Thursday, March 4, 2010

Dinosaurs Ten Million Years Older Than Thought

A new dinosaur relative found in Tanzania is the oldest known creature of its kind—a discovery that pushes back the origin of dinosaurs by at least ten million years, paleontologists say.

Dubbed Asilisaurus kongwe, the Labrador retriever-size creature was a silesaur, the closest relatives to true dinosaurs.

The new-found animal lived 243 million years ago, during the middle Triassic period.

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Should Animal Abusers, Like Sex Offenders, Be Registered?

Cruelty to animals, it is said, is often a precursor to graver crimes.
So would there not be some usefulness to a registry of individuals convicted of felony animal abuse?
Legislators in California want the Golden State to be the first to establish such a record - just as California was the first in the nation to create a registry of sex offenders.

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FDA Recalls Food Additive Used In Thousands of Products

On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a recall of a common flavor enhancer that could be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. However, the enhancer, known as hydrolyzed vegetable protein or HVP, is used in many products and thus the recall could affect thousands of products, including soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips and dressing.

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SC cop stops go-cart, arrests man on drug charges

A go-cart wasn't much of a getaway vehicle for a South Carolina man. The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reported that sheriff's deputies have arrested 29-year-old Edward Matthew Sweezy of Union after they stopped him last week at an intersection in Union.

SC cop stops go-cart, arrests man on drug charges

Texan found in Kansas with 436,000 ecstasy pills

A 21-year-old Texas man faces federal drug charges after authorities say he was found with 436,000 Ecstasy pills.

Texan found in Kansas with 436,000 ecstasy pills

Tuft of Napoleon's hair found in Sydney vault

A lock of hair believed to have been snipped from the head of Napoleon Bonaparte after his death has been unearthed in Sydney's Town Hall.

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Tree exorcist arrested for attacking trees by Eiffel tower

A self-styled exorcist who believes woodland carries evil spirits has been arrested for attacking 100 trees next to the Eiffel tower.

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10 Color-Changing Creatures You Have to See to Believe

From Treehugger:

color changing animals flower spider photo
Photo via Killer Plants

The chameleon gets all the attention -- but it's not the only member of the animal kingdom that can alter its color and texture to suit its mood. From spiders that take on the color of their flower (like the one shown here) and flounder that match the sea floor to wolves that get a seasonal makeover and an octopus that goes red with rage, could you spot these super-camouflaged creatures in the wild?

10 Color-Changing Creatures You Have to See to Believe

Extinct Frog Rediscovered in Australia

From Treehugger:

yellow spotted bell frog photo
Image credit: AP Photo

A small frog that had been declared extinct more than 30 years ago has been rediscovered in Australia. Litoria castanea, better known as the "yellow-spotted bell frog" or the "tablelands bell frog," was found in a creek bed on private property by biologists Luke Pearce and David Hunter.

Extinct Frog Rediscovered in Australia

Think you have health insurance?

Think again...

As if having to pay higher health insurance premiums each year isn't bad enough, now workers have another worry: companies that drop their health insurance coverage and don't bother to tell employees.

"It's a practice that's on the rise", says Kristin Milam with the state department of insurance. State law requires that companies give their workers 45 days notice if they're going to drop coverage. Milam says that employees of businesses that don't follow the law often find out their coverage has lapsed when they go to the doctor's office.

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And I Quote

Bush says while he was president he would enjoy the occasional cigar.
On a rare occasion, he would have a cigar because he said it helped him think.
I want to tell you, occasions don't get any more rare than that ...

~ David Letterman

Tea Bagger leader paid by the repugicans

Tea party leader paid by repugican run campaign to promote party goals.

One of the tea party's top leaders was recently paid $7,500 by a campaign run by a California repugican group to promote one of their ballot initiatives.

Mark Meckler is a spokesman for the Tea Party Patriots and had publicly distanced himself from the repugican party.
But state records show that he accepted the money for "petition circulation management" from the "Citizen Power Campaign Supported by the Lincoln Club of Orange County."

The Lincoln Club is a two bit player in state politics and this latest initiative is an ambitious act of political skullduggery.

The Citizen Power Campaign is trying to put a measure on the ballot come November that would make it illegal for taxpayer money for political activity.

Why?

Because that would remove a key source of funding for the public employees union, making it more difficult for pro-labor candidates to get elected.

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Science News

From BBC-Science:

Artist's impression of space impactor (BBC)

Panel confirms dino crater link

An international panel of experts has strongly endorsed the idea that an asteroid impact was responsible for killing off the dinosaurs.

Deep sea fish 'eat their greens'

Fish are seen eating plants that have sunk to the seafloor, changing our understanding of ocean food webs.

The cusk eel, pictured here, was one of the fish seen eating floating plant matter.

Cop News

In Cop News

Louisiana sheriff plans to arm volunteers with shotguns, riot shields, batons, and a .50-caliber machine gun mounted on a "war wagon," to protect grocery stores and gas stations in case of rioting

Nebraska prison guards suspended over on-line comments endorsing brutality

Double-dipping New Jersey sheriff apologizes for bullying professor during class

Former West Virginia police officer charged with breaking jaw of daughter’s ex-boyfriend

Liars and Fools

Liars and Fools

Faux's Shawn Handjob lies saying "Obama is making this country and every citizen vulnerable to attack".
Nope, that was the shrub and the cabal.

Lush Dimbulb compares health insurance reform to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Nuremberg trials.
Oxycontin, Viagra, and one too many little Dominican boys has finally brought this syphilitic tub of lard to utter madness ... oh, wait he's been there, my bad.

Subscriber Sues Netflix and Warner Bros. Over New Rental Policy

Restraint of Trade?

Wait 28 days to rent a hot movie just out on DVD?

No way, argued a Netflix subscriber, who sued the films-by-mail rental company and Warner Bros. on Thursday.

Susan Uman of Manhattan argues a deal worked out between Netflix and Warner Home Video is an old-fashioned "scheme to restrain trade" that has to stop, according to a class action lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court.

The two companies agreed in January that Netflix customers would not be able to order Warner Bros. DVDs until a full 28 days after the films went up for sale or rent at other locations. The move was seen as adding to Warner Bros. bottom line because it forces viewers who want to see the movie sooner to buy it or rent it from costlier companies.

Two Warner movies - "The Informant!" and "The Box" - were released on DVD Feb. 23, but won't be available to Netflix subscribers until March 23, the lawsuit says.

The pact, Uman argued, decreased the value of her Netflix subscription because the Warner Bros. films are now off limits for a month. The lawsuit wants the practice to stop.

Warner Home Video and Netflix officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Chief Justice Roberts Not Stepping Down Despite RadarOnLine Report

Damn and here we were chilling the champagne

Chief Justice John Roberts is not stepping down from the Supreme Court, despite a celebrity gossip report, a source very close to Roberts told Fox News.

RadarOnline.com reported Thursday that Roberts, 55, would be resigning for personal reasons.

But the source said the report is "completely untrue." There is "no medical issue, no issue at all," the source said, adding that there is not even a 1 percent chance that Roberts is considering resignation.

RadarOnline.com later published an update saying that Roberts will be staying on the bench.