CAROLINA NATURALLY

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Mortuary's License Pulled Over Severed Legs

Cave Funeral home in Allendale, SC and its director, Michael Cave, have had their licenses revoked after it was discovered the home cut off the legs of a man so that his body would fit into a casket.

Full Story

Man arrested for the 153rd time to plead guilty

A New Hampshire man has been arrested for the 153rd time, this time after he was accused of punching someone in the face over the weekend.

Full Story

Twenty UFOs fly in formation?

Mystery ... bright objects light up night sky

This incredible picture captured the strange sighting of what appeared to be more than 20 UFOs buzzing over awestruck Britain.

Full Story

China Blocks Twitter, Hotmail and Flickr

China ramps up Internet censorship as the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre approaches.

China Blocks Twitter, Hotmail and Flickr

The government accidentally posts sensitive nuclear info

Gov't accidentally posts sensitive nuclear info

Officials insist that the mistakenly published information is not a "road map for terrorists."

The government accidentally posts sensitive nuclear info

Also:

More debris, few clues in Air France flight search

Despite new finds hopes are fading for conclusive answers to the still-unexplained crash.

Past flight may offer clues to Air France crash

The flight computer of a similar Airbus jet sent it on a 650-foot dive last October, injuring more than 100 passengers.

Past flight may offer clues to Air France crash

Careers that remain red hot

Qualified applicants are still hard to find for these jobs that can pay as much as $86K.

Where the unemployment rate is highest

Joblessness rose in all U.S. metro areas last month, with some regions suffering especially high rates.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Rome, Lazio, Italy
Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Delhi, Delhi, India
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Sant Cruz De Tenerife, Canarias, Spain
Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland
Lund, Skane Lan, Sweden
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Zagreb, Grad Zagreb, Croatia
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany
Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
madrid, madrid, Spain
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania

as well as Scotland, Wales, Serbia and Montenegro, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Your natural leadership skills are a curse and a blessing.
They're a blessing for others because, when things get out of control, they know they can turn to you for help.
The curse part comes in when you're out for recreation, looking forward to some fun, and then, suddenly, you're asked to take over.
Like today, for example.
Oh, well. Think of it as a compliment -- or resolve to find yourself another companion.

Ain't it the truth.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Today in history ...

Today is Tuesday, June 2, the 153rd day of 2009.
There are 212 days left in the year.

Today In History June 2

Dachshund Adopts Tiger Cub

An unlikely pair of friends has emerged at a zoo in the German town of Stroehen.

Dachshund Adopts Tiger Cub

Mom was ring leader of teen gang

"This kid jumps out with a pistol and cocks it," said Aaron, a victim of a robbery.

Mom was ring leader of teen gang

Plane crash site located in Atlantic Ocean

Brazilian officials confirm a 3-mile stretch of debris is the site of the Air France disaster.

Plane crash site located in Atlantic Ocean

Also:

Why did Flight 447 disappear?

Police say suitcases carried by woman who was to fly from Chile to Spain were made of cocaine

Police say two suitcases carried by a woman who was about to fly from Chile to Spain were made of cocaine.

Suitcases carried by woman were made of cocaine

My Theme Song

Bad to the Bone

George Thorogood

Israeli woman survives attempt at suicide by train

An Israeli woman laid herself on the tracks just before a train roared through a crossing in an apparent suicide attempt.

Israeli woman survives attempt at suicide by train, video captured on closed circuit TV

Girl, 5, raised by dogs and cats

A Russian girl was taken into police custody last week after she was found to have been raised by dogs and cats.

Full Story

Infomercial gadgets that do — and don't — work

A few kitchen inventions make the cut while others fall short in a review round-up.

Infomercial gadgets that do — and don't — work

Also:

GM employees react to plant closing

Play Video

The bankrupt car maker brings bad news to central Ohio, sparking anger against the president but also a show of resilience.

GM employees

Also:

Dimbulb Spews

Dimbulb spews ...

Dimbulb: President Obama hates white people
Projecting there again are we, Lush ol' boy!?

Dimbulb says Dimbulb should shut up
Like that is going to happen. Would be nice, but it isn't going to happen.

Assorted Wing-Nuttery

Assorted Wing-Nuttery

Dick Morris thinks convincing the Japanese to develop nuclear weapons is the solution to dealing with North Korea
Oh, like that is a great idea!

Swill O'Really again claims that if gay marriage was legalized, "you could have married a duck"
Well, since he's brought it up again - if he really wants to marry a duck I dare say most of us won't have a problem with it ... it would explain an awful lot though.

RedState's Erick Erickson compares lush Dimbulb to Jesus Christ
Whatever Erick has been smoking must be some really GOOD SHIT for him to come up with this bullshit.

Hysterically funny repugican video uses Abe Lincoln to attack Barack Obama
Only problem is they think it's serious - not funny ... how stupid of them. Then again, that is normal for them isn't it?

Wing-nuts claim Sonia Sotomayor is Harriet Miers.
Oh, Please! Now, I have a headache!

The history of the repugicans

Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.

~ Benjamin Franklin

And to think he was dead for decades before the repugicans 'founded' their 'party'!
Didn't know Franklin was a Prophet now did you?

The Truth About Abortion

In the wake of the terrorist murder of an American this past Sunday it is appropriate to post the facts (I know the terrorists won't read it much less understand it but the rest of us do).

Pro-life terrorists imagine a country awash in abortions, but they are in fact much harder to procure than most people realize.

The Truth About Abortion

Air France plane search efforts turn up debris

An airplane seat cushion, a life jacket, and signs of fuel are found in the Atlantic.

Search efforts turn up debris

Also:

Space Monkeys

And, no, not the repugicans, either, unfortunately ...

National Geographic celebrates the first monkeys in space with a photo-feature of the primates in their capsules:

A squirrel monkey named Baker peers out from a 1950s NASA biocapsule as she's readied for her first space mission. Baker and a rhesus monkey named Able launched aboard a Jupiter AM-18 rocket on May 28, 1959 -- 50 years ago this week. The pair returned to Earth alive after a 15-minute flight, becoming the first primates to survive a trip into space. Miss Baker, as she came to be known, spent the latter part of her life at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. She died of kidney failure in 1984 at the ripe old age of 27.

SPACE MONKEY PICTURES: 50-Year Anniversary

Now, if that don't beat all ...

In 1940, "foreign limousines" came with hot and cold running water in a washbasin on the front fender:

THIS new foreign limousine has a hot and cold water folding wash-basin of aluminum built into its right front fender. Beneath the hood is a 2-compartment tank holding two and a half gallons of water. The hot water section is heated by exhaust gases passing through a spiral pipe. The two faucets give water of any desired temperature. The basin is automatically emptied when it is folded into the fender.

Where Do They Keep The Towels? (Feb, 1940)

Repugican vs Repugican

They say Rush Limbaugh is the 800 lb. gorilla in the Republican Party.

But I think it's mean-spirited to say that -- because he's down to 650 lbs.

~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

Don't just love it when they snipe amongst themselves!

Were our earliest hominid ancestors European?

News from the world of Anthropology

A 12-million-year-old fossil from Spain suggests that hominids migrated into Africa before the evolution of modern humans.

This makes more sense than the 'out of Africa' theories because the most activity among hominids has ever been in the 'temperate zones' of the Earth and not the 'tropical zones'.

Earliest hominid ancestors European

Temple timbers trace collapse of Mayan culture

Temple II at Tikal

Timber use in an abandoned city provides first direct evidence that the Mayans ran out of wood as they over-exploited the environment.

The collapse of Mayan culture

Beatles

I might actually have to get 'into' video games now!

Heavy clouds hamper search for Air France jet

Stormy seas and heavy clouds hampered the search Tuesday for wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean with 228 people aboard.

Heavy clouds hamper search for Air France jet

Burger Kings deny global warming

Several Burger King restaurants in and around Memphis, Tenn., were seen displaying the message "Global warming is baloney" on their signs, according to the Memphis Flyer

Burger Kings deny global warming

Just some things that happened

Fla. teen gets woman out of car before train smashes it

High school sophomore Edward Music was watching television about 4 a.m. Saturday when he heard tires squealing and a big bang.

Car loses all four wheels on highway

A car traveling on a motorway in Switzerland lost all four wheels simultaneously, coming to an immediate halt in the middle of the highway, police said on Saturday.

Man finds $250,000 in street

A US man found a quarter of a million dollars stuffed into carrier bags in the street - and handed it in.

Giant feral pig that ate a cow 'an internet hoax'

You kind of thought so anyway, didn't you?

The story of a giant feral pig being shot after a farmer found it gorging on one of his prize cows has been dismissed as an internet hoax by Australian authorities despite this picture.

Giant feral pig that ate a cow 'an internet hoax'

Cops and Robbers

British mother and lover jailed for two months for adultery in Dubai

The British mother of two accused of cheating on her estranged husband in Dubai has been jailed for two months.

French 'Spiderman' Alain Robert arrested climbing Sydney skyscaper

Around 200 people gathered to watch as Robert, known for scaling some of the world's tallest and best-known buildings without ropes or other equipment, climbed to the top of the Royal Bank of Scotland Tower.

Police: Calif. bank robber took 5-story plunge

Authorities in Southern California say a bank robber leapt off a five-story parking garage while fleeing police and was badly injured.

On Being Sure

I was thought to be 'stuck up.' I wasn't. I was just sure of myself. This is and always has been an unforgivable quality to the unsure.

~ Bette Davis

So true, Bette, so true. I feel your pain

Science News

From BBC-Science:

'Oldest pottery' found in China

Archaeologists have found pottery dating to between 17,500 and 18,300 years ago at a cave in south-east China.

Chainsaw Motor Powers Bicycle

Here's a man that is getting everywhere fast. This guy has strapped a chainsaw motor to his bicycle in order to speed things up a bit.

Chainsaw Motor Powers Bicycle

Kids' skin issues you shouldn't ignore

These 10 conditions that show up in children's skin should be checked out by a doctor.

Kids' skin issues you shouldn't ignore

And I Quote

Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come.

~ Carl Sandburg

Liars and Fools

Today's Liars and Fools are:
The Faux News edition

Faux's Brick on Obama: "His friends and his nominees and everything, they're all Marxist"
Karl Marx is rolling in his grave at this one - who knew the dead could laugh do hard.

Faux's Brick suggests ACORN founders were inspired by "strategy" to "transform" US "into a socialist-Marxist state"
Again, Karl is spinning from the laughter.

Faux's Brick says Sotomayor appointment is more evidence of a Marxist "hostile takeover" of the U.S.A.
Damn. let the poor man stop spinning - all the laughter is really breaking him up ... literally.

Fox's Brick: "When did we get to the place in America to where we can't have disagreements without demonizing each other?"
Come again?! 1980, if you must know! And your demon(er, saint) ronnie raygun started it all.

Faux talker Peters has a Gitmo solution: Just kill them all
Typical NAZI. 'Nuff said.

Faux Nation baselessly claims Sotomayor "wants to ban guns"
They also claim repugicans are 'normal' people too, so is it surprising their delusions continue?

Faux Sports article on top women athletes includes a horse
Yep, that sounds about right - they can't tell a human from a horse.

Kim Jong Il's youngest son likely successor

Little is known about Kim Jong-un, whose youth poses a potential problem.

Kim Jong Il's youngest son likely successor

Also:

Surprising jobs that pay six figures

Top ship captains and gaming managers can pull in a healthy salary — see other jobs that can pay surprisingly well.

Surprising jobs that pay six figures

Also:

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands
London, England, United Kingdom
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland
Fuerth, Bayern, Germany
Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
Middleborough, England, United Kingdom
London, Ontario, Canada
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The hague, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

as well as all fifty states in the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Keep it low-key.

I'll be over under the shade tree then, just wake me in time for lunch.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Cheney on gay marriage: 'Freedom for everyone'

HOLY SHIT, BATMAN!
I agree with something the Dick said!
The world is most assuredly turned upside down!

Dick Cheney said Monday he supports gays being able to marry but believes states, not the federal government, should make the decision.

Cheney makes candid comments on gay marriage

While I agree with the idea that gays should be allowed to marry - like the comedians have said ... they have the right to be miserable too and marriage has always been 'the same sex' anyway - I am none too sure of the Dick's motives.
That said, his support of 'same-sex' marriage - if genuine - is his only redeeming feature and it is sure to blow up a hell of a dust storm among the troglodyte faithful because it has already stirred up a healthy wind of skepticism among the rest of us.

All government should be out of the 'marriage' business in the first place ... state and federal. What would be the best solution to this quandary would be for the federal government to require all states to recognize marriage licenses from other states ... some do not even with the 'traditional' marriages from other states.

Beatlemania to hit consoles

When you persuade THE BEATLES to reunite, there must be something special in the air.

Beatlemania

Man charged in slaying of abortion doctor

A 51-year-old Kansas man was charged with first-degree murder late Sunday in the death of a physician whose Kansas women's clinic frequently took center stage in the U.S. debate over abortion, authorities said.

Full Story

Weather phenomenon worries meteorologists

Play Video

As hurricane season begins "pop up storms" pose a unique threat.

Weather phenomenon

Also:

Faster

George Harrison

Vast ocean search under way for Air France jet

Play Video

Military aircraft is scanning the Atlantic, but the first ship isn't expected to reach the area of the plane's disappearance until Wednesday.

Search under way for Air France jet

Also:

What 'value menu' items really cost restaurants

A survey of franchise owners reveals how much stores are making — and losing — on fast-food promotions.

What 'value menu' items really cost restaurants

Also:

Obama puts 31-year-old in charge of fixing GM

Brian Deese just got out of graduate school and is now tasked with revamping General Motors.

Obama puts 31-year-old in charge of fixing GM

Also:

Workers ponder life without GM

Alphabet War? GMAC vs ABA

Ally Bank, the banking arm of GMAC Financial Services, is in a budding dispute with the American Bankers Association over the higher interest rates the lender is offering on its savings accounts.

GMAC chief executive Al de Molina today sent a letter to the ABA's leader calling the trade association's recent complaints about its interest rates “inappropriate.” De Molina also defended his bank's health and stressed Ally Bank's effort to be “straightforward” with customers.

De Molina's missive was prompted by a letter last week from ABA CEO Edward Yingling to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. CEO Sheila Bair that drew attention to GMAC's above-average rates.

“ABA believes it is completely inappropriate, and indeed risky, for GMAC Bank/Ally Bank to be allowed by regulators to continue to pay rates well above the market,” Yingling wrote. “We urge you to apply the same principles that would apply to other banks in a comparable situation to GMAC/Ally.”

GMAC changed the name of its bank to Ally last month and began stressing its commitment to higher rates and fewer fees in a bid to add more deposits at an institution hard hit by the auto industry's travails and a load of bad mortgage loans. GMAC converted to a bank holding company last year to receive federal bailout funds.

In his letter, Yingling said Ally was offering six-month certificates of deposit last month at rates at 2.13 percent, more than double the national average. He called this strategy “egregious” because GMAC is a “troubled bank” in which the government has a “controlling interest.” He also noted that GMAC lost money in 2008 and the first-quarter of 2009.

In his response, de Molina said the bank is considered more than “well capitalized,” no longer makes the mortgage loans that have spurred its losses and is lending as required under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. In a filing Friday, GMAC said the government holds 35 percent of the voting power in the company.

“You might want to assist your members in figuring out how they are going to compete in the new market place rather than ask regulators to direct Ally Bank to pay its depositors less competitive rates,” de Molina wrote.

Detroit-based GMAC has been expanding its presence in Charlotte, where de Molina, Bank of America's former chief financial officer, lives. Its hiring of former Bank of America executives has addled his former employer, which has sent letters to former employees now at GMAC reminding them of their obligations under non-compete and other agreements.

*****

Don't you just love it when these snakes in-fight!

Swine Flu in Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg County has its first confirmed case of swine flu.

The Mecklenburg County Health Department spoke about its first case this morning at a 10:30a.m. news conference.

The elementary school student contracted the swine flu when the family visited New York Memorial Day weekend, said Dr. Stephen Keener. The child was well on Friday, but fell ill on Monday when the family returned by car to their home in Mecklenburg County.

The child was in contact with an ill person in New York, but Keener could not confirm if that person had the swine flu.

The child did not go to school and was admitted to Carolinas Medical Center on Wednesday. The child has since been discharged. The child is isolated at home, Keener said.

"There is no intervention that needs to be done with the school because there was no exposure at the school," Keener said. It is not known what school the child attends.

The child has only had close contact with her parents. So far the parents have not shown any symptoms.

*****

North Carolina now has 15 total cases of swine flu, although the state still has far fewer cases than some of its neighbors. Federal health officials have counted about 9,000 confirmed swine flu cases nationwide.

South Carolina officials report 37 people have been diagnosed since the first case in the state was confirmed in late April. A handful were hospitalized, but no one has died. Nearly 300 people suspected of having the virus were asked to stay home under voluntary isolation for up to a week.

Most of the cases were linked to a private school in Newberry whose students had returned April 20 from a trip to Mexico.

Officials say the voluntary quarantines and quick dispensing of medicine helped contain the virus in South Carolina.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked the virus to 15 deaths in the United States.

Headlines

Headlines for the day:

In the News ...

Oil climbs to near $68, new high for the year Oil prices rose to near $68 a barrel Monday, hitting a new high for the year as world stock markets rallied and investors banked on hopes that the global recession is easing.

Stocks open higher on more signs of recovery Stocks are starting June with a gain, as upbeat data on overseas manufacturing and U.S. consumer spending added to hopes for a global economic recovery.

General Motors to close or idle 12 more plants General Motors Corp. says it will permanently close nine more plants and idle three others to trim production and labor costs under bankruptcy protection.Assembly plants in Pontiac, Mich., and Wilmington, Del., will close this year, while plants in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Orion, Mich., will shut down production but remain on standby.

Nutritionist Charged in Fraud Case A Silver Spring nutritionist who was convicted of Medicaid fraud last year has now been charged with mortgage fraud.

Mom finds abducted son on Facebook A British woman has been reunited with her son, who was abducted by his father 27 years ago, thanks to the social networking Web site Facebook.

Judge OKs Chrysler-Fiat Deal Judge OKs Chrysler-Fiat Deal Chrysler LLC has told a bankruptcy court it plans to eliminate 789 of its dealers - or about 25 percent of them - across the country as part of its restructuring process.

And I Quote

No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.

~ Sir Isaac Newton

Science News

In Science News:

The 'epicentre' of a space storm is pinpointed for the first time

Harper Valley PTA

Jeannie C. Riley

Duluth Man Makes Music From Bizarre Instruments

Tim Kaiser started out playing the guitar, then made the illogical transition to playing the rotary phone.

Music From Bizarre Instruments

Far-flung dino?

It's a Jurassic curiosity: As far as anyone can tell, the fossilized, three-toed dinosaur tracks in north-central Wyoming and on Scotland's coast are indistinguishable.

Wyoming, Scotland tracks cue study

Warship fires on village by mistake

The Russian navy said on Friday that one of its anti-submarine ships had fired artillery at a village by mistake, state RIA news agency reported.

Full Story

Taiwan confiscates cocaine-laced energy drinks

Taiwanese authorities say they have confiscated nearly 18,000 cases of Red Bull energy drinks containing slight traces of cocaine and imported from Austria.

Full Story

Remains of Loch Ness-style creature found

The remains of a Loch Ness-style creature that lived in the English Channel 200 million years ago have been found on a beach.

Full Story

Jogger injured after using Twitter as he ran

James Coleman, a jogger, has become the first man in Britain to suffer a 'twinjury' - an injury sustained while using Twitter.

Full Story

Drowning man kept alive with tube

A HIRE boat operator has been hailed a hero after using a vacuum cleaner hose to save a worker trapped underwater by machinery.

Full Story

Air France Flight Missing

An Air France flight that has gone missing on its way from Brazil to France has 228 people on board, Air France said on Monday.

The flight left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 07.00 p.m. local time and was expected in Paris on Monday at 11.15 a.m. (0915 GMT), a spokesman said.

There are 216 passengers and 12 crew on board the plane.

*****

Disappearances over the Atlantic aren't new, but is has been a while since the last one.

*****

Air France plane disappears mid-flight

A plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to Paris hits strong turbulence and goes missing.

And I Quote

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

~ Dale Carnegie

Question and Answer

Q: How many managers does it take to change a light bulb?

A: We've formed a task force to study the problem of why light bulbs burn out, and figure out what, exactly, we as supervisors can do to make the bulbs work smarter, not harder.

Bing gets it right

When you type "miserable failure" into a search engine on the internet the first result is the shrub or at least in used to be ... in 2007 Google 'protected' the shrub from showing up as the first result for miserable failure. Bing doesn't.

What is amusing about this is that as of today (right now as a matter of fact) on Google the first result for a search of "miserable failure" is a listing of their 'bomb' removal of the first result being the shrub - so even though they bar the shrub from being the 'first' result for "miserable failure" , he still shows up as the first result.

You cannot block the truth!

Life Of Illusion

Joe Walsh

Man threatening suicide is pushed off bridge

A man was pushed off a bridge by an angry passer-by after his threat to commit suicide held up traffic for five hours, it has been reported.

Suicide threat man pushed off bridge by passer-by

Giant Feral Pig Ate Cow - Mystery 'Solved'

A mystery surrounding pictures of a giant feral pig allegedly shot in Australia after it was spotted eating a dead cow has reportedly been solved.

Mystery 'Solved'

Weird Drinking Laws

Underage folks may find the "21 and over" rule to be weird. People wanting to buy beer seven days a week may find the fact that liquor stores are closed on Sundays in many states to be strange.

Weird Drinking Laws

Bride rescues family from house fire

A Connecticut family was saved from a house fire by a newlywed who rushed inside through thick smoke while wearing her wedding gown.

Bride rescues family from house fire

America's most promising cities for jobs

These places already have solid job markets, but they also have the right elements to create new, well-paying positions in the future.

Most promising

Also:

We got a month all to our own!

June is International Men's Month

In keeping with that theme we the staff here at Carolina Naturally (all two of us) will be featuring stories of interest to men - so naked women and beer here we come!

No seriously we will feature 'real' articles of interest other than the stereotypical ...

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

June happens to be:

Perennial Gardening Month
Turkey Lovers Month
Bathroom Reading Month
National Iced Tea Month

The Power of the Wind

From BBC-Science

Ranchers driving wind revolution

Wind farms on the US's high plains could eventually help power the country's coastal population centers, experts say.

General Motors files for bankruptcy

The automaker's filing is the largest industrial bankruptcy in U.S. history.

General Motors files for bankruptcy

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
London, England, United Kingdom
Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Israel
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Worcester, England, United Kingdom
New Delhi, Delhi, India
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Munich, Bayern, Germany
Luqa, Luqa, Malta
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

as well as Wales, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

It's not usually tough to get along with you.
To dear ones, you're almost predictable because you're so grounded, stable and solid.
Those traits won't apply to you now, though, especially since once you open your mouth, you'll be anything but predictable.
Kind of fun to surprise them every now and then, though, huh?

You bet it is!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

It was twenty years ago today ...

Tiananmen 20 years after

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgcJSoNQ38

20 years on: Memories of Tiananmen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8066992.stm

Hong Kong protest over Tiananmen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8075884.stm

China's Tiananmen generation speaks

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8061483.stm

Urinals Among Top Memorabilia Requests

An executive involved in the sale of pieces of the old Yankee Stadium says urinals are a hot commodity for those seeking New York Yankees mementos.

Urinals Among Top Memorabilia Requests

I have always said Yankees fans were strange (to be polite about it).

Texting While Driving is as Dangerous as Drunk Driving

This one of those 'Like, Duh!' stories:

A recent study found drivers who use their cell phones behind the wheel perform just as poorly as legally drunk drivers.

Texting While Driving is as Dangerous as Drunk Driving

Whip it

Devo

Dying Man Bets on Own Life and Wins

The phrase "you bet your life" has taken on new meaning for 59-year-old Jon Matthews.

Dying Man Bets on Own Life and Wins

New passport rules begin Monday

Travel from the U.S. to Canada or Mexico will require more identification as tighter security measures take effect.

New passport rules

Also:

Parrot steals tourist's passport

Perks and pitfalls of taking a nap

As little as three minutes of snoozing can rejuvenate, but a chronic nap craving can signal a bigger sleep problem.

Perks and pitfalls of taking a nap

Also:

California lab unveils 'super laser'

A U.S. weapons lab, with the help of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, shows off a powerful new laser that can burn as hot as a star.

'Super laser'

Also:

And I Quote

The reason I love my dog so much is because when I come home, he's the only one in the world who treats me like I'm The Beatles.

~ Bill Maher

Interesting thing about Lobsters ...

A 1 & 1/4 pound Lobster is 7 to 9 years old.
If a Lobster looses an eye he grows a new one.

Senior Bowlers Thwart Teen Thief

A teenage would-be thief who tried to swipe two women's purses got a surprise when he was thwarted by a group of senior citizen bowlers.

Senior Bowlers Thwart Teen Thief

Terrorists struck in America this morning

The anti-abortionist lunatics have murdered an American based on their misguided and misbegotten extremist religious views.

George Tiller, the Wichita doctor at the center in the debate over abortion, was shot to death this morning as he walked into church services.

More here

Policeman Fights Paramedics With Patient In Ambulance

Here's how our friends down under view this 'incident' (and I dare say so does most of the world - hold the same opinion as well that is).

IN America, they give the idiots - the really dangerous idiots - a gun and a brown shirt. Yeah just like the Nazis.

Oklahoma’s Tulsa World newspaper reports on a fight between a brown-shirted highway patrol officer, who has pulled over an ambulance that was racing a patient to hospital, and the paramedic.

The ambulance did not have a siren on. The copper did.

Having issued a “failure to yield” citation to the ambulance driver, the man in the brown shirt was further upset when he believed one of the paramedics flipped him the finger.

The brown shirt then insists one of the paramedics wait in his car. He then tries to handcuff the paramedic, which results in a fight.

The patient’s husband films it all. And then the man in the brown shirt lets the ambulance go.

And the really amazing thing is - get this - the coppers never shot the man in the face nor tasered him in the neck and heart. How’s that for restraint!

*****

One thing to point out - there is no legal standing for the police to issue a 'failure to yield' citation to an ambulance driver even if the police have their lights on. There is however a law that makes what the police did criminal because they 'hindered an emergency medical worker in the performance of his duties'.

All vehicles must yeild to emergency vehicles even other emergency vehicles - but there is a hiearchy to the yielding and the police are at the bottom of that hiearchy and therefore must yield to other emergency vehicles - especially ambulances.

Did you know ...

A watermelon is a vegetable and not a fruit.
A tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable.

Kindness works every time

This is a concept the repugicans will never know about - it runs contrary to the inner core nature.

It was the power of cookies - or rather the power of kindness behind the cookies that 'broke' torture victim Abu Jandal and yielded actual truthful and useful information about bin Laden.

Ali Soufan, a former fbi interrogator, says that Osama bin Laden's bodyguard, Abu Jandal, talked about the 9/11 attack only after he was given sugar free cookies. Jandal is diabetic and was unable to eat the regular cookies given to him with his tea. noticing this, Soufan offered the suspect sugar-free cookies at their next meeting. Soufan says it was this act of kindness, not rougher methods, that opened up a dialogue between the two. "we had showed him respect, and we had done this nice thing for him. so he started talking to us instead of giving us lectures," soufan said.

More here

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