Professional chicken catcher fired over his bad attitude

Professional chicken catcher Joshua Spickler was fired in January over what his ex-employer said was a bad attitude.

On Thursday, Commonwealth Court concluded that was enough to deny the Northumberland County man unemployment compensation benefits, too, on grounds that his supposed negativity constituted willful misconduct. The state court turned aside Spickler's arguments that the evidence his attitude had declined to the point where it was negatively affecting co-workers at B&B Catching Services Inc. was nothing but hearsay.

According to court filings, Spickler worked at B&B in Dornsife, Pennsylvania, for nearly five years. His former employer claimed his attitude started going downhill after he and co-workers were told in May 2012 that their bonuses would be reduced because of a downturn in business. Spickler's alleged poor attitude resulted first in his demotion from a crew chief post. His employers claimed he started refusing orders, cut up a company gas card and spoke ill of the firm to fellow employees.

He was warned that he could be fired if he didn't change his ways, B&B officials claimed. In upholding the jobless benefit denial, Commonwealth Court noted that several B&B officials testified that Spickler had a negative attitude that adversely affected his co-workers, so there was "substantial evidence" that was the basis for his firing.

Bus Driver Takes Weapon From Kid and Loses Job

 

How to best monitor safety on a school bus? 

OK, time for a pop quiz: As a schoolteacher or an administrator, you should deal with safety issues by (a) always following proper protocol to the letter, or (b) using common sense based on the particular situation at hand. The answer, according to an Ohio school district that has severed ties with a bus driver over how he handled a student with a knife, appears to be (a) — though a leading national school safety expert disagrees.

The trouble went down last week, when new substitute school-bus driver Dennis Kaliszewski, 60, was driving kids home from Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Parma. Though Yahoo Shine could not reach him for comment, the driver told Cleveland.com that he was heading to his first stop when “it seemed as though the entire bus of students started to yell that a young boy had a knife in his possession.” He says he then pulled over and told the boy, who was probably between 8 and 10 years old, that the bus wouldn’t move until he handed over his knife. After a few promptings by Kaliszewski, the boy eventually brought his small pocketknife up to the driver, who then continued his route.

“I feel I defused the situation and eliminated any danger,” notes Kaliszewski, who says he believed the boy was showing off rather than threatening anyone. Later on during the route, when a parent asked Kaliszewski why the bus was behind schedule, he explained what had happened; he adds that when he returned the bus to the garage, he looked for his supervisor to report the situation, but found she had left for the day, and he followed suit. He then wrote a formal letter to his supervisor, documenting what had taken place.

The next morning, Kaliszewski was called in to the school and told he would not be driving for the district anymore, Cleveland.com reports. As an on-call sub, not an employee, he was not technically fired, Parma City School District spokesperson Erin Gadd tells Yahoo Shine. Rather, she says, he “simply will not be asked to work again.”

A letter sent home to parents, according to Cleveland.com, explains that Kaliszewski failed to follow district protocol. Gadd won’t explain what the protocol entails, and says she can’t comment on the situation further due to district policy. But Kaliszewski tells the website that during his three months of training, he was told, in the case of a student with a weapon, to stop the bus, tell kids there was a mechanical problem, and call the police.

But the driver notes that he used “common sense” with his judgment, and says he plans to contact a lawyer about how he’s been treated.

He makes good points, according to Ken Trump, president of the private National School Safety and Security Services firm, located in Cleveland. “If the driver’s comments are accurate — and I know there are two sides of every story — then I think he has a legitimate grievance,” Trump tells Yahoo Shine. “I understand the importance of having protocol and being concerned about the safety of everyone. That said, just as with police officers on the street and a school principal who has rules, when it comes to safety situations, there needs to always be room for discretion because every scenario doesn’t fit one script.”

Trump adds that it seems Kaliszewski used common sense, stayed calm and got the situation under control quickly, and that the student was compliant. “Our bus drivers have one of the most challenging and difficult jobs in the schools,” he notes. “Would they treat a principal or assistant principal who had not followed a script to the T in the same fashion? I would lay down some money he wouldn’t be terminated on the spot.”

Further, Trump says, “I’m wondering if perhaps the district’s greatest angst rests with the fact that he mentioned it to a parent. Some districts are very image-conscious.”

Couple nearly stabbed after complimenting man's umbrella

A kind word nearly got two people stabbed at a Seattle bus stop on Monday afternoon .
The victims were waiting at for a bus in Greenwood at around 12:35pm when they complimented a man sitting at the bus stop on his umbrella.

According to the police report for the incident, the suspect immediately jumped up off the bench and started yelling at the victims. The victims later told officers they thought the suspect was kidding until he pulled a 12-inch knife out of his backpack and started swinging it at them.

According to the report, the suspect said, "Greenwood is my neighborhood, and I could kill you both," before swinging the knife close enough to slice a hole in a plastic water bottle one of the victims was holding, narrowly missing her hand. The suspect walked off, but officers were able to catch up with him about six blocks away. He was arrested and both his knife and umbrella were taken as evidence.

Man named Angel claims he was set up by the devil

A 36-year-old man said he was "set up by the devil" before breaking into and robbing an Arizona City house on Monday.

Pinal County sheriff's deputies said Angel Meza from Eloy was seen running through an Arizona City neighborhood carrying a gun after the homeowner called at about 4pm to report a strange man in her house.

Deputies said Meza tried to load his gun while being chased, but ended up dropping the loaded magazine before he was caught and arrested, a Pinal County sheriff's spokesman said. Deputies said they found items allegedly stolen from the house on Meza when he was searched.

The gun, which deputies said was stolen, and the magazine were recovered. Meza, who said it was the devil's work that he broke into the house, is being held in the Pinal County Jail on suspicion of residential burglary, trespassing, theft and misconduct involving a weapon.

Ziggy

What you’re worth helps determine how long you’ll live

Money may not buy love, but it certainly helps you live longer. Wealth is one of the factors that contribute to disparities in health and longevity according to a report published in a Nov. 22, 2013 supplement to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a CDC publication. Race, sex, education, and geographic location are other key factors.
Dr. Chesley Richards, director of the CDC's Office of Public Health Scientific Services was the originator of the report: Health Disparities Persist in America.

"The purpose of the report is to highlight disparities in health that still exist in the country.”

The NIH’s National Cancer Institute also helps to define the groups of people that have some of the highest disparities with regard to health, and consequently higher rates of illness and death.

“Many different populations are affected by disparities. These include

• Racial and ethnic minorities
• Residents of rural areas
• Women, children, the elderly
• Persons with disabilities”

The CDC includes 29 different categories in their weekly morbidity and mortality report, with 10 additional categories added for this report on health disparities.
A summary of the findings include a list of diseases and conditions and the area of the population most likely to be effected. Comments by the author are enclosed in parentheses.

1. The rate of teen births has dropped overall by 18% from 2007 to 2010 with the biggest reductions among whites, blacks and Hispanics. (Public information campaigns, contraception education and contraception use have helped reduce the rate of teen births.)
2. Job related injuries and sickness were highest among low wage earners with limited education. Hispanics made up a larger part of this group, as well as foreign born workers. (Poor people will take high risk jobs to survive, and they often have no recourse regarding unsafe working conditions.)
3. Binge drinking is most common among those 18 to 34 years old, with whites making up a majority and those with higher incomes. (This population includes a lot of male college students.)
4. Tuberculosis has declined by 58% from 1992 to 2010, but TB is still high among racial and ethnic minorities and foreign-born residents. (The lack of testing and treatment among the poor for TB will be helped with the preventative measures included in the Affordable Care Act.)
5. Diabetes is most prevalent among Hispanics, blacks and those with low incomes and education levels. (It is much less expensive to eat a diet high in carbohydrates than one high in protein and fresh vegetables. Diabetes is often related to obesity, which also ties back to a high carbohydrate diet. There is a genetic factor involved with diabetes that combines with dietary issues related to income that makes many Hispanics and blacks at high risk for diabetes.)
6. Infant death rate for blacks is more than double that of whites. (This is related to prenatal care and diet, the age of the mothers, and the environment of the infant after release from the hospital.)
7. Suicide is about four times higher in men than in women. This applies to all age groups, race and ethnicity. American Indians, Alaskans and whites have the highest rates of suicide.
8. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US, with blacks about 50% more likely to die of heart disease or stroke than whites. (The reasons for higher death rates of blacks versus whites are a combination of genetic factors, diet, access to testing, and access to treatment.)

This report has added 10 additional variables in the analysis of what is causing the disparity of health care. Comments by the author are enclosed in parentheses.
These areas include the following:

1. Access to healthy foods (Low income is a key factor.)
2. Activity limitations due to chronic diseases (leading to obesity and loss of physical functionality)
3. Asthma attacks (often caused by pollution or indoor contaminants)
4. Fatal work-related injuries and illnesses (due to poor safety conditions and bad work environments)
5. Non-fatal work-related injuries and illnesses (due to poor safety conditions and bad work environments)
6. Health-related quality of life (leading to people stopping treatment rather than undergoing painful or debilitating procedures)
7. Gum disease in adults (Congress specifically excluded dental care under Medicare for nearly all procedures. The ACA includes dental care for children under the Essential Health Benefits provision.)
8. Living close to major highways (This is primarily due to high levels of airborne pollutants from automobiles and trucks.)
9. Tuberculosis (The enhanced preventative services of the ACA will help in the detection and treatment of TB.)
10. Unemployment (The unemployed have not been able to afford health insurance. With the government subsidies that are based upon income being a part of the ACA, the health care disparity will be reduced, but not eliminated.)

There is also the need to collect more consistent health data that have been lacking in surveys, such as disability and sexual orientation, the authors noted.
Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center had these additional comments about the CDC’s report on health disparity.

"This report is a timely reminder that the United States has vast resources that are very unevenly distributed. We have huge disparities in health, because we have huge disparities in everything from income to education. We will best eliminate health disparities not by improving disease care, but by improving equity.”

The difficulties that have occurred in signing up for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has overshadowed the impact that the ACA will have on reducing the disparity in health care.
The key provisions of the ACA to provide testing for diseases like diabetes and heart disease will provide for quicker diagnosis and treatment, with a long-term benefit of reducing overall health costs. Provision for birth control, along with prenatal care in the ACA requirements, will also impact the rate of teen births and infant mortality.
The reasonable expectation is that people will take advantage of the preventive services provided by the Affordable Care Act and the overall health of the nation will improve.

Neanderthal viruses found in modern Humans

Ancient viruses from Neanderthals have been found in modern human DNA by researchers at Oxford University and Plymouth University.

DNA of ancient viruses spotted in the Neanderthal genome has
been identified in humans [Credit: Reuters]

The researchers compared genetic data from fossils of Neanderthals and another group of ancient human ancestors called Denisovans to data from modern-day cancer patients. They found evidence of Neanderthal and Denisovan viruses in the modern human DNA, suggesting that the viruses originated in our common ancestors more than half a million years ago.

This latest finding, reported in Current Biology, will enable scientists to further investigate possible links between ancient viruses and modern diseases including HIV and cancer, and was supported by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council (MRC).

Around 8% of human DNA is made up of 'endogenous retroviruses' (ERVs), DNA sequences from viruses which pass from generation to generation. This is part of the 90% of our DNA with no known function, sometimes called 'junk' DNA.

'I wouldn't write it off as "junk" just because we don't know what it does yet,' said Dr Gkikas Magiorkinis, an MRC Fellow at Oxford University's Department of Zoology. 'Under certain circumstances, two "junk" viruses can combine to cause disease -- we've seen this many times in animals already. ERVs have been shown to cause cancer when activated by bacteria in mice with weakened immune systems.'

Dr Gkikas and colleagues are now looking to further investigate these ancient viruses, belonging to the HML2 family of viruses, for possible links with cancer and HIV.

'How HIV patients respond to HML2 is related to how fast a patient will progress to AIDS, so there is clearly a connection there,' said Dr Magiorkinis, co-author of the latest study. 'HIV patients are also at much higher risk of developing cancer, for reasons that are poorly-understood. It is possible that some of the risk factors are genetic, and may be shared with HML2. They also become reactivated in cancer and HIV infection, so might prove useful as a therapy target in the future.'

The team are now investigating whether these ancient viruses affect a person's risk of developing diseases such as cancer. Combining evolutionary theory and population genetics with cutting-edge genetic sequencing technology, they will test if these viruses are still active or cause disease in modern humans.

'Using modern DNA sequencing of 300 patients, we should be able to see how widespread these viruses are in the modern population. We would expect viruses with no negative effects to have spread throughout most of the modern population, as there would be no evolutionary pressure against it. If we find that these viruses are less common than expected, this may indicate that the viruses have been inactivated by chance or that they increase mortality, for example through increased cancer risk,' said Dr Robert Belshaw, formerly of Oxford University and now a lecturer at Plymouth University, who led the research.

'Last year, this research wouldn't have been possible. There were some huge technological breakthroughs made this summer, and I expect we'll see even greater advances in 2014. Within the next 5 years, we should be able to say for sure whether these ancient viruses play a role in modern human diseases.'

Daily Comic Relief

The Towers Of Kaiping

Throughout Kaiping County in China are scattered hundreds of fortified multi-storey towers called Diaolou. Built of stone, brick or concrete, these buildings represent a complex and flamboyant fusion between Chinese and Western architectural styles.

During the Qing Dynasty of late 19th and early 20th centuries, these buildings were used as temporary refuge by several families or residential towers by individual rich families and as fortified residences and watch towers. Today, approximately 1,833 Diaolou remain standing in Kaiping, and approximately 500 in Taishan.

Giant caves in Slovenia are like an underground Grand Canyon

If you've ever wondered what the Grand Canyon would look like underground, a visit to the Škocjan Caves may be in order. The series of cavernous chambers in Slovenia is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and receives 100,000 visitors a year. Its deep chasms and soaring walls have led to the place being called the "underground Grand Canyon."
Believed to be among the world's largest underground canyons, the location is like a tremendous bat cave (more on that in a moment).
Although the giant subsurface wonder is nowhere near the size of the actual Grand Canyon, the cathedral-like spaces are still something to behold. "You'll realize that you could fit a fat 45-story skyscraper in this subterranean world," writes travel blogger Francis Tapon.

The Reka River rushes through the bottom of the limestone chasm and can be viewed from a footbridge, nearly 150 feet high. Lonely Planet says it is "surely the highlight of the trip."

Stalagmites and stalactites fill the cave in the dry area called Great Hall. Some are so big they've been named the Giants and the Organ.
Then there are the signs of life: 250 varieties of plants and 15 different types of bats, according to Lonely Planet. Also worth noting is the incredibly creepy fish that have never seen the light of day. The proteus is a bizarre blind sea creature dubbed the "human fish" due to its limbs and odd color.
Along with the flora and fauna, humans have had a presence in the underground lair for some 10,000 years. Archeological digs have uncovered finds from a settlement that dates from the Middle Stone Age to the Iron Age. The prehistoric site is on view in the area called Tominč Cave.

That explains a lot ...

 

As seen in Colorado

Dog and Bird Are Friends

(Video Link)

This is one of the strangest animal videos that I've ever seen.
My first thought was that the Australian magpie in this video is badly injured--that it can't escape the dog. But no: the bird can walk and fly easily. It keeps returning to the dog to play and cuddle with him. Then at 3:10, it gets involved with the human's laundry work.

Police dog bit his handler during dramatic arrest in the sea

A man was tackled in the surf by police in a dramatic midnight arrest involving jet skis and a helicopter at a beach on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia.

Shane Hookey, 30, who spent an hour and a half pacing in chest deep water to dodge police, was photographed giving officers in a helicopter his middle finger on both hands before being dragged back to the shore by police, where he was crash tackled and taken away in a paddy wagon.

Police responded to a Triple-0 call alerting them to a man who was trying to break into a car on Marina Parade, Coolangatta, at about 9.30pm on Wednesday. When approached by police, Hookey fled and ran into the nearby surf. Police officers gave chase and, with PolAir and police on jet skis, asked Hookey to get out of the water. When he refused, a police dog and handler approached him in the surf.

YouTube link.

A police spokeswoman said a "violent struggle" then ensued, in which the animal bit Hookey and dog handler. Hookey was then taken into custody and rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital for treatment for the dog bite. The handler, Simon Buxton, from the Gold Coast Police Dog Squad was taken to Tweed Heads Hospital for treatment for four cuts from bites received during the altercation. Hookey, who sported a bandaged shoulder and swollen face when he later appeared in court was refused bail and will return on December 12.

Dog needed surgery after eating girl’s homework

A family dog in Englewood, Colorado, required emergency surgery after eating a girl’s homework.

A science project, a chocolate volcano, was too much of a temptation for Reggie the dog. “It was Mt. Haleakala in Maui,” Reggie's owner Payton said. The problem was the volcano had metal pins in it. Reggie ate them and had to go to the vet to have them removed.

Fifty pins showed up on his abdominal X-ray. Some were removed with an endoscope down Reggie’s throat, but there were still more to get out. “We went in surgically, pulled out the one large and four of the small straight pins,” veterinarian Dr. Brian VanVechten said.

Payton later provided X-rays to her teacher to make her story stick. The science assignment has been redone and handed in for credit. “I completely redid the project with glue the second time.” Reggie and Payton received high praise for their scientific endeavour. “I got an ‘A,’ “ said Payton. Reggie has fully recovered.

There's a video here.

United nearly kills shipped dog, refuses to pay vet bills without NDA

NBC News.

Janet Sinclair and her dog "Sedona"

When Janet Sinclair shipped her greyhound from San Diego to Boston with United Airlines' PetSafe program, she was horrified to discover her dog nearly dead on arrival, covered in feces and blood, with blood in its stool and urine. The dog had been exposed to punishing heat, its cage had been kicked across United's shipping facilities by their handlers. The vet bill was $2700, and the vet confirmed that the dog's injuries were the result of heat stroke and rough treatment. United agreed to pay the vet bill, but only if Sinclair would sign a nondisclosure agreement promising not to tell anyone about their monumental screw-up. Instead, Sinclair went public. The ensuing media attention revealed hundreds of other people whose pets were injured and killed by United.

"And the woman in front of me said – 'Is that your dog?'" Sinclair said. "And she said, ‘Honey, I sure hope you’re taking video of this.’ And that was the beginning of the worst day of my life."
She shot cell phone video that July day and shared it with NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit. The video she recorded periodically shows her pets left outside, not in a temperature-controlled vehicle. According to the National Weather Service, the high in Houston that day was 94 degrees. When they touched down in Boston, Sinclair said her dog was barely alive.
"Sedona’s entire crate was filled with blood, feces, urine," Sinclair said. "Sedona was in full heat stroke. All of the blankets were filled with blood. She was urinating and defecating blood. She was dying, literally, right in front of me."

United Airlines Refuses to Pay Veterinarian Bill Without NDA

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

Some people just have no class  ...!

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Today in History

1542		The English defeat the Scots at the Battle of Solway Moss in England.
1859		Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. The first printing of 1,250 copies sells out in a single day.
1863		In the Battle Above the Clouds, Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's forces take Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1864		Kit Carson and his 1st Cavalry, New Mexico Volunteers, attack a camp of Kiowa Indians in the First Battle of Adobe Walls.
1874		Joseph Glidden receives a patent for barbed wire.
1902		The first Congress of Professional Photographers convenes in Paris.
1912		Austria denounces Serbian gains in the Balkans; Russia and France back Serbia while Italy and Germany back Austria.
1927		Federal officials battle 1,200 inmates after prisoners in Folsom Prison revolt.
1938		Mexico seizes oil land adjacent to Texas.
1939		In Czechoslovakia, the Gestapo execute 120 students who are accused of anti-Nazi plotting.
1944		American B-29s flying from Saipan bomb Tokyo.
1949		The Iron and Steel Act nationalizes the steel industry in Britain.
1950		UN troops begin an assault into the rest of North Korea, hoping to end the Korean War by Christmas.
1961		The United Nations adopts bans on nuclear arms over American protests.
1963		Jack Ruby fatally shoots the accused assassin of President Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, in the garage of the Dallas Police Department.
1977		Greece announces the discovery of the tomb of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.
1979		The United States admits that thousands of troops in Vietnam were exposed to the toxic Agent Orange.
1992		US Congress passes the Brady Bill requiring a 5-day waiting period for handgun sales; the bill is named for Pres. Ronald Reagan's press secretary who was left partially paralyzed by a bullet during an assassination attempt on Reagan.
1995		Ireland votes 50.28% to 49.72% to end its 70-year-old ban on divorce.
2012		A fire at a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, kills over 110 people.

Non Sequitur

Did you know ...

That New Mexico cops force medical anal rape on suspects

That US Airways kicked blind man and his seeing-eye dog off flight

About Ken Starr's plea for a confessed child molester