CAROLINA NATURALLY

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Game-changing scientific leaps

Any of these five technologies could radically change how the world uses energy.

Tapping power from space

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5 common pop-psychology myths busted

Does a full moon really spark weird behavior, and do opposites truly attract?

Separating fact from fiction

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Prevent weight gain at the office

Keep off the extra pounds by adding these practices into your workday.

Reply to emails in person

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Former nurse's aide crowned king

For years, Charles Wesley Mumbere cared for sick patients in the U.S. — keeping his royal roots secret.

Story

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Bird leads charge on NFL kickoff

Oakland has a pigeon on its side in the Raiders' game against the Eagles.

» Watch a hilarious play

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More gloomy news for U.S. housing

A new report says the national median home price will drop another 11.3%.

Worst-hit city to see 30% decline

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Poverty in U.S. worse than first thought

From the "No, Shit! Sherlock!" Department:

Poverty in U.S. worse than first thought

A revised formula shows that even the gloomy count released last month is off by millions.

Hardest-hit groups

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The secret history of Monopoly

Ralph Anspach has personal reasons for sharing the little-known origins of the classic game.

» His battle

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Chance to see dozens of 'shooting stars'

The sky will light up overnight as Earth passes through debris left by Halley's Comet.

Best time to watch

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Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is Miss American Rose Day and the Birth Of The Bab.

Daily Almanac

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 20, the 293rd day of 2009.

There are 72 days left in the year.

Today In History October 20

Some of our readers today have been in:

London, England, United Kingdom
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Pforzheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom
Wawa, Ontario, Canada
Waldkirchen, Bayern, Germany
Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
Bremen, Bremen, Germany

as well as Scotland, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Get a load of you!
Today you're at level 10 of everything: brains, wit, energy and organization!
This would be a great day to work on a major cleaning or restructuring ... it's high time you got rid of that dead weight or those unused resources weighing you down.
Your clarity on what's valuable and what isn't can't be beat, so trust yourself.
Get a fresh start in an old routine, and you'll be primed for success.

Darn, I thought I was an eleven today at least.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Police force quits after winning lotto

The entire 15-person police force in Budaors, Hungary, quit their jobs after winning the lottery last week.

Police force quits after winning lotto

Health care discrimination addressed

The major health bills would address gender pricing that many consider unfair.

Why elderly may pay more

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High jobless rate could be permanent

Despite an improving economy, damage done to key industries means many jobs won't return.

Spending stagnant

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New warnings about alcohol's 'benefits'

Experts say recent studies touting the health benefits of moderate drinking might be misleading.

Their advice

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Strange homes for sale across America

You enter this "floating" home through a hidden tunnel and a lift takes you up in the car.

Like the Batcave

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Dimbulb goes too far

Dimbulb tells a woman to go fornicate herself to improve her day.
This buffoon needs to be locked up.

Facebook, Twitter users beware: Crooks are a mouse click away

If you're on Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site, you could be the next victim.

Facebook, Twitter users beware: Crooks are a mouse click away

Jim DeMint's Just Like Them Jews

As they stoop even lower ...

Y'all know what they mean. Pinching pennies is now a commendable thing. Just like them wealthy Jews.

Jim DeMint's Just Like Them Jews

Man accused of threatening Obama pleads not guilty

A Northern California man accused of sending threatening e-mails to President Barack Obama and other officials has pleaded not guilty to federal charges.

Man accused of threatening Obama pleads not guilty

PKK guerillas to surrender to Turkey

Eight members of the Kurdistan Workers Party guerrillas are surrendering to Turkish military forces in a gesture of support for Ankara's moves on Kurdish rights.

Full Story

How to haggle for what you want

Americans are finally warming to the idea of bargaining while they're out shopping.

'Retailers are more open'

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Tips to remember someone's name

Visual cues can help the information stick, but keep these tactful tricks in mind when you forget.

Avoid faux pas

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New help for homebuyers

The government unveils new financing for mortgages to boost the housing market.

Renters benefit, too

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Bad habits that leave you exhausted

Don't let these nine energy zappers sabotage your work productivity.

Ways to reclaim your day

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Astronomers clash with US air force over laser rules

Lasers pointed at the sky help focus telescopes, but the air force is concerned they could blind Earth-observing satellites.

Astronomers clash with US air force over laser rules

Was our oldest ancestor a proton-powered rock?

Forget primordial soup: the cradle of life may have been a foaming stone.

Was our oldest ancestor a proton-powered rock?

Damanhur

Damnhur Hall of the Earth

Temples of Damanhur

Here, 100ft down and hidden from public view, lies an astonishing secret - one that has drawn comparisons with the fabled city of Atlantis and has been dubbed ‘the Eighth Wonder of the World’ by the Italian government.

For weaving their way underneath the hillside are nine ornate temples, on five levels, whose scale and opulence take the breath away.

Constructed like a three-dimensional book, narrating the history of humanity, they are linked by hundreds of metres of richly decorated tunnels and occupy almost 300,000 cubic feet - Big Ben is 15,000 cubic feet.

Eighth wonder of the world? The stunning temples secretly carved out below ground by ‘paranormal’ eccentric

Found out more about the occult commune and ecovillage Damanhur:

Official Damanhur web site

CIA branch invests in tech firm that monitors blogs, Twitter, social media.

Maybe all those people 'hearing voices' were on to something?!

As the Danger Room points out ...

America’s spy agencies want to read your blog posts, keep track of your Twitter updates — even check out your book reviews on Amazon.

In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA and the wider intelligence community, is putting cash into Visible Technologies, a software firm that specializes in monitoring social media. It’s part of a larger movement within the spy services to get better at using ”open source intelligence” — information that’s publicly available, but often hidden in the flood of TV shows, newspaper articles, blog posts, online videos and radio reports generated every day.

Visible crawls over half a million web 2.0 sites a day, scraping more than a million posts and conversations taking place on blogs, online forums, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and Amazon. (It doesn’t touch closed social networks, like Facebook, at the moment.) Customers get customized, real-time feeds of what’s being said on these sites, based on a series of keywords.

U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets

35 Years of the World’s Best Microscope Photography

1981: Collapsed bubbles from an annealed experimental electronic sealing glass

2003: Filamentous actin and microtubules (structural proteins) in mouse fibroblasts (cells)

35 Years of the World’s Best Microscope Photography

Hell Froze Over: Fuel Economy Now More Important Than Number of Cup Holders to U.S. Car Buyers

From Treehugger:

burger king cup holder photo

Car's Liquid Consumption Now More Important Than Driver's
People from all around the world know about the love story between American drivers and cup holders. It's been said that it's simply a sign that Americans tend to drive more than others, or maybe it's a symptom of a fast food culture. Either way, it seems like the fire isn't burning as brightly as before. Could the love affair be nearing an end? According to a consumer survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, fuel economy is now more important than the number of cup holders to U.S. car buyers (it's sad that it ever was otherwise). In the previous survey four years ago, it was the other way around...

Article continues: Hell Froze Over: Fuel Economy Now More Important Than Number of Cup Holders to U.S. Car Buyers

3rd Circuit Rejects Online Activists' Free-Speech Defense of Attacks on Animal Testing Firm

The First Amendment does not insulate animal rights activists from criminal liability when they use an Internet Web site to orchestrate a campaign of harassment, cyberattacks, vandalism and destruction of property, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

In United States v. Fullmer, a three-judge panel unanimously refused to strike down the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, rejecting arguments by six activists -- convicted for targeting Huntingdon Life Sciences, an animal testing firm -- who complained that the law had effectively criminalized their legitimate political protests.

The ruling upholds convictions and prison terms for six members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, or SHAC, a group whose stated mission was to drive Huntingdon Life Sciences out of business.

One of the judges wrote he would have overturned the protesters' convictions on charges under the AEPA on non-constitutional grounds.

Writing for the court, 3rd Circuit Judge Julio M. Fuentes found that SHAC used its Web site to invite its supporters "to engage in electronic civil disobedience against Huntingdon and various companies associated with Huntingdon."

Electronic civil disobedience, Fuentes noted, "involves a coordinated campaign by a large number of individuals to inundate websites, e-mail servers, and the telephone service of a targeted company." It also includes the use of "black faxes" -- repeatedly faxing a black piece of paper to the same fax machine to exhaust the toner or ink supply.

Fuentes also found that while SHAC's organizers claimed on the Web site not to endorse any illegal activities, they had actually orchestrated illegal cyberattacks and harassment.

As a result, Fuentes said, the group's Internet activities were not merely political speech, but instead qualified as "true threats," which removes any First Amendment protection.

The 60-page decision marks the first time any federal appeals court has heard challenges to AEPA.

But a dissenting judge said that although he agreed with his colleagues that the law passed constitutional muster, he would have overturned all six convictions because the prosecutors failed to prove that the activists had conspired to commit the precise act the AEPA criminalizes -- "physical disruption to the functioning of an animal enterprise."

Instead, Judge D. Michael Fisher said, the government's evidence proved only that the six had "conspired together to put economic pressure on Huntingdon to close its facilities by targeting companies that did business with Huntingdon, as well as their employees, and furthered this goal through a campaign of intimidation and harassment."

Fisher noted that Congress revised the law in 2006 "to make clear that threats of vandalism, harassment, and intimidation against third parties that are related to or associated with animal enterprises are themselves substantive violations of the AEPA."

Convicted in a 2006 trial were Jacob Conroy, Lauren Gazzola and Kevin Kjonaas, all of Pinole, Calif., Darius Fullmer of Hamilton, N.J., Joshua Harper of Seattle, and Andrew Stepanian of Huntington, N.Y.

They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to six years. Conroy, Gazzola and Kjonaas remain behind bars.

In a partial dissent, Fisher said he would have upheld the defendants' convictions for interstate stalking, but would have overturned all of the AEPA convictions because the evidence of the alleged conspiracy failed to prove a violation of the original version of the law.

"I acknowledge that the government's case against these defendants would be much stronger if they were prosecuted under the current version of the AEPA. However, the version of the AEPA that the defendants were charged with violating did not prohibit mere interference with the operations of an animal enterprise nor did it proscribe targeting companies and employees that were affiliated with an animal enterprise and, therefore, proof that the defendants engaged in this type of conduct was not a sufficient basis for convicting them under the AEPA," Fisher wrote.

Fuentes, who was joined by visiting U.S. District Judge J. William Ditter Jr. of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, found that the government had ample proof that the defendants were aware that their conduct was illegal and not legitimate political protest.

Huntingdon Life Sciences is a research corporation that uses animals to perform safety testing for companies seeking to bring products to market. It operates two laboratories in the United Kingdom and one in New Jersey.

Since the late 1990s, Huntingdon has been a prime target of animal rights activists as a result of the release of secretly recorded videos that allegedly depicted animal abuse.

A SHAC group formed in the United Kingdom was tied to attacks on a Huntingdon executive and a campaign of harassment aimed at the company's investors.

Here in the United States, prosecutors said, a small group of activists established a Web site to coordinate a similar campaign of harassment against any company that did business with Huntingdon.

Among the alleged victims of the campaign were Stephens Inc., an investment banking company; Chiron, a pharmaceutical client; Marsh Inc., an insurance broker; and Deloitte & Touche, an auditor, as well as the employees of those companies.

At trial, prosecutors focused on SHAC's use of a Web site to coordinate the activity of numerous activists.

According to court papers, the SHAC Web site said: "We operate within the boundaries of the law, but recognize and support those who choose to operate outside the confines of the legal system."

SHAC also said on the site that it "does not organize any such actions or have any knowledge of who is doing them or when they will happen," but that the group "encourage[s] people to support direct action when it happens and those who may participate in it."

Fuentes found that the Web site "often posted the organization's 'accomplishments,' which lauded both legal and illegal protest activity."

The illegal activity, Fuentes said, included a break-in at the Huntingdon lab in New Jersey, during which protestors broke windows and "liberated 14 beagles," in addition to overturning a worker's car; detonating a "stink bomb" in the Seattle office of a Huntingdon investor; destroying Bank of New York ATMs, windows and other property; sinking a yacht owned by the Bank of New York's president; launching repeated "paint attacks" in the New York offices of a Huntingdon investor; and "rescuing" dogs and ferrets from a Huntingdon breeder farm.

Lead defense attorney H. Louis Sirkin [pictured] of Sirkin Pinales & Schwartz in Cincinnati, who argued the case for Gazzola, could not be reached for comment.

But Robert Obler, a Lawrence, N.J., attorney who defended Fullmer, told The Associated Press that he expected the ruling will be appealed. "I'm fairly sure we will wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court," he said. "We knew all along we would."

Man enlists because of wife's cancer

A difficult twist of fate is prompting Bill Caudle to join the Army at the age of 39.

» Tearful decision

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Target, CVS take aim at plastic bags

Top retailers are joining grocery stores in giving cash back for bringing reusable bags.

Refund amounts

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Billionaire insider's trades

Billionaire insider's alleged trades

Authorities said Raj Rajaratnam made millions from confidential tips on these companies.

$4 million in one day

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Seven quick dinners

Make dinnertime worry-free with these simple menus for every day of the week.

See recipes

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Headlines

In the Headlines:

Senate outcast now man of the hour

Roland Burris is used to being ignored, but his stance on health care has the Democrats' attention.

Won't budge

Sharpton threatens Dimbulb with legal action

Reverend Al Sharpton is threatening Lush Dimbulb with a lawsuit.

Whether you like Al Sharpton or not, this is good. Dimbulb, who in his delusions, has convinced himself that he can push everyone around and smear without consequences.
Enough is enough, folks.

This also brings up how far the Whore Street Journal (excuse the slip ... the Wall Street Journal) has dropped since being taken over by Murdoch. It was always conservative but now it's Faux News-loony.

Reverend Al Sharpton and his lawyers say they are preparing to file a defamation lawsuit against wingnut talking head Lush Dimbulb for an op-ed published Saturday, which Sharpton alleges "erroneously" characterizes his (Sharpton's) role in a string of violent incidents in New York in the early 90's.

Prison stripes look good on Dimbulb.

In the Middle East, marriage too, can be a battlefield

They had come from opposite sides of a border between longtime enemies.

But Elie Wakim and Nada Ghamloush from Lebanon, and Dimitri Stafeev and Olga Zaytseva from Israel, had a problem in common: Belonging to different religions, neither couple could get married in their home country, and had to fly to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus to tie the knot.

Full Story

Original KISS drummer survived breast cancer

Remember Breast Cancer isn't just a woman's thing ...

A year after beating breast cancer, Peter Criss, a founding member of the rock band KISS, calls himself "the luckiest man in the planet." Peter Criss, now 63, said getting medical treatment early at the first sign of trouble saved his life.

Full Story

The cup of coffee that gives 'an instant facelift'

Aimed at women, the coffee producer has started selling the sachets, that contain coffee, skimmed milk and 200mg of collagen the protein found naturally in body tissue.

Full Story

Going a bit too far with advertising claims are we?

Pot-filled tennis balls fly over prison walls

A New Orleans jailer has called game, set and match on six people who tossed drug-filled tennis balls into his prison yard.

Full Story

Farmer launches home-made sub

A Chinese farmer has completed a successful maiden voyage in his home-made one man submarine.

Full Story

Flight diverted after beer stolen

From the "Bit of an overreaction, don't you think" Department:

An Air Canada flight was diverted after a passenger stole beer from the drinks trolley.

Full

Continuing on to the flight's original destination and dealing with the thievery there, wasn't an option?
Where there no local officials at the flight's destination with the authority to handle the situation ... like the police, maybe?

Or what about this: In lieu of charging 10 times the value of the beer like you usually do on the passenger's bill just charge 20 times the value of the beer ... less time involved and more profit.

I'm Against It

The repugican party platform put as succinctly as possible by Groucho Marx.

So, who are the real 'Marxists' here again?

Time-travel particles sabotage machine

Some scientists claim the giant atom-smashing Large Hadron Collider is being jinxed from the future.

Full Story

OK?!

Science News

The fish towed new low-power, depth-sensitive tags that allowed them to be tracked across the ocean for the first time.

Smart GPS tags track sunfish

America is England's Fault

Greg Proops gives it to you straight.

New medical marijuana policy to be issued

The federal govt. will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users as long as they conform to state laws.

States affected

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And I Quote

When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'

~ Theodore Roosevelt

Truer words have not been spoken

Liars and Fools

Liars and Fools

Dimbulb continues to lie claiming that Democrats plan to "kill you"
And he is about to be put in prison for his lies.

Pat Robertson continuing to lie claiming health reform is "dangerous" and President Obama has " a socialist bent"
Is this never-was still around? Talk about irrelevant.

Lush's demented, deluded rant about "Texas is ready to recede -- secede from the nation because of Obama"
On such a cold day as this it's nice to see the national source of hot air is still belching it out.

Faux's Glenn Brick commits treason yet again claiming he's going to "take the administration down"
The boys in the white coats are on their way to give you your meds and put you in your rubber room.

Dimbulb spewing more lies claiming that "every gun the government has is aimed at us"
Paranoia strikes deep they say and here's proof.

Brick totally misses the mark by comparing Faux News to Jews during the Holocaust, and warning that Obama may become a “brutal dictactor”
Then again what else is new.

Mark Levin lying again says senior citizens “will be expended"
You mean he's out of jail, again?

Brick suffering under the weight of his vast and deep delusions erroneously claims Obama officials "love" Mao, Castro, Che, Chavez, and keeps on lying when he claims "The enemy is not only in the gates, they're inside the house"
One word ... Thorazine.

The NRA tries using it's patented scare tactics in a phony telephone poll: "Should third-world dictators and Hillary Clinton dictate our gun policy?
It's not a poll if you only call NRA wingnuts ... it's a propaganda piece. Here again what else is new?

More proof of the incompetence of the TSA

This woman had her baby taken away by federal agents at the airport in Atlanta.

Countries with the biggest income gaps

The U.S. is among the most unequal with incomes between the rich and the poor.

But it's not the worst

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Scam security software affects millions

Millions of computers are loaded with fake security programs, making them more vulnerable to cybercrime.

Report

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Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is Evaluate Your Life Day.

Daily Almanac

Today is Monday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2009.

There are 73 days left in the year.

Today In History October 19

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina
Strasbourg, Alsace, France
Leicester, England, United Kingdom
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden

as well as Scotland, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Moving from where you are in life to where you want to be in life is a lot easier than you think.
Today, new energies are coming into your life and they are wiping the slate clean.
Keep in mind that no matter how major or how minor the alterations you want to bring to your life are, change always takes some effort.
Be aware that you're going to use muscles you haven't used before, so you could wake up feeling a bit sore.
The pride you feel will offset any aches, though.

It always does.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Odd Music

Pretty Girls On Prozac

Gina Gershon debuts her music with her first single, “Pretty Girls on Prozac,” off her first album “In Search of Cleo.”

Welcome to ...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Monday, October 19, 2009

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Naturally Friends

Playlist