CAROLINA NATURALLY

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Best places for a healthy retirement

Residents here live longer and have plenty of chances to pursue active lifestyles.

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Woody Woodpecker

From 1941, here's Woody Woodpecker's first cartoon on his own! He first appeared in KNOCK KNOCK (1940) with Andy Panda.

Woody Woodpecker sings, "Everybody thinks I'm crazy." The other animals manage to convince him that he is, so he sees a shrink named Dr. Horace N. Buggy, a fox who's as crazy as he is.

Odd World

Chinese officials, tired of traffic jams caused by suicide attempts off a 300-meter bridge in Guangzhou province, think they've come up with a slick solution.

Odd World

Captured Pakistan Taliban commander dies in jail

Pakistan's army says a Taliban commander known for beheading opponents has died in custody from wounds sustained during his capture last week.
The army media center says Sher Muhammad Qasab died in custody Sunday.

Captured Pakistan Taliban commander dies in jail

It's a Blond World

Why did the blond have square tits?
She forgot to take the tissue out of the box.

What's an intelligent blond?
A golden retriever.

What did they call the blond who was found dead in a closet?
The 1974 Hide and Seek Champion.

Why was the blond's brain the size of a pea after exercising?
It swelled up.

Father Tells Son Cocaine is "Candy"

And the Father of the Year award goes to ...

Shaheed Wright, 25, of East Orange, New Jersey, told his 4-year-old son the baggies of white powder he stuck in his pocket during a brush with police were candy. Unfortunately, as you might imagine, they were actually baggies of cocaine.

Full Story

Woman arrested after using credit card of friend she found dead

From the "Now, there's a friend for you" Department:

Police on Sunday arrested a 38-year-old woman after she used the credit card of a friend of hers who had earlier been found dead of an apparent suicide in a Tel Aviv apartment.

Woman arrested after using credit card of friend she found dead

The evolution of humor

Starting from primordial ooze, Homer makes his way up the evolutionary chain.

Things warehouse clubs won't tell you

Over 100 million Americans shop at club stores, but are the savings worth it?

What you may not know

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Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Another day without any worth mention.

So, let's call it Hoo-Hah Day and be done with it.

Daily Almanac

Today is Sunday, Sept. 20, the 263rd day of 2009.

There are 102 days left in the year.

Today in History, September 20.

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

London, England, United Kingdom
Avellino, Campania, Italy
Dandedong, Victoria, Australia
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Moscow, Moskva, Russia
Luton, England, United Kingdom

as well as Singapore, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Bet you've thought of nothing all week but taking one entire day, ditching all electronic devices, and spending some quality time alone at your place -- with maybe just one person for company.
It's a nice dream -- but it may not happen.
When you least expect it, you'll get your second wind -- and a terrific invitation.
So now what?
Should you call everyone you turned down and say you changed your mind?
Yep, you should.
Your special companion won't mind one bit.

Well, there goes the plans for the day.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Greek man's pot luck runs out

A man has been arrested in northern Greece for allegedly growing marijuana on the median strip of the country's main highway.

Greek man's pot luck runs out

Calling'em What They Are ...

Calling a bunch of liars what they are ... Liars.

Fed Considers Bank Pay Limits

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury are preparing broad new rules that would force banks to rein in practices that made multimillionaires out of many financial executives during the housing bubble, officials said.

Full Story

Expectant Fathers, Firefighters, Police Officers, Those With Toenail Fungus Denied Insurance

This is disturbing, and it shows, as Bill Moyers said recently to Bill Maher, lack of morality in American Society.

He told Maher that Universal Health Care is evidence of a "deeply moral society," yet our finest and bravest* are excluded from private health insurance?

Full Story

Obama to host meeting with Netanyahu and Abbas in New York on UN sidelines

The White House says President Barack Obama will host a meeting Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Full Story

Criminally Insane Killer on the Loose

From the "OK, who's bright idea was this one?" Department:

Criminally Insane Killer on the Loose following field trip to state fair in Washington State.

Full Story

Penmanship going the way of the Dodo

Cursive may be on its last loop

Schools are phasing out penmanship in favor of computer-based writing skills.

Lost art or lost cause?

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Crossovers becoming the new family car

The auto industry is rolling out more downsized SUVs for cost-conscious drivers.

The cool factor

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Fruity Tomatoes

Why is it considered a fruit?

If tomatoes are fruit, does the same logic apply to other so-called veggies?

Read people's answers

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Signs you're in a toxic friendship

If talking to your friend leaves you feeling emotionally drained, maybe it's time for a new friend.

8 more red flags

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'How we paid off $106,000 in debt'

The Hildebrandts paid off a whopping amount of credit card and personal debt in just a few years.

How they did it

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In Health News

Zinc 'Fingers' could be used to cut, insert and repair DNA sequences (Image: Jacob Halaska/Getty)

Genetic seamstress uses molecular fingers to tweak DNA

Zinc "fingers" that use viral enzymes insert or delete genes could lead to safer and more accurate gene therapies

Maybe it was the wind

Mars's distinctive color may be the result of thousands of years of wind-borne sand particles colliding with one another, a new study argues.

Wind, not water, may explain Red Planet's hue

Better World

Better world: Be nice to people

Becoming more compassionate can improve your health, and altruism is infectious

Why are we the naked ape?

No one is sure why Homo sapiens is the only primate to have lost its body hair.
But we must keep trying to find out, says Elaine Morgan.

Why are we the naked ape?

Irving Kristol, godfather of the wing-nuts is dead

There is joy in Mudville tonight!

Irving Kristol, the writer, editor and publisher known as the godfather of the wing-nuts whose radicalism perverted itself into a historic rejection of all things American has died.

Full Story

You know it is quite fitting that as mass act of domestic terrorism that is the wing-nuts is dying an ignoble death its architects are dropping like flies.

Denver Man Admits Possible Al Qaeda Link, Officials Say

Crossed paths in Pakistan with extremists allied with Al Qaeda,

The Denver shuttle bus driver at the center of a federal terrorism investigation has begun to cooperate with the authorities, admitting that he had perhaps unwittingly crossed paths in Pakistan with extremists allied with Al Qaeda , according to government officials briefed on the case.

Full Story

FCC to Propose 'Net Neutrality' Rules on Monday

The Federal Communications Commission’s chairman will propose “rulemaking” for "net neutrality" in an attempt to force Internet service providers to treat the flow of web content equally.

Chairman Julius Genachowski’s [pictured] speech on Monday will strive to “codify into new regulations the principle of nondiscrimination," according to a source speaking to The New York Times.

The issue is a hot one with the online adult industry, because most content is driven by video-on-demand.

Proponents of net neutrality say ISPs should be barred from blocking or slowing traffic based on content.

But the ISPs argue the increasing volume of bandwidth-heavy Internet applications require active management of their networks that drive up costs. They also claim that net neutrality could stifle innovation.

Genachowski is expected to announce plans for the agency to open a formal rule-making process on the issue at its October meeting. The rules would have to be approved by a majority of the FCC's five-person board.

Genachowski’s speech on Monday will be delivered at the Brookings Institute.

Hotel Freebies

Take the soap and run?

Why some business travelers are in love with their free hotel amenities.

On the road

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Looking for answers

Amnesia patient still looking for answers

Weeks after making headlines as Seattle's "mystery man," Edward Lighthart faces a new dilemma.

Story

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Pre-Existing Condition Craziness Highlights the Need for Health Insurance Reform

While the storm continues to circulate around proposed health care reform, it is clear it should be called health INSURANCE reform. And while "death panel" arguments make the rounds of the conservative pundits, they fail to address the "death panels" already existing in the form of, once again, INSURANCE COMPANIES. Take a look at some reports about crazy insurance company opinions on "pre-existing conditions."

Full Story

Hell remains frozen!

Bill O'Reilly Supports a "Public Option?"

There must be something behind this that I'm not getting.
Bill O'Reilly, on his Wednesday show, seemingly endorsed the public option for health care reform.
It is, of course, possible he was endorsing the public co-ops proposed in Sen. Max Baucus' bill, but it sure sounds like it's the public option.

Full Story

Faux News Caught Lying

It's hard to understand what Faux News had in mind with the full page ad that ran in the Washington Post Friday, as well as in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, both owned by Faux's parent company.
The ad falsely claimed that other major media outlets did not cover the 9/12 "tea party" in Washington, D.C. last Saturday.

Full Story

Then, again it's not all that hard to understand either.

Iran reformist attacked

A reformist Web site cites witnesses as saying the attackers pushed ex-President Mohammad Khatami to the ground while he was marching with opposition supporters at an anti-government rally in Tehran Friday.

Full Story

Home Value

Top cities for rising home values

These real estate markets will likely be the first to show signs of recovery.

As much as 20% in 5 years

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We're upping the 'cute' factor

Puppy tries to roll over

This playful bulldog pup is still figuring out how to stay up on all four paws.

» Little help please

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He doesn't pay ...

An executive who can't pay his loans

Jim Press once ran Chrysler, but now he's surrounded by unpaid bills.

Why he wears a string on his wrist

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Saturday Jam

Today's Saturday Jam includes:

Never My Love

The Association

Going to California

Led Zeppelin

President Obama's Weekly Address

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
September 19, 2009

Leaders of the world’s largest economies will gather next week in Pittsburgh for the second time this year. The first meeting of the G-20 nations in April came at the height of the global financial crisis – a crisis that required unprecedented international cooperation to jumpstart the world’s economies and help break the downward spiral that enveloped all our nations.

At next week’s summit, we’ll have, in effect, a five-month checkup to review the steps each nation has taken – separately and together – to break the back of this economic crisis. And the good news is that we’ve made real progress since last time we met – here at home and around the world.

In February, we enacted a Recovery Act, providing relief to Americans who need it, preventing layoffs, and putting Americans back to work. We’ve worked to unlock frozen credit markets, spurring lending to Americans looking to buy homes or cars, take out student loans, or finance small businesses. And we’ve challenged other nations to join us not only to spur global demand, but to address the underlying problems that caused such a deep global recession in the first place.

Because of the steps taken by our nation and all nations, we can now say that we have stopped our economic freefall. But we also know that stopping the bleeding isn’t nearly enough. Our work is far from over. We know we still have a lot to do here at home to build an economy that is producing good jobs for all those who are looking for work today. And we know we still have a lot to do, in conjunction with nations around the world, to strengthen the rules governing financial markets and ensure that we never again find ourselves in the precarious situation we found ourselves in just one year ago.

As I told leaders of our financial community in New York City earlier this week, a return to normalcy can’t breed complacency. To protect our economy and people from another market meltdown, our government needs to fundamentally reform the rules governing financial firms and markets to meet the challenges of the 21st century. We cannot allow the thirst for reckless schemes that produce quick profits and fat executive bonuses to override the security of our entire financial system and leave taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up the mess. And as the world’s largest economy, we must lead, not just by word, but by example, understanding that in the 21st century, financial crises know no borders. All of us need to act more responsibly on behalf of a better economic future.

That is why, at next week’s G20 summit, we’ll discuss some of the steps that are required to safeguard our global financial system and close gaps in regulation around the world – gaps that permitted the kinds of reckless risk-taking and irresponsibility that led to the crisis. And that’s why I’ve called on Congress to put in place a series of tough, common-sense rules of the road that will protect consumers from abuse, let markets function fairly and freely, and help prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.

Central to these reforms is a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Part of what led to this crisis were not just decisions made on Wall Street, but also unsustainable mortgage loans made across the country. While many folks took on more than they knew they could afford, too often folks signed contracts they didn’t fully understand offered by lenders who didn’t always tell the truth. That’s why we need clear rules, clearly enforced. And that’s what this agency will do.

Consumers shouldn’t have to worry about loan contracts written to confuse, hidden fees attached to their mortgages, and financial penalties – whether through a credit card or debit card – that appear without a clear warning on their statements. And responsible lenders, including community banks, trying to do the right thing shouldn’t have to worry about ruinous competition from unregulated and unscrupulous competitors.

Not surprisingly, lobbyists for big Wall Street banks are hard at work trying to stop reforms that would hold them accountable and they want to keep things just the way they are. But we cannot let politics as usual triumph so business as usual can reign. We cannot let the narrow interests of a few come before the interests of all of us. We cannot forget how close we came to the brink, and perpetuate the broken system and breakdown of responsibility that made it possible.

In the weeks and months ahead, we have an opportunity to build on the work we’ve already done. An opportunity to rebuild our global economy stronger that before. An opportunity not only to protect the American people and America’s economy, but to promote sustained and balanced growth and prosperity for our nation and all nations. And that’s an opportunity I am determined to seize.

So, thanks for listening and thanks for watching, and to our Jewish friends, who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, have a happy and healthy New Year. Shanah Tovah.