CAROLINA NATURALLY

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Try a fresh approach with an old problem.
It's important for you to apply wild, untried methods to solving this current conundrum -- after all, if it's back in your life, the old techniques must not have worked too well the first time!
Talk to strangers, go online or try randomly picking strategies to get you out of your current mindset and pick up a fresh outlook on whatever it is you're grappling with.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Athens, Attiki, Greece

Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt

Annecy, Rhone-Alpes, France

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Munich, Bayern, Germany

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

London, England, United Kingdom

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Pakanbaru, Riau, Indonesia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Debrecen, Hajdu-Bihar, Hungary

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

as well as Norway, and the United States in such cities as Coralville, Sandpoint, Rock Island, Jessup, High Point, Summerville and more

Today is Tuesday, May 11, the 131st day of 2010.

There are 234 days left in the year.

Today In History May 11

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Eat What You Want Day

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

Airline passenger detained in Pakistan with circuits in shoes

The early reports out certainly sound suspicious though it's a positive sign that this was detected.

A passenger was detained by airport authorities in Pakistan after electrical circuits and batteries were found in the soles of his tennis shoes, an airport security official said today.

Officials were investigating what the components could be used for and why they were concealed. Similar materials can be used in the construction of bombs.

The man, Faiz Mohammad, was arrested at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport last night, said Munir Ahmed, a spokesman for the airport security force. The materials were detected by a scanner.

Afghan Girls Hit Again By Suspected Gas Attack

Full story

Dozens of schoolgirls in Afghanistan were admitted to the hospital on Tuesday after two suspected poisonous gas attacks on schools, officials said, the latest in a spate of similar incidents

Med students kill man, dissect body, then blame each other

Full story

Two Romanian medical students were sentenced to 16 years in prison after killing and dissecting a 65-year-old man with surgical instruments before trying to dispose of the pieces of his body.

The State Of The Nation

The State Of The Nation

Two stories about tornadoes

Deadly tornadoes in Southern Plains

Violent weather sent cars flying off highways and flipped mobile homes.

At least five dead in Oklahoma

Also:

Deadly tornadoes rip through Plains states

Twisters in Oklahoma and Kansas bring hail the size of baseballs and leave thousands without power.

Casualties

Also:

Might it just be that Ma Nature is a bit peeved at the assholes in Kansas and Oklahoma for their idiotic and illegal immigration and abortion stances?

Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality

Pole Dance Maven Sues Former Partner

The founder of a chain of pole dance-based fitness studios says a former business partner misappropriated one of her outlets and swiped proprietary business information, including her "lap tease" routine, and the name for it.

Kelly Adams (pictured) claims in Mecklenburg County Court that when she started her business in August 2006, its primary activity was holding "traveling pole parties." It evolved into a three-studio chain called Pole Dance Charlotte Fun & Fitness Studio, offering dance pole sessions and other fitness classes.

Adams said she created the curriculum and all of its choreography by herself.

In November 2008, Adams said, defendant Raymond Wood approached her and encouraged her to open a fourth Pole Dance Charlotte studio as a tax deduction for the coming tax year.

Adams claims Wood incorporated the new studio as Pole Dance Charlotte at the Lake, and he and Adams shared its start-up costs. Adams says she oversaw all the details of the business.

In late 2009, Adams says, she hired defendant Judith Storey as a freelance teacher, then promoted her to part-time manager, but fired her in January this year for "irreconcilable differences."

Almost immediately, Adams says, Wood hired both Judith Storey and co-defendant Robert Storey to manage the studio, which he promptly converted to Pole Dance Cornelius Inc.

A week later, Adams says, she received a call from one of her instructors, who told her that the locks to the studio had been changed. The next day, Adams says, she received a Notice of Discontinuance for the lease of the studio and a letter from Wood, terminating their business relationship.

Adams claims the defendants conspired to usurp her interest in the studio, used her copyrighted material on their Web site, and are using her curriculum, methods, designs, techniques and traveling pole party format for profit.

She says they also tried to lure away her customers, inducing them to sign up with the breakaway business by offering one month's membership free.

Adams seeks injunctive relief, and treble and punitive damages on claims of conspiracy, unfair and deceptive trade practices, interference with actual and prospective economic advantage, and trading on her business's name.

She is represented by John F. Hanzel of Cornelius, N.C.

Upping the cute factor

Upping the cute factor today features the obscenely adorable photographs of In Cheryl Kim, a publicist for a zoo in Seoul, South Korea. Among them, images of a baby brown bear carousing with a stuffed teddy. For maximum cuteness, browse this subset of his photos with the tag "baby."

Zombie satellite

'Zombie satellite' threatens other craft

A satellite "goes rogue" and inexplicably begins stealing other communications signals.

Scientists confounded

Also:

Mass-marketed genetic kit

Mass-marketed genetic kit stirs controversy

An over-the-counter test gives shoppers an easy way to scan for disease risk.

What it detects

Also:

Clogged Disability

Spike in disability applications clogs system

Claims have overwhelmed the Social Security system, leading to waits of more than two years.

Worst-hit states

Also:

Interesting In General

Interesting In General

Dictionary entry uncorrected for a century

Physicist Stephen Hughes spots a definition that was likely wrong when it entered the O.E.D. in 1911.

'Siphon'

Also:

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

Liars and Fools

Lush Dimbulb lies: Obama is "siding against the American people," playing "the race card," "dividing America".
Nope, that'd be you asshole - speaking into the mirror again I see.

Lush Dimbulb lies: Obama "looks at people of color as the genuine owners of the world's wealth who have been shut out of it".
The syphilis is acting up again folks.

Ann Cunlter lies: Liberals "always" root "for savages against civilization," including rooting for Nazis.
Another NAZI speaking into the mirror again.

http://www.sensibleerection.com/images/entry_thumbnails/1272658436_

Wingnut behind those illegal immigration laws

wingnut immigration law architect

Many of the most controversial and illegal immigration laws are the work of one Kansas asshole.

Who is Kris Kobach?

Also:

Tea Parties Rage as Taxes Hit Lowest Level Since 1950

Jon Perr posted this piece over at Crooks and Liars:

For almost a year and a half, furious Tea Party protesters have been chanting "Taxed Enough Already." But as it turns out, "taxed enough" actually means "at the lowest levels since 1950." That's the word from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which found that Americans paid the smallest overall tax bill since Harry Truman was in the White House. Of course, that inconvenient truth for Tea Baggers is tied to another: their plummeting payments are due in part to the tax relief delivered by President Obama.
USA Today summed up the BEA data debunking yet another right-wing myth:

Federal, state and local taxes -- including income, property, sales and other taxes -- consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010.

"The idea that taxes are high right now is pretty much nuts," says Michael Ettlinger, head of economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress.

That conclusion echoed a similar finding from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities last month. CBPP found

Middle-income Americans are now paying federal taxes at or near historically low levels, according to the latest available data. That's true whether it comes to their federal income taxes or their total federal taxes.

Several factors are fueling the reduced tax bill. For starters, the Bush recession has battered Americans' incomes and slashed sales tax revenue. New and expanded tax credits signed into law by presidents Clinton and Bush also lightened the tax burden for working families. And importantly, the $160 billion in tax cuts delivered by the Obama stimulus program helped refill Americans' bank accounts.
But you'd never know it, judging from the incendiary rhetoric flowing from the Tea Party movement and amplified by its media stenographers.
And in this case, ignorance is not bliss. While over 95% of working Americans received a tax cut thanks to President Obama and Congressional Democrats, a CBS poll found that Tea Party supporters literally didn't believe it:

Of people who support the grassroots, "Tea Party" movement, only 2 percent think taxes have been decreased, 46 percent say taxes are the same, and a whopping 44 percent say they believe taxes have gone up.

It's no wonder that despite their much publicized fury, 52% of Tea Party sympathizers "say their taxes are fair." Of course, when it comes to taxes, what Tea Baggers don't know is a lot.
In March, former Reagan Treasury official Bruce Bartlett quantified the know-nothingness of proud if deluded anti-tax Tea Partiers. Among other findings in a survey of the assembled DC Tea Baggers on March 16:

Tuesday's Tea Party crowd, however, thought that federal taxes were almost three times as high as they actually are. The average response was 42% of GDP and the median 40%. The highest figure recorded in all of American history was half those figures: 20.9% at the peak of World War II in 1944.

"For an antitax group," Bartlett aptly concluded, "they don't know much about taxes."
So the next time the Tea Party repugicans masquerading as independents call Barack Obama a socialist fascist communist or worse, remember the two words they should express to the President.
Thank you.

Something Not Covered In Oil

Photo via The Guardian; Credit Arthur Kingdon

During the coverage of the BP oil leak, we've been watching with our stomachs in knots over the damage being done to marine wildlife. To take a quick breather from the heartbreaking images of birds and shorelines covered in lethal black gook, we have an image that brings us back to how vibrant and beautiful ocean animals can be. The British Society of Underwater Photographers is a non-profit bent on finding the best of the best in underwater photography, and much of the time that means getting a shot of something rarely seen. Here, getting that shot won Arthur Kingdon top prize in the group's much-celebrated photography contest. It is a colorful and crystal-clear image of a rare black-faced blenny fish. It's one of the top eight stunning images submitted in this year's contest.

Article continues: Something Not Covered In Oil - Image of Elusive Fish Wins Top Prize

Rare gray whale sighting stuns scientists

Rare gray whale sighting stuns scientists

Before the sighting off the Israeli coast, gray whales were thought to be extinct across the region.

'Unbelievable'

Also:

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Close encounters?

Professor Clive Finlayson looks at what the Neanderthal genome evidence really says about us

So who are we?

Fossil reveals early bird plumage

A new study of a 150 million year old fossil of an Archaeopteryx has shown that remnants of its feathers have been preserved.

THE BIG PICTURE

Soft tissue remnants discovered in Archaeopteryx fossil

Fossil of earliest known bird contains remnants of the soft tissue of the animal, preserved for 150 million years

'Giant flying dinosaur fossil found'

It used to fly over Dallas. Cool.

Evidence of flying dinosaurs with a 9ft wingspan and more than 100 razor-sharp teeth that dominated the skies 95 million years ago has been discovered on a building site.

Newly caught specimens of the blind subterranean fish Stygichthys
typhlops (picture courtesy of C. Moreira)

Going underground

Blind, underground fish related to piranhas is rediscovered in Brazil

Stray grey whale navigates the North-West Passage

The whale was hunted to extinction outside the Pacific over 200 years ago – now a 13-metre-long specimen has been spotted in the Mediterranean

The health benefits of drinking tea

Tea has been shown to fight cancer, reduce heart disease risk, and prevent tooth decay.

Are all kinds equal?

Also:

In Matters Of Health

In Matters Of Health

The deep roots of genetic disorders uncovered

A study of gene evolution looking back half a billion years could help uncover the genetic basis of many disorders, including Down's syndrome

Working overtime is bad for the heart

People working 10 or 11 hours a day increase their risk of heart attacks, new research shows.

Long-term effects

Also:

Ziggy

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=383f5033166267689c7dda2eda55a511

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

Seven simple dinners

Try serving this fresh and light salmon salad that's really easy to make.

Get recipes for the week

Also:

Bizarre Foods: Andrew Zimmern's Culinary Journey Through Mongolia

From dump trucks filled with animal carcasses outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar to intestine-wrapped goat organs in the Gobi desert, Andrew Zimmern's trip to Mongolia was filled with sights ...