CAROLINA NATURALLY

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Your latest wish is a big one, but it could come one giant step closer to becoming a reality.
Give it some nudges here and there and see what develops.
If you've done the proper groundwork, things could finally start happening.
The littlest efforts you make can create a major result, so write off any suggestions that get thrown your way.
You're known for keeping an open mind in tough situations, so live up to your reputation and consider all input equally.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Edithvale, Victoria, Australia

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand

Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia

Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain

Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Oxford, England, United Kingdom

Genoa, Liguria, Italy

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Malmo, Skane Lan, Sweden

Zagreb, Grad Zagreb, Croatia

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

London, England, United Kingdom

Sittard, Limburg, Netherlands

Paderborn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Penang, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

as well as Singapore, Colombia, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and in cities across the United States such as Bear, Katy, Sandy, Kalamazoo and more.

Today is:

Today is Saturday, November 13, the 317th day of 2010.

There are 48 days left in the year.

Today In History November 13

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

World Kindness Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

For all our daily readers: Yesterday was a very busy day - opening a new business and spending the night in the ER ... all in all just a typical day around here - but we missed updating this blog yesterday mainly due to the night at the hospital.

President Obama's Weekly Address

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
November 13, 2010

This weekend, I’m concluding a trip to Asia whose purpose was to open new markets for American products in this fast-growing part of the world. The economic battle for these markets is fierce, and we’re up against strong competitors. But as I’ve said many times, America doesn’t play for second place. The future we’re fighting for isn’t as the world’s largest importer, consuming products made elsewhere, but as the world’s largest manufacturer of ideas and goods sold around the world.

Opening new markets will not only help America’s businesses create new jobs for American workers. It will also help us reduce our deficits – because the single greatest tool for getting our fiscal house in order is robust economic growth. That kind of growth will require ensuring that our students are getting the best education possible; that we’re on the cutting edge of research and development; and that we’re rebuilding our roads and railways, runways and ports – so our infrastructure is up to the challenges of the 21st century.

Given the deficits that have mounted up over the past decade, we can’t afford to make these investments unless we’re also willing to cut what we don’t need. That’s why I’ve submitted to Congress a plan for a three-year budget freeze, and I’m prepared to offer additional savings. But as we work to reform our budget, Congress should also put some skin in the game. I agree with those Republican and Democratic members of Congress who’ve recently said that in these challenging days, we can’t afford what are called earmarks. These are items inserted into spending bills by members of Congress without adequate review.

Now, some of these earmarks support worthy projects in our local communities. But many others do not. We can’t afford Bridges to Nowhere like the one that was planned a few years back in Alaska. Earmarks like these represent a relatively small part of overall federal spending. But when it comes to signaling our commitment to fiscal responsibility, addressing them would have an important impact.

As a Senator, I helped eliminate anonymous earmarks and created new measures of transparency so Americans can better follow how their tax dollars are being spent. As President, time and again, I’ve called for new limitations on earmarks. We’ve reduced the cost of earmarks by over $3 billion. And we’ve put in place higher standards of transparency by putting as much information as possible on earmarks.gov. In fact, this week, we updated the site with more information about where last year’s earmarks were actually spent, and made it easier to look up Members of Congress and the earmarks they fought for.

Today, we have a chance to go further. We have a chance to not only shine a light on a bad Washington habit that wastes billions of taxpayer dollars, but take a step towards restoring public trust. We have a chance to advance the interests not of Republicans or Democrats, but of the American people; to put our country on the path of fiscal discipline and responsibility that will lead to a brighter economic future for all. And that’s a future I hope we can reach across party lines to build together.

Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend.

U.S. World Cup bid in doubt

Unexpected obstacle to U.S. World Cup bid

A surge of support may have a small Middle Eastern country in line to host the 2022 World Cup.

Revealing note

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Extravaganza for Asian Games

Spectacle of light kicks off Asian Games

More than 10,000 athletes gather in China for the world's second-biggest multisports event.

See photos

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Hotel built in just 6 days

China builds 15-story hotel in 6 days

A soundproofed, thermal-insulated building is constructed in a remarkable feat of speed.

See time-lapse video

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Revolt against the TSA looms as full-body scanners, 'grope-downs' earn disdain

As we expected a while ago, things are coming to a head over the new full-body scanners that show just about everything to viewers of the scan. The idea of a revolt against the TSA, including an "opt out" day, is circulating, with a Facebook group and a webpage.

Full Story

Bad Cops

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Ohio deputy gets 3 years for having sex with 13-year-old

Former New York City police officer arrested for phony 911 calls

New Jersey cop is arrested for stalking his ex-wife

Kentucky sheriff arrested for abusing public trust and evidence tampering

Newly hired Tennessee sheriff’s deputy arrested on drug charges

Oregon police pay $4K to settle lawsuit over bogus arrest of man who flipped off cops

Woman sentenced to death for blasphemy

A Pakistani court has sentenced to death a Christian mother of five for blasphemy, the first such conviction of a woman and sparking protests from rights groups overnight.

Asia Bibi, 45, was sentenced on Tuesday by a local court in Nankana district in Pakistan's central province Punjab, about 75km west of the country's cultural capital of Lahore.

Pakistan has yet to execute anyone for blasphemy, but the case spotlights the Muslim country's controversial laws on the subject which rights activists say encourages Islamist extremism in a nation wracked by Taliban attacks.

Asia's case dates back to June 2009 when she was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields.

But a group of Muslim women laborers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim, she should not touch the water bowl.

Full Story

The only 'Blasphemy' here is the kangaroo court and the ridiculous farce this is - just another example of why religion is a bad, a very, very bad thing.

Chinese man's shackles have grown into his skin

Astonished doctors are trying to save the hands of tormented Zhang Chuanqiu who was chained so tightly in an illegal prison that his flesh grew over his shackles.

Zhang, 27, had been chained to a cowshed in Hunan, southern China, in 2005 after falling out with village officials over a loan to build his house. But his chains had been so agonizingly tight that Zhang's own flesh began to absorb them.

"The only person who did not give up on me was my mother who waited for her time and rescued me," he explained. Now Zhang is trying to raise the £1,000 surgeons have told him he needs for an operation to remove the chains and save his hands from further infection.

"They cause me a lot of pain. They are always inflamed and ooze pus all the time. But we have no money so I have to rely on charity or the good heart of a hospital or doctor to save my hands," he said.

Wizard of Id

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When bargains are bonanzas

Where bargains can turn into bonanzas

At garage sales and flea markets, one person's junk can become another's treasure.
$4 purchase led to $2.4 million
Also:

Vase fetches record sum

Rare vase fetches record sum at auction

The 18th-century Chinese artifact is valued at $1.9 million but sells for many times that amount.

Final price

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Find your top place to retire

How to find your best place to retire

Before making a move, consider areas with the strongest economies and job growth.

Where taxes are high and low

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Where jobs are returning

20 industries where jobs are returning

These businesses are growing confident about the economy and hiring again.

143,000 new restaurant jobs

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Shoe

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Life-size Gingerbread House

For the third year in a row, the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Canada is putting together 600 pounds of gingerbread, 1,000 pounds of icing, 2,000 chocolate wafers, 750 cookies, and 4,900 pretzels to make a gingerbread house you can stand up in! It will take about two weeks to complete, and then patrons will be invited to dine inside -but you’ll have to make reservations in advance, as it will have only one table. The $20 reservation charge will go to help abused children through a local charity. Manager Keith Simmonds says the structure is extremely popular -and yes, people do occasionally snag a bite of it.

He said it happens about every five minutes.
“We do a lot of repairs on the fly and overnight. We try to keep people off as much as we can, but it’s part of the fun. I mean, it is a totally edible structure.”
Once the house is finished in early December, it will accept reservations for one table of six. Families will be able to order off the same menus offered in other restaurants inside the lodge, including breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets. And of course, there’s a dessert menu — separate from what’s seen on the surrounding walls.

The gingerbread house will remain up until January.

Full Story