CAROLINA NATURALLY

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Worst decade ever for U.S. stocks

Investors might have done better simply stuffing their money under a mattress.

Worse than Great Depression

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Feds target drugs in drinking water

Federal officials are getting closer toward regulating pharmaceuticals in the water supply.

'A major public concern'

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Fund manager, firm feud over $9 cab fare

Andrew Kaplan, whose company oversees $1 billion, is in a spat with a global energy firm.

Asked to leave

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Financial scams that target seniors

Phony calls from banks are just one tactic con artists use to trick people out of their money.

How to spot them

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Online bank-heist claim stirs intrigue

Russian hackers may have stolen tens of millions from Citibank, the Wall Street Journal reports.

But bank denies it

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Prince William spends night on the streets

The royal heir trades palace linens for a patch of concrete in a cold London alley.

Taking up his mother's cause

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Military defends pregnancy punishment

A U.S. commander justifies a new policy calling for penalties for troops who get pregnant.

Men face consequences, too

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Billions in profits made during the panic

David Tepper's hedge fund earned a whopping $7 billion by betting against the U.S. recession.

What he bought

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Prized dogs fetch six figures in China

"Tibetan mastiff fever" pushes prices up to $600,000 for one purebred.

Breeder cashes in

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Chocolate taste test yields popular winner

Testers pick their favorites among top choices great for gift giving or simply for eating.

Blissfully smooth texture

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Court orders Microsoft to stop selling Word

A federal court ordered the software giant to stop due to a patent violation.

When sales stop, restart

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How to keep IRS auditors away

Keep your income under a certain level, and the IRS won't bother you 99 percent of the time.

New enforcement figures

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Now the repugicans are threatening climate change legislation

John Avavosis had this to say:

The Republicans are going to block every single thing the Democrats attempt to do. They are single-mindedly focused on taking back control of the Congress, and blocking Obama's agenda to better help a Republican take the White House in 2012. This should not surprise anyone. The real question is what effect will this have on the Obama administration's and the Democratic Congress' approach on climate change. Will they still try to work out a bipartisan deal with members of Congress who has already said they want to block this deal?

This is setting us up for a repeat of the health care debate. It's all going to come down to 60 votes, and 60 Democrats and Independents. The White House needs to launch a campaign, now, to get this legislation passed, to build public support, and ultimately pressure recalcitrant Democrats and Indies to support the legislation - if you can build enough support with the public, you can sometimes pressure members of Congress to do the right thing. But as we found with health care reform, if you don't build enough support, members of both parties start to go rogue.

The President needs to get over his aversion to controversy, and the White House needs to start campaigning hard, now, for the best deal. Let's all work together and do this. For real this time.

Ewww!

What's brown and crispy on the outside, and white and creamy on the inside?

A cockroach.

East Coast Snowstorm Viewed From Space

From Treehugger:

NASA snow storm image
Image via NASA's Earth Observatory

NASA's Earth Observatory has released this incredible photo of the snow storm that hit the east coast over the weekend. To see such an enormous patch of land completely covered in white is impressive. Covering 300 miles lengthwise, the satellite image shows the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers from the Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay.

Article continues: A Picture is Worth: East Coast Snowstorm Viewed From Space

Sixty satellite images of Earth

Webdesigner depot has 60 beautiful satellite photos of Earth.

"The Dasht-e Kevir, or valley of desert, is the largest desert in Iran. It is a primarily uninhabited wasteland, composed of mud and salt marshes covered with crusts of salt that protect the meager moisture from completely evaporating."

Microbes survive 30,000 years inside a salt crystal

Microbes entombed in a salt crystal have survived for 30,000 years by feeding off the remains of algae that were trapped along with them.

Microbes survive 30,000 years inside a salt crystal

Science News

From BBC-Science:

Drawing of the dinosaur's reconstructed skull (Image: National Academy of Sciences)

Bird-like dinosaur was 'venomous'

A bird-like dinosaur that prowled an ancient forest 125 million years ago used venom to subdue its prey, a new theory says.

'Bumper year' for botanical finds

Almost 300 species - including giant trees and tiny fungi - have been described for the first time by UK botanists in 2009.

THE BIG PICTURE

Year-end money moves to make

4 year-end money moves to make

Here are financial tasks you should get done before 2010 begins — and ones that can wait.

Minimize taxes

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Ahmadinejad lashes out over leaked memo

Iran's leader accuses the American government of an elaborate deception.

Document details nuclear plans

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Man who inspired 'Rain Man' dies

Kim Peek, the man who inspired the Oscar-winning movie "Rain Man," has died at age 58.

Talked to 60 million

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Young sailor Dekker flies back to the Netherlands

Police say 14-year-old sailor Laura Dekker has arrived back in the Netherlands after disappearing from home and flying to the Caribbean.Police spokesman Bernhard Jens says Dekker is being interviewed by police at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and will then be turned over to child care authorities.

Young sailor Dekker flies back to the Netherlands

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

There are no unusual holidays or celebrations today

but

There are only 2 more shopping days until xmas!

Daily Almanac

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 22, the 356th day of 2009.

There are nine days left in the year.

Today In History December 22

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Moncalieri, Piemonte, Italy
Espoo, Southern Finland, Finland
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Athens, Attiki, Greece
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Sion, Valais, Switzerland

as well as Serbia, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

If you don't have any creative or artistic friends, it's time to get acquainted with some.
Place an ad in the paper, join a creative group or sign up for an art class at your local college.
At the moment, you do your best work when you have a collaborative partner and it would be a shame to let your talents go to waste.
Ask your friends and relatives about their hobbies and artistic skills.
Their answers may very well surprise you, but in a very good way.

Creative or artistic friends - that's an understatement!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Gotta love the irony

... that the owner of the station that is "home" to the hate-mongering bloviating radio repugicans is filing for bankruptcy.

Citadel Broadcasting Corp., the nation's third-largest radio broadcasting company, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday in an effort to restructure its hefty debt load as it continues to face declining advertising revenue.

Citadel owns and operates 224 radio stations, including KABC-am in Los Angeles, WLS-am in Chicago, WABC-am and WPLJ-fm in New York and KGO-am in San Francisco. Citadel's Wabc is home to several syndicated hosts, including Don Imus, Lush Dimbulb, Joe Scarborough and Mark Levin.

Full Story

And I Quote

When you repeat a lie over and over people actually start to believe it as fact.

~ Glenn Beck, explaining the repugican credo ... echoed by Faux News and of course the Brick himself

And he should know as he does nothing but lie.

Funeral for dissident Iranian cleric morphs into anti-government protest

An opposition protester at Tehran University on December 7.

The funeral procession for Iran's most senior dissident cleric on Monday became a giant anti-government protest.

Full Story

Briton loses China death appeal

A British citizen has lost his final appeal against the death sentence imposed upon him in China, human rights campaigners said.

Full Story

Sorcery Charges On The Rise In Saudi Arabia

A Lebanese man who hosted a popular TV show where he gave callers advice and sometimes predicted the future was sentenced to death by a court in Saudi Arabia last month.

Full Story

Online shipping deadlines extended

Some web retailers have bumped back the standard shipping cutoff date.

East Coast snowstorm connection

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Exercises you can do at work

10 exercises you can do at work

Your co-workers might look at you funny, but these moves can fight off weight gain and stress.

Easy

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New rule aims to end tarmac horror stories

Airlines must now let passengers stuck in stranded planes disembark after a certain time.

Fine of $27,500 per flier

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Where to find the next housing boom

A Harvard economist says the weather will determine the next real estate hotspots.

Surprising theory

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Watch out, world: El Niño is back

Record snowstorms are just one sign that the wacky weather phenomenon is in effect.

What's next

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Seven quick dinners

Get a hot dinner on the table promptly with these easy recipes for every day of the week.

Get recipes

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Shedding light on the darkest day

The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, brings good news and bad.

The countdown to summer begins

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Unraveling teen sailor's mysterious trip

A 14-year-old Dutch girl banned from sailing around the world turns up on a Caribbean isle.

Police want answers

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Ways retailers get you to spend more

6 ways retailers get you to spend more

Retailers are more aggressive than ever when it comes to getting customers to buy.

Tricks you should know

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When it comes to carbon emissions ...

Dogs might be more dangerous than SUVs

A study says man's best friend is worse on the environment than gas-guzzling automobiles.

Pet owners react

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He fell 6,000 feet and lived to tell the tale

Fell 6,000 feet and lived to tell the tale

James Boole talks about the accident that nearly killed him, and why he wants to sky-dive again.

Story

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Cops give holiday speeders a break

Police officers in Texas give drivers caught speeding a rare chance to avoid a fine.

A different kind of ticket

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Reasons you feel 'fake hungry'

4 reasons you feel 'fake hungry'

Eating meals made up of certain foods can leave you feeling hungrier.

How to stay full and satisfied

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What's left of world's highest glacier

Chacaltaya Glacier, home of Bolivia's only ski resort, will vanish in months, experts say.

See it then and now

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Stunning view of blizzard from space

The East Coast snowstorm was so big that even a picture of it taken from space is impressive.

Look

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Cop News

In Cop News

South Carolina school cop arrested on drug charges

South Carolina deputy arrested on drug charges
(not the same cop as above)

Female armed robber stripped, beaten and set alight by angry lynch mob

Stripped naked to the waist, she begs for mercy as she is savagely beaten by a lynch mob in the middle of the street.

Alejandra Maria Torres was part of an armed gang that tried to rob bus passengers in Guatemala City.
But as she tried to escape the passengers stripped and beat her before dousing her in petrol and setting her alight.

Police put out the flames and arrested her. Her three companions escaped. lynching in Guatemala City

Alejandra Maria Torres sits bloodied on a street after being beaten, doused with petrol and set on fire during a lynching in Guatemala City

Lynchings are common in Guatemala. In the last year, mobs have attacked more than 250 people, leaving at least 40 of them dead.

Criminals are a frequent target but officials are sometimes attacked, including a judge who issued a rape verdict thought by the public to be too lenient.

The practice stems from the civil war of 1960 to 1996 when civil defence patrols carried out many of the murders in the state-sponsored genocide of Left-wing rebels, many of them peasants.

About 200,000 people died. Passengers of a public bus accused Torres