... last time I looked collaborators with the enemy weren't listed under the definition of 'hero')
You suck!
(First of all, learn to spell - there are three letters in the word 'You' and the letter 'C' is to be found in the word 'suCk'. Then specify exactly what you are referencing to with your 'statement')
God hates Commies!
(Stuck in a time-warp I see)
(Editors Note: I corrected the misspellings in the above ... not only are they scared to leave their name they are illiterate to boot.)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Woman chooses to go to jail over $7.45 bill
A woman decided to go to jail rather than pay her bill at a Fort Pierce Waffle House restaurant.
The total she went to jail over: $7.45. According to a police report, Maryanne O'Neill, 66, ordered coffee and a sandwich at a Waffle House restaurant on Saturday but refused to pay the bill.
The total she went to jail over: $7.45. According to a police report, Maryanne O'Neill, 66, ordered coffee and a sandwich at a Waffle House restaurant on Saturday but refused to pay the bill.
The report said an officer asked her to pay or go to jail and she refused.
A jail official said she was released Monday from the St. Lucie County Jail. She was charged with obtaining food or lodging with intent to defraud, a second degree misdemeanor.
If convicted of a second degree misdemeanor she could face up to 60 days in jail and a fine of $500.
*****
Don't know as to her judgment, but she was eating at an 'Awlful House' in the first place.
Caught on tape
Did Robin Hayes really say “liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God” last Saturday when the repugican was introducing McPain the the piss poor crowd in Concord, North Carolina as has been reported?
Well, to be perfectly honest ... no, he did not.
What he actually said was, "Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."
Hayes denies it, the McPain campaign denies it, the repugicans deny it, but all to no avail.
The statement is on video and audio tape.
Hate-mongering is a suicide gun with the barrel pointing backward toward the shooter and even if there is only one bullet in the gun eventually the chambers rotate and it lodges in the barrel and explodes into the face of the shooter when the trigger is pulled.
That one bullet has fired back on the repugicans ... only trouble now is there are more than one bullet and they keep eating them like they are polo mints every time they pull the trigger (i.e., say anything).
Well, to be perfectly honest ... no, he did not.
What he actually said was, "Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."
Hayes denies it, the McPain campaign denies it, the repugicans deny it, but all to no avail.
The statement is on video and audio tape.
*****
Hate-mongering is a suicide gun with the barrel pointing backward toward the shooter and even if there is only one bullet in the gun eventually the chambers rotate and it lodges in the barrel and explodes into the face of the shooter when the trigger is pulled.
That one bullet has fired back on the repugicans ... only trouble now is there are more than one bullet and they keep eating them like they are polo mints every time they pull the trigger (i.e., say anything).
We Voted
We voted today and everyone we spoke to or overheard waiting in line to do so spoke of one particular candidate with smiles on their faces and pep in their voices (along with the comments on the pleasant - if cool - temperature to be waiting in line in, and various other tidbits of conversation people have standing line here in the South).
The few and far between silent ones all had a pinched scowl in their faces ... like someone had licked all the red off their candy. The rest of us figured they were still delusional and were going to waste their vote on McPain - why else would they look so constipated and hateful.
*****
10:15PM Update:
According to the new SurveyUSA poll - in NC ... Among those who have already voted, Obama leads 59% to 36%.
The few and far between silent ones all had a pinched scowl in their faces ... like someone had licked all the red off their candy. The rest of us figured they were still delusional and were going to waste their vote on McPain - why else would they look so constipated and hateful.
*****
10:15PM Update:
According to the new SurveyUSA poll - in NC ... Among those who have already voted, Obama leads 59% to 36%.
Elderly woman arrested for not returning football
Edna Jester, 89, of Blue Ash, Ohio, was arrested for taking a football away from kids in her neighborhood. Apparently, the ball kept landing in her yard and she was fed up. She refused police demands for her to return the ball, so they arrested her for petty theft.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer:
"That's my only way of getting through to these children," Edna Jester said. "I'll give it back to them later, but not right now..."
(The father of the boy who owned the ball) said he never wanted Jester to be arrested.
“I just wanted the ball back,” Tanis said. “My son paid for the ball with his own money.”
Tanis said she has kept about 10 balls – basketballs and soccer balls – belonging to his children that went into her yard. Jester said she has kept only three.
Hearse driver stalks woman
Alfred hitchcock couldn't write this script and scene directions any better ... a real-world horror film: An undertaker driving a hearse chased a woman through Sydney, Australia in the middle of the night. The funeral director, Adam James Lee, 37, is being sentenced today.
From The Sydney Morning Herald:
From The Sydney Morning Herald:
The funeral director is also appealing against a conviction for obtaining a benefit by deception after his business, Caring Funerals, switched two bodies and cremated the wrong one.
His lawyer, Roland Bonnici, told Downing Local Court today that nobody in his right mind would draw attention to himself as a disqualified driver under the influence of alcohol by menacing another person with a vehicle, and therefore Mr Lee's actions should be considered a cry for help.
Woman who has spent her life smelling like a rotten fish is diagnosed with genetic condition
The Medical Journal of Australia reports that a woman who has complained of smelling like a rotting fish for most of her life has been diagnosed with a genetic condition that causes her to emit a disagreeable odor.
The woman has been diagnosed with an incurable genetic condition called trimethylaminuria, or fish malodour syndrome, which affects the smell of sweat, breath and urine."The characteristic body odour resembling rotting fish can be intermittent, variable and influenced by diet, hormones and medications," her doctors said in The Medical Journal of Australia.
Here's a video about another woman who has this unfortunate condition. "It's not just body odor, it can fill an entire room. And recently it filled an auditorium. It's a very heavy, dark, deep, intense smell."
Unfortunately, there's no cure.
'Battleground States' going for Obama
The latest on the "Battleground States" show Obama with a good and growing lead in all of them:
| State | EV's | Obama % | McCain % | Margin | # Polls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 9 | 50.5% | 46.0% | +4.5% | 2 |
| Florida | 27 | 48.2% | 44.8% | +3.4% | 6 |
| Missouri | 11 | 48.0% | 46.7% | +1.3% | 3 |
| Nevada | 5 | 49.5% | 45.5% | +4.0% | 2 |
| North Carolina | 15 | 48.3% | 44.7% | +3.6% | 3 |
| Ohio | 20 | 48.8% | 45.5% | +3.3% | 4 |
| Virginia | 13 | 51.8% | 43.8% | +8.0% | 4 |
Powell for Obama (and why)
Powell has been on a crusade to resurrect his lost integrity and honor since he submitted a noxious pack of lies to the United Nations Security Council in support of Bush’s invasion of Iraq. He knows his performance was the clincher that ended the debate for many Americans – if the reasonable and straightforward Powell was behind it, it must be true.
This is the final stage of Powell’s reclamation of his character and veracity – rejecting the aggression and insanity of McCain’s more-war stance in favor of the kind of diplomacy he advocated before he served the interests of BushCo at the UN in 2003.
While his endorsement is unlikely to move many civilian voters, former Joint Chiefs of Staff head Powell is still respected in the military and his nod to Obama will signal to many in the armed forces, including the top brass, that it’s safe to support the Democrat this election.
Beyond that, it’s also a sign of the deep fissure in the Republican Party between the Old Guard secular conservatives, such as Powell’s former boss George H.W. Bush, James Baker and Brent Scowcroft, and the emergent power of the Christopublicans, embodied by the elevation of the inexperienced but devout Sarah Palin to vice presidential nominee.
The Old Guard, of course, were happy to use the Christopublicans to get elected, as Reagan and Bush the Elder did, but, once in office, they were put in the corner and ignored.
After Junior Bush’s installment in 2000, the Christopublicans became a much stronger force in the GOP, often calling the shots in various campaigns, although the party wasn’t willing to commit suicide by attempting to legislate such things as abortion and prayer in schools on a national basis. The Old Guard were watching closely at the blowback from the GOP’s interference in the Terri Schiavo fiasco, and the massive public rejection of such meddling – it was the ultimate proof that the Christopublicans were destroying the secular conservative Republican Party of small government, deregulation and low taxes in pursuit of their mad idea of a Christian theocracy.
Powell, who rightfully credits his advancement to Bush 41, cooperated with Junior out of loyalty to the family and, out of the same loyalty, might have kept his endorsement to himself this year but, it seems plain, he was given the green light by the Old Guard, including Bush the Elder, to support Obama over McCain.
The doddering McCain himself is a marginalized figure here; the real focus is Sarah Palin, the pious End Times cipher forced upon McCain by the Christopublicans in return for their support. With an illness-prone and elderly President McCain not likely to finish out his first term, the prospect of a Rapture-Ready Palin presidency makes the Jim Dobson’s and Pat Robertson’s giddy in anticipation – and causes old Cold War warriors such as Powell, who spent his military career trying to keep the nuclear fuse from being lit, shivers up the spine.
Already we have seen Old Guard Reaganauts from George F. Will to Peggy Noonan and Ken Adelman abandon the GOP for Obama; setting the stage to blame Palin and the Christopublicans for what is shaping up to be a Democratic landslide in November.
They will willingly endure four or eight years of an Obama administration in order to drive the Christopublican menace back to the fringe of the party and assert the power of the Old Guard once more.
Make no mistake, Powell’s strong endorsement of Obama shows that the secular conservatives are ready to step in and retake the GOP from the forces of Christian theocracy bent on touching off a nuclear Armageddon to fulfill their fanatical fantasies.
*****
RS Janes posted the above over at BartBlog on October 21, 2008
Did You Know ...
Did you know that ... if you gave your nephew $5000 to bail him out of defaulting on his mortgage he would have to declare the 5k as income and it would be taxed.
Guess what?
The banks will owe no income taxes on their $700 billion bailout.
That ain't right!
Guess what?
The banks will owe no income taxes on their $700 billion bailout.
That ain't right!
As of this moment ...
4186 Brave men and women are never going to return from Iraq
and
546 Brave men and women are never going to return from Afghanistan
ALIVE!
Support OUR Troops ... Bring them home now!
and
546 Brave men and women are never going to return from Afghanistan
ALIVE!
Support OUR Troops ... Bring them home now!
Monday, October 20, 2008
And I Quote
"We have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is
little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical
grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office."
-- Peggy Noonan, speaking for a lot of Republicans
Magnetic beauty on the sun
Above are magnetic structures on the surface of the sun, imaged by the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, operated by the Institute for Solar Physics.This photo is one of a series of photos of the sun recently posted to the Big Picture blog at Boston.com
Science News
Forty-foot long ancient snake
Researchers in Colombia have found fossils of a snake that was more than 40 feet long and weighed over a ton. The paleontologists from the Florida Museum of Natural History say that the snake was a relative of the boa constrictor and slithered around 60 million years ago.From Science News:
At a site in northern Colombia, (paleontologist Jonathan) Bloch and his colleagues unearthed the partial remains of an ancient snake. Each of the dozen or so vertebrae in that body segment measured about 10 centimeters across. That’s about twice the width of the largest vertebra taken from a 6-meter–long, modern-day anaconda, another modern relative, Bloch notes.
None of the ribs included in the fossil are complete, but the size and curvature of the fragments that remain indicate that the snake “would have had trouble fitting though the door into your office,” he adds. The gargantuan fossils represent an as yet unnamed species.
Yankees arrested for Cyberstalking
An Andover couple arrested while jogging today is accused of launching a cyber attack against their neighbors – from reportedly signing them up for a nudist group to filing false reports to child welfare workers about their kids, prosecutors charged today.
Bill Johnson, 50, was ordered held on $2,000 cash bail and his wife, Gail Johnson, 50, was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail for their alleged part in the months-long harassment and adult pranks – all waged over a land dispute, prosecutors claim.
The couple was charged with identity fraud, criminal harassment, conspiracy and filing a frivolous child abuse report during their arraignment in Lawrence District Court. An acquaintance of the Johnsons has already been charged in connection with the case.
“If you aren’t miserable, I ain’t happy. Let’s play,” read one nasty e-mail sent to the Johnsons’ High Vale Lane neighbors in March, according to a police report.
Prosecutors claim that the Johnsons’ neighbors — a married couple who appear to be in their 40s or 50s — were signed up as members of the American Association for Nude Recreation, and received a letter thanking them for donating a boat to charity.
In April, a letter was sent to the male alleged victim confirming that he wanted donate his body to science, prosecutors said. “(He) felt it was a direct threat on his life,” according to a police report.
Assistant District Attorney Maura Officer suggested that the Johnsons engaged in a “disturbing” series of events as part of an ugly land dispute with the alleged victims.
She claimed that the Johnsons, with the aid of the third party, took part in the posting of a fake craiglist.com ad for the sale of nine golf carts, as well as the sale of a 1973 Harley and listed their neighbors phone number, noting that calls should be made after 10 p.m.
The alleged victims were bombarded with calls and visits from strangers seeking to buy the items, Officer alleged.
The Johnsons also allegedly made a false report to the Department of Children and Families, prompting social workers to show up at the couple’s home late one night to interview their 14-year-old son.
The alleged victims also received e-mails indicating that someone had acquired all their personal information, including Social Security numbers, cell phones, their home address and names of their children, Officer alleged.
In March, someone used one of the victim’s Social Security numbers to try to open a bank account, according to the police report.
The alleged victims were in court today, but declined comment.
Bill Johnson’s attorney, Ronald J. Ranta, argued that in fact the third party, Gerald D. Colton of Lowell, 55, an acquaintance of the Johnsons who was charged in June with stalking and identity fraud in connection with the case, performed much of the computer harassment.
Colton pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $7,500 cash bail.
“All these acts were done from Mr. Colton’s computer,” Ranta said.
Gail Johnson’s attorney asked that her client be released on her own personal recognizance, given that she is the primary caretaker for the couple’s three teen-aged children, as well as her cancer-stricken parents.
Bill Johnson, 50, was ordered held on $2,000 cash bail and his wife, Gail Johnson, 50, was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail for their alleged part in the months-long harassment and adult pranks – all waged over a land dispute, prosecutors claim.
The couple was charged with identity fraud, criminal harassment, conspiracy and filing a frivolous child abuse report during their arraignment in Lawrence District Court. An acquaintance of the Johnsons has already been charged in connection with the case.
“If you aren’t miserable, I ain’t happy. Let’s play,” read one nasty e-mail sent to the Johnsons’ High Vale Lane neighbors in March, according to a police report.
Prosecutors claim that the Johnsons’ neighbors — a married couple who appear to be in their 40s or 50s — were signed up as members of the American Association for Nude Recreation, and received a letter thanking them for donating a boat to charity.
In April, a letter was sent to the male alleged victim confirming that he wanted donate his body to science, prosecutors said. “(He) felt it was a direct threat on his life,” according to a police report.
Assistant District Attorney Maura Officer suggested that the Johnsons engaged in a “disturbing” series of events as part of an ugly land dispute with the alleged victims.
She claimed that the Johnsons, with the aid of the third party, took part in the posting of a fake craiglist.com ad for the sale of nine golf carts, as well as the sale of a 1973 Harley and listed their neighbors phone number, noting that calls should be made after 10 p.m.
The alleged victims were bombarded with calls and visits from strangers seeking to buy the items, Officer alleged.
The Johnsons also allegedly made a false report to the Department of Children and Families, prompting social workers to show up at the couple’s home late one night to interview their 14-year-old son.
The alleged victims also received e-mails indicating that someone had acquired all their personal information, including Social Security numbers, cell phones, their home address and names of their children, Officer alleged.
In March, someone used one of the victim’s Social Security numbers to try to open a bank account, according to the police report.
The alleged victims were in court today, but declined comment.
Bill Johnson’s attorney, Ronald J. Ranta, argued that in fact the third party, Gerald D. Colton of Lowell, 55, an acquaintance of the Johnsons who was charged in June with stalking and identity fraud in connection with the case, performed much of the computer harassment.
Colton pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $7,500 cash bail.
“All these acts were done from Mr. Colton’s computer,” Ranta said.
Gail Johnson’s attorney asked that her client be released on her own personal recognizance, given that she is the primary caretaker for the couple’s three teen-aged children, as well as her cancer-stricken parents.
Don’t Eat High Fructose Corn Syrup? You’re Both Snobby and a Racist.
Even though Lloyd wrote about the Corn Refiners Association ramping up an ad campaign to push back against the rising tide of realization that perhaps our current corn-centered agricultural system isn’t the best thing for our collective health or the environment, I confess that the whole thing wasn’t on my radar until this week, when New York Magazine’s ever popular and ever amusing Approval Matrix pointed it out to me. The whole thing is truly bizarre.
The second in the series of commercials, and a hilarious video response follows:
HFCS in the Park
Response to HFCS in the Park
It’s an End Product on Our Increasingly Unsustainable Food System, To Start...
So why is high fructose corn syrup so nasty anyway? Mothership Meals says it as about good as anyone:
...because it's a crappy industrial product produced through weird enzymic processes, because it gets digested by the liver instead of the stomach, because it is part of our national corn-addiction, because it is so cheap that it is responsible for Big Gulps and the ever-sweetening of things like soup and ketchup, because it is the end product in our increasingly industrialized unsustainable food system and because it is at least in part responsible for the obesity epidemic...
via: New York Magazine and Mothership Meals
Man arrested for voter (registration) fraud
With all the whining from the repugicans about 'voter fraud' you might be interested to learn that a man has been arrested for just that ... and here's the kicker - he's a repugican!
From the LA Times
The owner of a firm that the California republican party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.
State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California.
His firm, Young Political majors, or YPM, collects petition signatures and registers voters in California and other states.
Don't you just hate it when that happens ...
These idiots just can't help themselves - stupidity and criminality go hand in hand with these dolts and the keep proving that over and over and over again.
From the LA Times
The owner of a firm that the California republican party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.
State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California.
His firm, Young Political majors, or YPM, collects petition signatures and registers voters in California and other states.
*****
Don't you just hate it when that happens ...
These idiots just can't help themselves - stupidity and criminality go hand in hand with these dolts and the keep proving that over and over and over again.
Mac Duff opts for Obama
Just so you know how bad it is for McPain - even our dog thinks he's full of shit or covered with it at least!
This morning I placed an 8X10 of each - Obama and McPain on the floor out on the porch and told Mac Duff to go and bring me the one he liked when we were in the house.
He bolted out the door and instantly came back in with the picture of Obama and was bouncing excitedly around the room.
I went out to retrieve the picture of McPain and found that Mac Duff had 'relieved himself of all his burdens' on it because it was covered by the biggest pile of doggie-do I have seen him produce to date and it centered square between McPain's eyes.
I didn't think he was out there on the porch alone long enough to leave such a statement, but I was obviously in error.
So there you have it folks - even the animals of America are backing Obama and crapping on McPain.
And you know animals are better judges of character than most people are ... so it is saying something when most people and the animals are in agreement!
This morning I placed an 8X10 of each - Obama and McPain on the floor out on the porch and told Mac Duff to go and bring me the one he liked when we were in the house.
He bolted out the door and instantly came back in with the picture of Obama and was bouncing excitedly around the room.
I went out to retrieve the picture of McPain and found that Mac Duff had 'relieved himself of all his burdens' on it because it was covered by the biggest pile of doggie-do I have seen him produce to date and it centered square between McPain's eyes.
I didn't think he was out there on the porch alone long enough to leave such a statement, but I was obviously in error.
So there you have it folks - even the animals of America are backing Obama and crapping on McPain.
And you know animals are better judges of character than most people are ... so it is saying something when most people and the animals are in agreement!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Suspect in golf cart eludes Utah sheriff cruisers
A Utah sheriff's office has found that it shouldn't underestimate the golf cart as a getaway car.
A suspect in a souped-up cart managed to elude officers who pursued him last month through an alfalfa field - but only for a while. He was arrested the next day at his grandmother's house.
Officers started pursuing the driver after he was spotted spinning out in a city park in Morgan. He took off into an alfalfa field and jumped irrigation ditches that the sheriff's cruisers couldn't cross.
Morgan County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Peay suspects the cart was fitted with a car engine instead of the original electric motor.
*****
I don't believe they ought to admit to this one - it's embarrassing ... and funny as hell, to boot.
Colin Powell endorses Obama
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced Sunday that he will be voting for Sen. Barack Obama, citing the Democrat's "ability to inspire" and the "inclusive nature of his campaign."
"I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama," Powell said.
*****
Even though he is old Army (and you how we Marines feel about the Army) I have liked Powell - granted it was hard to during the initial lies in the aftermath of the Iraq war when he mouthed the cabal's party line - he has turned his life back to the path.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
London WWII-era bombproof tunnels up for sale
For sale: A labyrinth of bombproof tunnels hidden about 100 feet beneath central London. Great location, mysterious past. And the price tag? Well, that's a secret.
The Kingsway Tunnels, originally built in 1942 to protect Londoners from German air raids, are being put for sale by their current owner, telecommunications company BT Group PLC.
"We're looking for a purchaser with the imagination and stature to return the tunnels to productive use," said Elaine Hewitt, who heads BT's property division. "The site has a fantastic history and, now that we have no requirement for it for telecommunications use, it is right that we should offer it to the market. Here's hoping it has a fantastic future as well."
The tunnels, which are about a mile long, were taken over by Britain's foreign intelligence agency MI6 in 1944. The Guardian newspaper said a section of the spy agency known as the Inter Services Research Bureau used the tunnels until May 8, 1945, when it stripped them clean, leaving a question mark over the exact nature of its underground activities.
BT said the tunnels were then used by the government's Public Record Office to store some 400 tons of "highly sensitive documents." They then became property of Britain's Post Office - which at the time ran Britain's telephone network and used the site as a telephone exchange to connect long distance calls.
It was through this reinforced warren that the 1960s hot line connecting the leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union was routed. By the 1980s, when it became the property of BT, it housed secure data backup services and served closed circuit television cameras.
BT spokeswoman Gemma Thomas said Saturday that the company no longer needed the tunnel because the Internet was cutting down on the need for telephone exchanges.
She said restrictions on the tunnels' use meant they could not be converted into a cool new concept hotel, an underground office or a subterranean home. BT suggested they might be suitable for government use or for a major corporation.Thomas refused to reveal was BT was hoping to get from the tunnels' sale
Unusual property. It will be interesting to see how this goes.
The Kingsway Tunnels, originally built in 1942 to protect Londoners from German air raids, are being put for sale by their current owner, telecommunications company BT Group PLC.
"We're looking for a purchaser with the imagination and stature to return the tunnels to productive use," said Elaine Hewitt, who heads BT's property division. "The site has a fantastic history and, now that we have no requirement for it for telecommunications use, it is right that we should offer it to the market. Here's hoping it has a fantastic future as well."
The tunnels, which are about a mile long, were taken over by Britain's foreign intelligence agency MI6 in 1944. The Guardian newspaper said a section of the spy agency known as the Inter Services Research Bureau used the tunnels until May 8, 1945, when it stripped them clean, leaving a question mark over the exact nature of its underground activities.
BT said the tunnels were then used by the government's Public Record Office to store some 400 tons of "highly sensitive documents." They then became property of Britain's Post Office - which at the time ran Britain's telephone network and used the site as a telephone exchange to connect long distance calls.
It was through this reinforced warren that the 1960s hot line connecting the leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union was routed. By the 1980s, when it became the property of BT, it housed secure data backup services and served closed circuit television cameras.
BT spokeswoman Gemma Thomas said Saturday that the company no longer needed the tunnel because the Internet was cutting down on the need for telephone exchanges.
She said restrictions on the tunnels' use meant they could not be converted into a cool new concept hotel, an underground office or a subterranean home. BT suggested they might be suitable for government use or for a major corporation.Thomas refused to reveal was BT was hoping to get from the tunnels' sale
*****
Unusual property. It will be interesting to see how this goes.
Smell like a Tarheel with new perfume
UNC Chapel Hill now has an official smell. A new collegiate perfume boasts that it captures the essence of the school. Thankfully, it doesn't smell like Woollen Gymnasium.
But knowing UNC Chapel Hill I'd vote for the stale beer.
The $60 bottle is among a handful of fragrances targeting universities with big, loyal alumni bases. Each perfume is based largely on the university's color scheme.
What does Carolina blue smell like? Champagne, lemon, jasmine and lavender.
To contrast: the University of Alabama's color is crimson: a scent heavy in reds such as apple and pomegranate, said Katie Masich, a chemical engineer and president of the perfume company, Masik Collegiate Fragrances.
“It really is about nostalgia,” Masich said. “It's all about bringing it back to that happy time – college.”
Masich's experts even translated UNC's chief icon – The Old Well – into smell, using rose, violet and jasmine. “It's very romantic and it has Southern charm,” she said. The UNC fragrance employs 13 scents, none of which smell like construction dust or the Cave near closing time.
There is no N.C. State or Duke fragrance, but if you're a fan of Penn State, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee or Louisiana State, sniff away.
The UNC perfume can be had from the company's Web site and at a couple of Chapel Hill stores. One is Johnny T-shirt, where manager Heather Frazier said a couple of bottles have sold. “Scent does elicit memories but I never thought of it as a way to promote alumni pride,” she said.
Research has shown that the brain's olfactory pathways are closely linked to the hippocampus, the bit of tissue that records memories. That may be why a smell can dredge up long-submerged experiences.
One can only hope that those experiences smell more like blooming dogwoods than stale beer.But knowing UNC Chapel Hill I'd vote for the stale beer.
McPain Bombs in North Carolina
McPain was in Concord, NC this morning and a pitiful 'crowd' (in more ways than poor numbers) - was maybe 500 people if that - turned up.
McPain is claiming 7000 - but his numbers are always 'inflated'.
I guess if you counted all the commuters driving by the rally site you could make a plausible claim of several thousand.
Meanwhile in St. Louis, Obama drew a crowd of over 100,000 (and it was counted by local authorities and not 'inflated' by the campaign spin doctors).
Only 500 in a 'Red' state for the 'Red' candidate!
So much for the lie that North Carolina is a 'Red' state.
McPain is claiming 7000 - but his numbers are always 'inflated'.
I guess if you counted all the commuters driving by the rally site you could make a plausible claim of several thousand.
Meanwhile in St. Louis, Obama drew a crowd of over 100,000 (and it was counted by local authorities and not 'inflated' by the campaign spin doctors).
Only 500 in a 'Red' state for the 'Red' candidate!
So much for the lie that North Carolina is a 'Red' state.
The Fourteen Tenets of the repugican Party
The Fourteen Tenets of the repugican Party
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism
5. Rampant sexism
6. A controlled mass media
7. Obsession with national security
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together
9. Power of corporations protected
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts
12. Obsession with crime and punishment
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption
14. Fraudulent elections
You say those are The Fourteen Tenets of Fascism.
Oops, my bad. Well, you can see my confusion as to which is which.
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism
5. Rampant sexism
6. A controlled mass media
7. Obsession with national security
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together
9. Power of corporations protected
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts
12. Obsession with crime and punishment
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption
14. Fraudulent elections
You say those are The Fourteen Tenets of Fascism.
Oops, my bad. Well, you can see my confusion as to which is which.
Social skills predict future earnings better than cognitive skills
Ten years after graduation, high-school students who had been rated as conscientious and cooperative by their teachers were earning more than classmates who had similar test scores but fewer social skills, said a new University of Illinois study.The study’s findings challenge the idea that racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic gaps in educational attainment and earnings can be narrowed solely by emphasizing cognitive skills, said Christy Lleras, a University of Illinois assistant professor of human and community development.
“It’s important to note that good schools do more than teach reading, writing, and math. They socialize students and provide the kinds of learning opportunities that help them to become good citizens and to be successful in the labor market,” she said.
Not too sure about this study and its findings. I know of numerous people who have no social skills whatsoever that are earning more than classmates who have social skills.
Beastly buddies reported stolen from Texas zoo
A 6-foot-tall camel named Moses and his pint-size pony sidekick are missing from a Texas zoo.
Officials at Capital of Texas Zoo near Austin reported the theft of the kid-friendly creatures this week.
Zoo founder Michael Hicks says that the 3-year-old camel and the nearly quarter-century old pony, named Coco, are "best friends" and follow each other.
He says he and the staff are "heartbroken."
Hicks says he last saw both animals in a zoo pasture Tuesday night.
They were gone Wednesday morning.
He has offered a $400 reward for information leading to their safe return.
Officials at Capital of Texas Zoo near Austin reported the theft of the kid-friendly creatures this week.
Zoo founder Michael Hicks says that the 3-year-old camel and the nearly quarter-century old pony, named Coco, are "best friends" and follow each other.
He says he and the staff are "heartbroken."
Hicks says he last saw both animals in a zoo pasture Tuesday night.
They were gone Wednesday morning.
He has offered a $400 reward for information leading to their safe return.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Some places in the US more 'pro-American' than others
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden ripped into recent comments by his repugican counterpart that suggested that some places in the U.S. are more "pro-America" than others.
Alaska governor Sarah Pale-lyn told a fundraiser in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday night:
"We believe that the best of America is in the small towns that we get to visit, and in the wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard-working, very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation," she said.
"This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans," Pale-lyn added.
At a rally in Mesilla, New Mexico, on Friday, Biden responded to those comments in a vociferous tone.
"I hope it was just a slip on her part and she doesn't really mean it. But she said, it was reported she said, that she likes to visit, 'pro-American' parts of the country," he said to loud boos.
"It doesn't matter where you live, we all love this country, and I hope it gets through. We all love this country," he said. "We are one nation, under God, indivisible. We are all patriotic. We all love our country in every part of this nation! And I'm tired. I am tired, tired, tired, tired of the implications about patriotism."
*****
I guess we are not 'pro-American' around here then because the repugicans won't come here to met us face to face.
And here's a hint for the repugicans ... Greensboro, NC is not 'pro-American' either since the area there is solidly behind Obama as we are here.
Why they went there to stage a fake rally is obvious - they need a 'everyday American crowd' to show the the nation - only thing is the size of the 'crowd' could be counted without the add of a calculator or even paper and pencil for that matter.
It's pathetic and getting even more pathetic.
And as John Cleese said right now America is viewed as the village idiot of the world and as he also said that view would vanish the instant Obama is elected on November 4, 2008
Damn, Can You Believe This Crap?!
From the "Of all the Unmitigated Arrogant Gall" Department: Spread
American International Group is spending money to lobby states to soften new controls on the mortgage industry, the Wall Street Journal reports. When the government took control of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it prohibited them from lobbying. But it hasn't banned the practice at AIG, the Journal reports. The insurer is working to ease some provisions in a new federal law that establishes strict oversight of mortgage originators, according to state regulators. The law requires that originators be licensed by the states, and to supply comprehensive information so state regulators can track their activities, the newspaper reports. The goal of the new rules is to hold originators accountable if they engage in the sorts of improper or fraudulent lending that ultimately contributed to AIG's downfall, the report said. The law was passed by Congress in July. Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday asked AIG to recover millions of dollars worth of "unreasonable" and "outrageous" payments it made to executives as the big insurer neared collapse, or face legal action for violating state law. Cuomo is conducting a probe into allegedly "unwarranted and outrageous expenditures" at AIG, the Journal reports. The U.S. government extended an $85 billion loan to AIG in September to help it stave off bankruptcy. The loan amount was raised to $122.8 billion earlier this month.
American International Group is spending money to lobby states to soften new controls on the mortgage industry, the Wall Street Journal reports. When the government took control of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it prohibited them from lobbying. But it hasn't banned the practice at AIG, the Journal reports. The insurer is working to ease some provisions in a new federal law that establishes strict oversight of mortgage originators, according to state regulators. The law requires that originators be licensed by the states, and to supply comprehensive information so state regulators can track their activities, the newspaper reports. The goal of the new rules is to hold originators accountable if they engage in the sorts of improper or fraudulent lending that ultimately contributed to AIG's downfall, the report said. The law was passed by Congress in July. Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday asked AIG to recover millions of dollars worth of "unreasonable" and "outrageous" payments it made to executives as the big insurer neared collapse, or face legal action for violating state law. Cuomo is conducting a probe into allegedly "unwarranted and outrageous expenditures" at AIG, the Journal reports. The U.S. government extended an $85 billion loan to AIG in September to help it stave off bankruptcy. The loan amount was raised to $122.8 billion earlier this month.
AIG Lobbies to Relax Oversight Rules
Spread the word on this assault on our nation and our future to every corner of the nation and planet and stop these bastards once and for all!
There is a nice damp dark jail cell waiting on these fuckers - let us hasten their occupation of it.
There is a nice damp dark jail cell waiting on these fuckers - let us hasten their occupation of it.
Giant Black Holes Destined for Cosmic Collision
The sharpest image yet of a very distant, early galaxy has revealed that it's really two galaxies harboring whopping black holes that are fighting over food.
One of the fraternal twin galaxies is prolifically birthing new stars while the other appears to be stealing gas and dust away from its sibling. Eventually, the two must merge, along with their black holes.
Read the rest here.
Science News
World's first dog lived 31,700 years ago!
An international team of scientists has just identified what they believe is the world's first known dog, which was a large and toothy canine that lived 31,700 years ago and subsisted on a diet of horse, musk ox and reindeer, according to a new study.
The discovery could push back the date for the earliest dog by 17,700 years, since the second oldest known dog, found in Russia, dates to 14,000 years ago.
Remains for the older prehistoric dog, which were excavated at Goyet Cave in Belgium, suggest to the researchers that the Aurignacian people of Europe from the Upper Paleolithic period first domesticated dogs. Fine jewelry and tools, often decorated with depictions of big game animals, characterize this culture.
If Paleolithic dogs still existed as a breed today, they would surely win best in show for strength and biting ability.
"In shape, the Paleolithic dogs most resemble the Siberian husky, but in size, however, they were somewhat larger, probably comparable to large shepherd dogs," added Germonpré, a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
For the study, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the scientists analyzed 117 skulls of recent and fossil large members of the Canidae family, which includes dogs, wolves and foxes.
Skeletal analysis revealed, "the Paleolithic dogs had wider and shorter snouts and relatively wider brain cases than fossil and recent wolves," said Germonpré, who added that their skulls were also somewhat smaller than those of wolves.
DNA studies determined all of the canids carried "a substantial amount of genetic diversity," suggesting that past wolf populations were much larger than they are today.
Isotopic analysis of the animals' bones found that the earliest dogs consumed horse, musk ox and reindeer, but not fish or seafood. Since the Aurignacians are believed to have hunted big game and fished at different times of the year, the researchers think the dogs might have enjoyed meaty handouts during certain seasons.
Germonpré believes dog domestication might have begun when the prehistoric hunters killed a female wolf and then brought home her pups. Recent studies on silver foxes suggest that when the most docile pups are kept and cared for, it takes just 10 generations of breeding for morphological changes to take effect.
The earliest dogs likely earned their meals too.
"I think it is possible that the dogs were used for tracking, hunting, and transport of game," she said. "Transport could have been organized using the dogs as pack animals. Furthermore, the dogs could have been kept for their fur or meat, as pets, or as an animal with ritual connotation."
Ancient, 26,000-year-old footprints made by a child and a dog at Chauvet Cave, France, support the pet notion. Torch wipes accompanying the prints indicate the child held a torch while navigating the dark corridors accompanied by a dog.
Susan Crockford, a University of Victoria anthropologist and an evolutionary biologist at Pacific Identifications, Inc. in Canada, told Discovery News that "this is an important paper."
Crockford, however, is not convinced the Aurignacians domesticated dogs. She instead suspects dogs may have undergone "self-domestication" from wolves more than once over history, which could explain why the animals appear and then seemingly disappear from the archaeological record.
Crockford details the possible process in her book, Rhythms of Life: Thyroid Hormone and the Origin of Species. She theorizes that the genes that control thyroid rhythms, allowing individuals to adapt to changing environmental conditions, can, over time, lead to the evolution of new species.
"I think that for these Paleolithic-age canids, the process got started and then stopped, leaving some individual wolves with a few of the features of early dogs, but not all of them," she said.
Germonpré does not dismiss Crockford's theory, which she described as "a very interesting model." She hopes more information will come to light in the future about these very early canines. An extensive study on their teeth and jaws is already in the works.
Are you better off now than eight years ago?
Are you better off now than eight years ago?
I didn't think so ...
Chart from CEPR
| Economic Indicator | 2000 | 2008 |
| Unemployment rate |  4.0% | 6.1% |
| Inflation rate | 3.3% | 5.4% |
| Job Growth (preceding 8 years) | ||
| Total nonfarm employment | 21.4% | 4.3% |
| Private sector employment | 23.6% | 3.6% |
| Manufacturing employment | 2.9% | -22.2% |
| Employment rate (% of population) | ||
| All, age 16 and older | 64.4% | 62.6% |
| Men, age 16 and older | 71.9% | 69.1% |
| Women, age 16 and older | 57.5% | 56.5% |
| Real wage growth (preceding 8 years) | 8.2% | 1.8% |
| Minimum wage (July 2008$) | $6.58 | $6.55 |
| Family income | ||
| Median, 2007$ | $61,083 | $61,355 |
| Growth (preceding 8 years) | 14.7% | 0.4% |
| Poverty | ||
| Rate (% of population) | 11.3% | 12.5% |
| People in poverty (millions) | 31.6 | 37.3 |
| Uninsured (health insurance) | ||
| Rate (% of population) | 14.0% | 15.3% |
| People without insurance (millions) | 38.7 | 45.7 |
| Personal savings (% of disposable income) | 2.3% | 0.6% |
| College tuition (average per year, 2007$) | ||
| Private four-year college | $19,337 | $23,712 |
| Public four-year college | $4,221 | $6,185 |
| Gasoline (gallon, 2008$) | $2.03 | $4.09 |
| GDP growth (preceding 8 years) | 34.2% | 19.6% |
| Productivity growth (preceding 8 years) | 15.9% | 21.9% |
| Trade balance (% of GDP) | -3.9% | -5.1% |
| Federal debt (% of GDP) | 57.3% | 65.5% |
| Net foreign debt (% of GDP) | 13.6% | 17.9% |
I didn't think so ...
Chart from CEPR
Another Awareness Celebration
Today is Global Handwashing Day, a campaign to motivate and mobilize millions around the world to wash their hands with soap.
Thanks to the folks over at Grow-A-Brain for the heads up on this most important of Awareness Celebrations!
And I Quote
"I grew up in western Pennsylvania. I grew up in a steel town - Butler, PA - and those people are not racist.
What they are are people that look at a nigger like Obama, who won’t wear the American flag pin, and he is not in concert with their values.
It has nothing to do with the color of that nigger's skin."
~ Rick Santorum's (repugican, particularly a Man-on-Dog Sex pervert repugican) private thoughts while speaking with a reporter.
Read it all at Think Progress
What they are are people that look at a nigger like Obama, who won’t wear the American flag pin, and he is not in concert with their values.
It has nothing to do with the color of that nigger's skin."
~ Rick Santorum's (repugican, particularly a Man-on-Dog Sex pervert repugican) private thoughts while speaking with a reporter.
Read it all at Think Progress
OK, tell me I heard him incorrectly. Oh, I thought I had not. When will these nits (you can't call'em nitwits - they aren't that bright) learn that some people do listen and remember ...
Undecideds Laughing At, McCain
From TIME's Amy Sullivan:
In politics it is generally not considered a good sign when voters are laughing at you, not with you. And by the end of the third and last presidential debate, the undecided voters who had gathered in Denver for Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg’s focus group were “audibly snickering” at John McCain’s grimaces, eye-bulging, and repeated references to “Joe the Plumber.”
Polls in 8 countries show wide Obama support
One would think the repugicans would realize this.
Nah, that would require a functioning brain ...
Nah, that would require a functioning brain ...
*****
If the world beyond America's shores had a say, it seems clear that Barack Obama would win the presidential election by something approaching a landslide.
That is the key finding of a coordinated series of newspaper polls conducted in eight countries and published Friday in Britain's Guardian and other papers.
It is no surprise Obama, the Democratic nominee, is popular in Europe - that was clear when he drew tumultuous crowds to his open-air speech in Berlin this summer - but the scope of the lead suggested by the polls is startling.
In Switzerland, for example, Obama has 83 percent support to John McCain's 7 percent; in Britain, 64 percent to McCain's 15 percent and in France, 69 percent to McCain's 5 percent. The closest they get is in Poland, where Obama has 43 percent and McCain 26 percent.
"The results tell you there is a really strong global desire for change in America, at least in the countries where we polled," said Julian Glover, The Guardian's polls reporter. "There's not a lot of support for McCain anywhere."
Glover said widespread unhappiness over the policies of President Bush has spilled over to color the public's view of McCain, the Republican candidate.
The polls, coordinated by La Presse newspaper in Montreal, also tested attitudes toward the United States and found deep suspicion and mistrust in many countries.
In addition to surveying sentiment in Europe, newspaper polls were conducted in Japan, Canada and Mexico. Obama was found to be favored by wide margins in all three countries.
Julia Clark, head of political research at the Ipsos MORI polling firm in Britain, said the results are consistent with other surveys outside of the United States.
"That tallies up with polls we've done and other polls we've seen," she said. "There is a very large favorability for Obama, particularly as the financial crisis worsens."
She said Democratic Party candidates typically fare better in European polls because their policies on health care and education are more in line with European views. The preference is stronger this time, she said, reflecting Europeans' inability to relate to social conservatives who make up an important wing of the Republican Party.
"People in Europe have difficulties with a candidate like Sarah Palin, who resonates with part of the American population," Clark said. "Europeans don't get it."
Clark, whose company was not involved with the poll, said she had no problems with its methodology even though the polling techniques were not uniform from country to country.
"The margins are so wide I'm sure we're not being misled," she said.
Scientists have new clue to mystery of sunken sub
It's long been a mystery why the H.L. Hunley never returned after becoming the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship in 1864, but new research announced Friday may lend credence to one of theories.Scientists found the eight-man crew of the hand-cranked Confederate submarine had not set the pump to remove water from the crew compartment, which might indicate it was not being flooded.
That could mean crew members suffocated as they used up air, perhaps while waiting for the tide to turn and the current to help take them back to land.
The new evidence disputes the notion that the Hunley was damaged and took on water after ramming a spar with a charge of black powder into the Union blockade ship Housatonic.
Scientists studying the sub said they've found its pump system was not set to remove water from the crew compartment as might be expected if it were being flooded.
The sub, located in 1995 and raised five years later, had a complex pumping system that could be switched to remove water or operate ballast tanks used to submerge and surface.
"It now really starts to point to a lack of oxygen making them unconscious," said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston and the chairman of the South Carolina Hunley Commission, formed to raise, conserve and display the sub. "They may have been cranking and moving and it was a miscalculation as to how much oxygen they had."
In excavating the sub, scientists found little intermingling of the crew remains, indicating members died at their stations. Those bones likely would have been jumbled if the crew tried to make it to the hatches in a desperate attempt to get out.
"Whatever occurred, occurred quickly and unexpectedly," McConnell said. "It appears they were either unconscious because of the concussion (from the attack) or they were unconscious because of a lack of oxygen."
Archaeologist Maria Jacobsen cautioned that scientists have not yet examined all the valves to see if the crew may have been trying to surface by using the pumps to jettison ballast.
"Can we definitely say they weren't pumping like mad to get water out of the tanks? No we cannot," she said. "I'm not really at a point where I think we should really be talking about what these guys were doing at the very end because we simply don't know all the valve settings."
But she said scientists can definitely say the valve that would have been used to remove water from the crew compartment was closed.
Where have I heard this before ...
For months I have thought this political campaign sounded familiar and then I remembered how so. And so a little digging turned up where I heard McPain's entire campaign in a two minute span.
All right in a two minute forty-nine second span, then. Picky, picky are we?
All right in a two minute forty-nine second span, then. Picky, picky are we?Space smells like steak
Astronauts returning from spacewalks have noticed a distinctive smell of fried steak on their space suits when they take them off.
Wow ! Who knew?!"
(OK, some of us carnivores did.)
Turns out, the cosmos is not vegan.
(I always knew those didn't belong here with the rest of us, now there is proof positive.)
Wow ! Who knew?!"
(OK, some of us carnivores did.)
Turns out, the cosmos is not vegan.
(I always knew those didn't belong here with the rest of us, now there is proof positive.)
NASA: “When astronauts were de-suiting and taking off helmets, they all reported quite particular odors.“We have already produced the smell of fried steak, but hot metal is more difficult.
“We think it’s a high energy vibration in the molecule and that’s what we’re trying to add to it now.”
Selling used CDs is still legal in America
The record industry lost a landmark battle last spring, when a court said that merely printing "not for resale" on an unsolicited promo CD does not prevent you from reselling it -- and certainly does not prevent anyone from buying it.
The judgment establishes that "first sale" -- the legal doctrine that says that once you buy something, it's yours -- is still alive and well.
This The Legality article spells it all out for you:
The judgment establishes that "first sale" -- the legal doctrine that says that once you buy something, it's yours -- is still alive and well.
This The Legality article spells it all out for you:
Once again, the music industry overestimated the level of control they should be allowed to maintain over their copyrighted works. Just as when Sony invaded its consumers’ privacy by embedding software in CDs and when the five largest music distribution companies illegally corroborated to fix the price of CDs, the music industry has again violated the law. The United States District Court for the Central District of California concluded, via summary judgment, that the purported EULA included by UMG did not create a “license,” nor does it allow UMG to retain any control over the promotional CD. UMG gave away these CDs, and those who receive them are free to dispose of them as they see fit. Therefore, the court found, as the legal owner of the CDs in question, Mr. Augusto and Roast Beast Music broke no laws in selling these recordings, and may continue to do so.At least we can still sell our old CDs… Right?
It depends. While Mr. Augusto enjoys the right to sell his legally owned CDs, questions arise in a number of states as to who can purchase them. The music industry, it seems, is foregoing lawsuits in favor of promoting preventative legislation. Recent legislation in Florida, Utah, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island has made it more difficult to sell used CDs in those states than it is to get a driver’s license. In Florida, for example, anyone attempting to sell used CDs to a retailer must present identification and be fingerprinted, and any retailer looking to sell those same CDs must apply for a permit and submit a $10,000 bond with the Department of Agriculture and Human Services. Thankfully, those restrictions do not apply to online or person-to-person sales.
Not bad for an out of the way little corner of the Internet
Weekly Chart | Monthly Chart | Yearly Chart
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Telling isn't it ...
This photo has not been altered or photoshopped in any way.
Pot may help stave off Alzheimer’s
Pot may help stave off Alzheimer’s
Good news - smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer’s disease.
New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the
formation of deposits in the brain associated with the degenerative disease.
active ingredient, THC, can prevent an enzyme from accelerating the formation of
"Alzheimer plaques" in the brain more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.
And I Quote
"If the election took place this week, it would be a wipe out of major proportions.
Even Arizona has to be classified as leaning toward Obama. McCain, as of now,
can be certain of carrying just eight states with a combined total of only 36 electoral votes."
~ Dick Morris (repugican)
Even Arizona has to be classified as leaning toward Obama. McCain, as of now,
can be certain of carrying just eight states with a combined total of only 36 electoral votes."
~ Dick Morris (repugican)
That's bad. When you own people are telling you you suck ... You suck!
Parents of Michigan boy left in Nebraska lose custody
Like, Duh!
A Michigan couple were barred from seeing or contacting their children after authorities said the mother abandoned their adopted but unwanted 13-year-old son in Nebraska under the state's safe haven law.
A Michigan court official issued the order Thursday against Terri and Terrance Martin and placed their children under temporary state custody.
Prosecutors said the children were victims of abuse and neglect.
Oakland County Juvenile Court Referee Karla Mallett also ordered the two boys, ages 10 and 5, and a 3-year-old daughter returned to their home under the care of a 19-year-old cousin.
Terri Martin drove about 12 hours to leave the teen on Monday at an Omaha hospital under Nebraska's unique safe haven law.
All states have laws designed to allow desperate new mothers to leave their newborns in safe hands, but Nebraska's law allows parents to abandon older children and even teenagers at hospitals.
The boy was the 18th child and the second from out of state abandoned in Nebraska since the law took effect in July.
Terrance Martin said Thursday that after his wife left with the teen, he took the three remaining children to a motel.
A fifth youngster, a 16-year-old boy, is a foster child who was already removed from the home by the Michigan Department of Human Services.
Prosecutors' request for custody cited a history of referrals to the Michigan Department of Human Services for reports of injuries to the abandoned teen.
The report said Terri Martin told Nebraska officials that she took the boy there to "scare him," yet she denied incidents of aggression.
It also said state records showed evidence that neither parent wanted the 13-year-old, who was adopted along with his 10-year-old brother.
Terrance Martin and his attorney, LaVonne Jackson, had no comment after the hearing, but Jackson said in court that the children were not at risk under his care and that he had cooperated with social workers.
Terri Martin's attorney, Douglas Oliver, said he had not yet spoken to his client.
Mallett postponed a prosecutor's request to terminate the Martins' parental rights until Friday so Oliver could have time to locate Terri.
Terrance Martin said the 13-year-old boy remains in Nebraska, where he was a ward of the state until Thursday.
He said he doesn't know where his wife is or when she is returning.
My question is why wasn't any action taken to find solutions for this family before now?
With the various agencies aware there were difficulties before the trip to Nebraska, someone dropped the ball to say the least.
But the million dollar question is: What is this doing to a 13-year-old boy who was chosen (i.e., adopted) then rejected.
Oh, and don't let the Mrs., near Terri Martin or I would have to visit her on Tuesdays and Saturdays - she was chosen as a child and when it comes to children, the entire Marine Corps could not stand against the Mrs., and hold her back from throttling the life out of anyone that harms a child, especially a chosen one.
A Michigan couple were barred from seeing or contacting their children after authorities said the mother abandoned their adopted but unwanted 13-year-old son in Nebraska under the state's safe haven law.
A Michigan court official issued the order Thursday against Terri and Terrance Martin and placed their children under temporary state custody.
Prosecutors said the children were victims of abuse and neglect.
Oakland County Juvenile Court Referee Karla Mallett also ordered the two boys, ages 10 and 5, and a 3-year-old daughter returned to their home under the care of a 19-year-old cousin.
Terri Martin drove about 12 hours to leave the teen on Monday at an Omaha hospital under Nebraska's unique safe haven law.
All states have laws designed to allow desperate new mothers to leave their newborns in safe hands, but Nebraska's law allows parents to abandon older children and even teenagers at hospitals.
The boy was the 18th child and the second from out of state abandoned in Nebraska since the law took effect in July.
Terrance Martin said Thursday that after his wife left with the teen, he took the three remaining children to a motel.
A fifth youngster, a 16-year-old boy, is a foster child who was already removed from the home by the Michigan Department of Human Services.
Prosecutors' request for custody cited a history of referrals to the Michigan Department of Human Services for reports of injuries to the abandoned teen.
The report said Terri Martin told Nebraska officials that she took the boy there to "scare him," yet she denied incidents of aggression.
It also said state records showed evidence that neither parent wanted the 13-year-old, who was adopted along with his 10-year-old brother.
Terrance Martin and his attorney, LaVonne Jackson, had no comment after the hearing, but Jackson said in court that the children were not at risk under his care and that he had cooperated with social workers.
Terri Martin's attorney, Douglas Oliver, said he had not yet spoken to his client.
Mallett postponed a prosecutor's request to terminate the Martins' parental rights until Friday so Oliver could have time to locate Terri.
Terrance Martin said the 13-year-old boy remains in Nebraska, where he was a ward of the state until Thursday.
He said he doesn't know where his wife is or when she is returning.
*****
All right then ...My question is why wasn't any action taken to find solutions for this family before now?
With the various agencies aware there were difficulties before the trip to Nebraska, someone dropped the ball to say the least.
But the million dollar question is: What is this doing to a 13-year-old boy who was chosen (i.e., adopted) then rejected.
Oh, and don't let the Mrs., near Terri Martin or I would have to visit her on Tuesdays and Saturdays - she was chosen as a child and when it comes to children, the entire Marine Corps could not stand against the Mrs., and hold her back from throttling the life out of anyone that harms a child, especially a chosen one.
As of this moment ...
4185 Brave men and women will never be returning from Iraq
and
542 Brave men and women will not be returning from Afghanistan
and
542 Brave men and women will not be returning from Afghanistan
Alive!
Support OUR Troops ...
Bring them home now!
Support OUR Troops ...
Bring them home now!
Big Bug of Borneo
A stick bug from the island of Borneo measuring well over a foot in length has been identified by researchers as the world's longest insect, British scientists said Thursday.
The specimen was found by a local villager and handed to Malaysian amateur naturalist Datuk Chan Chew Lun in 1989, according to Philip Bragg, who formally identified the insect in this month's issue of peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
The insect was named Phobaeticus chani, or "Chan's megastick," in Chan's honor.
Paul Brock, a scientific associate of the Natural History Museum in London unconnected to the insect's discovery said there was no doubt it was the longest still in existence.
That assessment was also confirmed by Marco Gottardo, an entomologist at Italy's Natural History Museum of Ferrara and Aaron T. Dossey, a researcher at the University of Florida in Gainesville who studies the insects.
Looking like a pencil-thin shoot of bamboo, the dull-green insect measures about 22 inches, if its twig-like legs are counted.
Its body length is 14 inches, beating the previous record held by Phobaeticus kirbyi, also from Borneo, by about an inch.
Stick bugs have some of the animal kingdom's cleverest camouflage.
Although some use noxious sprays or prickly spines to deter their predators, generally the bugs assume the shape of sticks and leaves to avoid drawing attention.
"Their main defense is basically hanging around, looking like a twig," Brock said. "It will even sway in the wind."
Breaking News! gop hospitalized with a broken pelvis.
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is on a roll today ...
Breaking News! gop hospitalized with a broken pelvis.
In a sad turn of events for conservatives everywhere, the republican party has been hospitalized after breaking its pelvis several days ago. The entire gop was admitted to George Washington university hospital in Washington, DC, this morning, after complaining about fractures, pain and the inability to actually move forward.
Apparently the gop broke its pelvis several days ago, but with all the excitement about acorn and William Ayers, didn't even notice it until today. Some speculate the break happened when John McCain named Sarah Palin as his vice presidential pick. "There's no way a body can withstand that sort of stress, without something giving way," said William Kristol.
The republican party is 154 years old, and therefore the prognosis is not good. Complete breaks, let alone the multiple fractures and splinters that have been seen in the party for the past few months, can be devastating to an elderly organization.
"We don't think the gop will be back on its feet for a long, long time," doctors were quoted as saying. "Decades, maybe."
"If we're lucky," they added.
Even Nixon's plumbers were less dirty
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo posted this over on his blog today October 16, 2008.
From Martin Eisenstadt:
Addendum: Johnathan Martin says the Toledo Blade is reporting that Joe isn't licensed to be a plumber, and has a tax lien.
So apparently McMuffin vetted his "regular Joe" as well as he did his veep pick.
Remember John McMuffin's newest bff, Joe the plumber?
Turns out, he's also the bff of the Charles Keating family.
Wotasuprize!!
Turns out, he's also the bff of the Charles Keating family.
Wotasuprize!!
From Martin Eisenstadt:
Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio.
Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher?
Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan.
The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.
Does any of this make Joe the plumber a bad guy?
Of course not.
In fact, after that ill-fated night at the Watergate, he may finally be giving plumbers a good name.
[ed. note: thanks for ruining our joke, Martin!]Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher?
Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan.
The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.
Does any of this make Joe the plumber a bad guy?
Of course not.
In fact, after that ill-fated night at the Watergate, he may finally be giving plumbers a good name.
But at a debate where John goes full bore on Obama for guilt-by-association with William Ayers (and dodges a bullet by Obama not mentioning Keating Five), the press is going to bring it back front and center by midday tomorrow once they delve deeper into the most popular plumber in america.
As they used to say in our neighborhood, smooth move exlax! way to remind everyone that you've been involved in major economic scandals in the decades.Addendum: Johnathan Martin says the Toledo Blade is reporting that Joe isn't licensed to be a plumber, and has a tax lien.
So apparently McMuffin vetted his "regular Joe" as well as he did his veep pick.
*****
He says McMuffin, I say McPain but, either way he is still a joke.
Irish bookie calls US race over, pays off on Obama
The race is over as far as Ireland's biggest bookmaker is concerned.
Paddy Power PLC says it is so sure Barack Obama will win the U.S. presidential election next month that it paid off Thursday on all bets it had taken backing the Democratic candidate. It said it shelled out more than euro1 million, about $1.35 million.
"We declare this race well and truly over and congratulate all those who backed Obama - your winnings await you," the company said in a statement.
Paddy Power has a long tradition of winning free publicity by paying off early, particularly on political contests.
Powers said the biggest winner among the Obama bettors was someone who gambled euro100,000 and got back a total of euro150,000.
The most visionary bettor, though, was the "punter" who put down euro50 on Obama in 2005. At the time, Obama was listed at 50-to-1, so the bettor got euro2,550.
Despite calling the contest, the Dublin-based bookmaker said it is still taking new bets on the race. A John McCain victory Nov. 4 on a bet placed Thursday would pay off euro5 for every euro1 bet. By contrast, each euro1 bet on Obama would net just 11 euro cents.
The government subsidies behind Cindy McCain's family fortune
John McCain has made no bones about his disgust for greed. But his wife Cindy's fortune comes from a government-created entity that’s anti-competitive and full of lobbyists and special interests.
Best microscopic photos of 2008
Nikon has picked its best microscopic images for 2008 and there's some stunners this year -- like this high-mag view of the antibiotic powder mitomycin.
This Just In:
Just got this quotation in the inbox from Mike.
It is from a discussion on the 'trickle down' theory of voodoo economics and I think it is one of the best descriptions I have seen to date of the theory and why it is and will ever be a failure.
"... the notion that the way to slake the thirst of the needy is to provide wine to the aristocracy and then allow the poor to enjoy their piss just hasn't worked out as well as it sounds."
It is from a discussion on the 'trickle down' theory of voodoo economics and I think it is one of the best descriptions I have seen to date of the theory and why it is and will ever be a failure.
"... the notion that the way to slake the thirst of the needy is to provide wine to the aristocracy and then allow the poor to enjoy their piss just hasn't worked out as well as it sounds."
After 9-11, wife prodded Hosseini finish 'Kite'
The author of the big seller on Afghanistan was afraid he might be seen as opportunistic.
“The Kite Runner,” the novel that put a human face on Afghanistan for millions of Americans, almost didn't get finished, author Khaled Hosseini told a Charlotte audience Wednesday night.
Hosseini, a physician, had been writing in his spare time in 2001, but when terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, “I lost all will to continue.”
He worried that trying to publish a book about Afghanistan under the circumstances would appear opportunistic. It was his wife, an attorney, who convinced him to finish. His work, she told him, could show Americans a different side of Afghanistan.
“The Kite Runner,” a story of two boys who lived in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion, was published in 2003 and became an international bestseller. He followed in 2007 with another bestseller, “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” about two Afghani women during Taliban rule.
Hosseini spoke at Ovens Auditorium to an audience of 2,300 – the largest in the 18-year history of the public library's Novello Festival of Reading. WFAE's “Charlotte Talks” host Mike Collins interviewed the author. Audience members also asked questions.
What do you remember about the Soviet invasion? one boy asked.
Hosseini, whose father was a diplomat, left Afghanistan at age 11. They were living in Paris, he said, when he and his family saw a TV news break about the invasion. He noticed the look that passed between his parents. And he realized what it meant. “For me, it meant the end of, really, my life in Afghanistan.”
Hosseini spoke humbly about his talent, saying he often writes himself into blind alleys and fumbles his way out. Responding to a question, he recalled reading condensed American novels, translated into Farsi, as a child. At 10, he read his first full American novel, “The Exorcist,” which a women's magazine had serialized.
Hosseini speaks Farsi, his native language, at home. (He also multiplies in Farsi.) But when he writes a novel, he said, he thinks in English.
As the event ended and applauding audience members began standing to leave, Hosseini spoke again. When “The Kite Runner” was first published, he said, his book signings drew only a few people.
“I'm very grateful for everyone coming,” he said. “I don't take it for granted. I'm very touched.”
Stocks plunge anew as retail sales show steep drop
Volatility has returned to Wall Street, as investors show concern after the release of some disappointing economic numbers.
The Dow Jones industrials finished more than 700 points lower.
The government's report that retail sales plunged in September by 1.2 percent - almost double the 0.7 percent drop analysts expected - made it clear that consumers are reluctant to spend amid a shaky economy and a punishing stock market. And the economy cannot grow unless consumers are spending.
And there's a new warning today from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the economy won't recover quickly, even if the financial markets stabilize.
Gas for $2.99, a great deal or still too high?
... lots of stations in our area have not dropped below three dollars a gallon. While most drivers think that's a great deal, at least compared to what we were paying.
I drive a company car so I don't actually have to pay for the gas, but come on, 2.99, I might as well save the station some money, the boss would probably like that.
Everybody agrees 2.99 today is an incredible price, but not that long ago even 2.99 would have seemed outrageous.
One year ago gas in North Carolina averaged 2.75 a gallon...but since then we've had hurricanes, shut down refineries and shortages, so 2.99 a gallon?
"Well, I think it's great," said one driver.
James Knox's Dodge Charger was thirsty today, he was recently laid off and needs to find bargains, so this sign hit him like a light from the sky, not the sun, but the price.
"I think it's still a high price, but you have to be in condition down from four bucks, I think it ought to be about two bucks," Knox said.
Those days may be long gone. But 2.99 is one dollar a gallon less than we paid one month ago, and it's down 36 cents just from last week, and today is the 29th straight day of falling gas prices. Experts tells us as long as oil prices keep dropping and demand slips due to the weak economy, these prices could fall even farther. But there are some prices we'll never see again, believe it or not, when Jerry Garris' car was new, gas cost fifteen cents.
His car is a 1931 Ford Model A coupe.
"Henry Ford wouldn't believe it today," said Garris.
Three months ago oil prices peaked at $147 a barrel, at the close of trading on Tuesday that price had fallen to $78.63, and the experts say that is probably not going to be the bottom.
*****
It is still too high.
(David Whisenant is a reporter for the local TV station WBTV)
(David Whisenant is a reporter for the local TV station WBTV)
Asheville area has NC's lowest gas prices
Gasoline prices in the Asheville area of western North Carolina have been among the state's highest, but this week they dropped to the lowest in the state.
After hurricanes disrupted pipeline deliveries from the Gulf coast, prices in some western North Carolina areas soared to around $5 a gallon. A month ago, Asheville's prices averaged $4.31 a gallon.
On Thursday, however, AAA Carolinas said prices in the Asheville area averaged $3.07.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that some stations sold gasoline for prices under $3 a gallon.
AAA said North Carolina averaged $3.32 a gallon Thursday with the highest average in the Raleigh-Durham area at $3.42 a gallon.
The guy right down the street from me has it at $3.29 a gallon.
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