CAROLINA NATURALLY

Friday, January 8, 2016

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of Carolina Naturally.

Today just so happens to be Bubble Bath Day as well...!

Carolina Naturally is read in 205 countries around the world daily.

Socks ... !

Today is - Argyle Day

You want the unvarnished truth?

Don't forget to visit: The Truth Be Told

Some of our readers today have been in:
The Americas
Brazil - Canada - Colombia - El Salvador - Mexico - Puerto Rico - United States - Venezuela
Europe
Austria - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - England - France - Georgia - Germany - Hungary Italy - Netherlands - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Russia - Scotland - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia Spain - Sweden - Turkey - Ukraine - Wales
Asia
China - Hong Kong - India - Indonesia - Iran - Israel - Japan - Korea - Lebanon - Malaysia Mauritius - Pakistan - United Arab Emirates
Africa
Djibouti - Tunisia
The Pacific
Australia - New Zealand

Don't forget to visit our sister blogs Here and Here.

Today in History

1681		The Treaty of Radzin ends a five year war between the Turks and the allied countries of Russia and Poland.
1745		England, Austria, Saxony and the Netherlands form an alliance against Russia.
1815		A rag-tag army under Andrew Jackson defeats the British on the fields of Chalmette in the Battle of New Orleans.
1871		Prussian troops begin to bombard Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1892		A coal mine explosion kills 100 in McAlister, Oklahoma.
1900		The Boers attack the British in Ladysmith, South Africa, but are turned back.
1908		A subway line opens linking the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
1940		Great Britain begins rationing sugar, meat and butter.
1946		President Harry S. Truman vows to stand by the Yalta accord on self-determination for the Balkans.
1954		President Dwight Eisenhower proposes stripping convicted Communists of their U.S. citizenship.
1963		President John F. Kennedy attends the unveiling of the Mona Lisa.
1975		Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first female governor in the US who did not come into office by succeeding her husband.
1979		The United States advises the Shah to leave Iran.
1982		AT&T agrees to divest 22 subdivisions as part of an antitrust agreement.
1994		Valeri Polyakov, a Russian cosmonaut leaves earth, bound for the Mir space station; he will spend a record 437 days in space.
2002		The shrub signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act, intended to improve America’s educational system.
2004		The largest passenger ship in history, the RMS Queen Mary 2, is christened by Queen Elizabeth II, granddaughter of Queen Mary.
2011		An attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords is part of a shooting spree in which Jared Lee Loughner kills 6 and wounds 13.

Non Sequitur

How the "Just So" stories got their name

The Just So Stories began as bedtime stories told to ‘Effie’; when the first three were published in a children’s magazine, a year before her death, Kipling explained:

. . . in the evening there were stories meant to put Effie to sleep, and you were not allowed to alter those by one single little word. They had to be told just so; or Effie would wake up and put back the missing sentence. So at last they came to be like charms, all three of them,—the whale tale, the camel tale, and the rhinoceros tale.

These are stories of origins: ‘How the Whale got his Throat’, ‘How the Camel got his Hump’, ‘How the Rhinoceros got his Skin’—stories that answer the kinds of question children ask, in ways that satisfy their taste for primitive and poetic justice. After Effie’s death, Kipling added nine others, so the number published in the first edition was twelve—a magic number, as everyone knows. More at the Oxford University Press Blog.

Mermaids and mermen banned from public swimming pools

Mermaids and mermen have just become an endangered species in parts of Victoria, Australia. The YMCA has banned mermaid tails at more than 50 of its pools throughout the state. In a statement, the community organization said the ban had been made for safety reasons. "Mermaid tails create unnecessary risk to our patrons by restricting swimming ability, especially for weak swimmers and children," the statement read. "It's possible parents have purchased the product without realizing the safety risk." The water toys have become increasingly popular with children in recent years, despite a number of safety warnings. But the mermaid tails are used by some adults who are annoyed they have been banned from swimming using the fins. Daniel Hayward called it to "a bad day to be a Merman" after he was barred from swimming at Brunswick Baths before Christmas while using his mermaid tail.
In a post on the YMCA pool's Facebook page, Mr Hayward said staff at the pool acknowledged he was a strong swimmer but would not let him swim using the tail in case children wanted to follow suit. "So I get punished and held back from doing something that I truly enjoy, that is great exercise and is causing no harm to anyone because a parent might buy their child a mermaid tail without care or responsibility?" he wrote. Consumer advocacy group Choice have put out a warning urging parents not to buy the swimsuits.
Choice's head of media Tom Godfrey said children needed to be supervised if they were splashing around with the tails and that very young children or poor swimmers should not wear the suits. "Even if your child is a strong swimmer, they may get into difficulty underwater when wearing one of these toys," Mr Godfrey said. The tails affect a child's ability to move their legs while swimming. Government consumer affairs bodies in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia have also expressed concern about the mermaid tails.

The Wagah Border Closing Ceremony

At the town of Wagah, a major road crosses the border between India and Pakistan. Every evening at sunset, they hold a ceremony to officially close the crossing for the night. Soldiers from both countries come out, lower the flags, strut and salute, then close the gates on each side of the border. The ceremony is highly choreographed, and a crowd gathers every night to watch -and cheer for their country, although they are admonished not to say anything bad about the other nation. The high-stepping, stylized show is a tradition built on the idea of one-upmanship: who can step the highest and scowl the fiercest?

(YouTube link)

The border security forces of India and Pakistan have been doing the Beating Retreat ceremony since 1959. If you liked this video, you’ll love this Fevikwik advertisement that uses the Wagah ceremony as its backdrop.

ISIL New Years Eve Terror Plot Story Is Totally Bogus

ISIL New Years Eve Terror Plot Story Is Totally Bogus

This Is a Wearable Defibrillator

A person with a heart ailment has gone into cardiac arrest! Where is the nearest defibrillator? In this case, the victim is wearing it.
The medical technology company ZOLL has developed LifeVest, a wearable defibrillator. It continuously monitors the user's heart activity. When the user goes into cardiac arrest, it squirts electrode gel onto the chest, then sends appropriate electrical shocks into the heart.
The LifeVest is designed for children who weigh at least 41 pounds and have a chest measurement of at least 26 inches. You can read more about it and watch a video at Damn Geeky.

Women’s Rights at Stake

Women’s Rights at Stake: How the Supreme Court and Abortion Laws Will Shape the 2016 Election

ACLU sues catholic hospital for refusing to perform tubal ligation

'Entrance to emergency room at hospital' [Shutterstock]

ACLU sues catholic hospital for refusing to perform tubal ligation

“The overarching issue is about women’s ability to access basic health care,” said Elizabeth Gill, the senior attorney for the group’s Northern California branch.

It’s Coming: Kosher Marijuana

It’s Coming: Kosher Marijuana

Kosher marijuana is coming to New York.

***

Well, what will they think of next!

2015: The Year Of Media Stupid

It's only 2 minutes, but it's so incredibly perfect.

Police set up 'no refusal' checkpoints with mandatory blood draws

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is enforcing a "no refusal" traffic safety policy between New Year's Eve and January 4, 2016, in a effort the agency says will reduce the number of fatal crashes. A 2012 state law allows police to force drivers to have blood drawn.

Previously, drivers could decline such tests with the understanding that their drivers license would be suspended. This year, troopers are patrolling various checkpoints and bars, checking to ensure drivers are buckled up and sober. Officers will be allowed to seek search warrants, and any suspected impaired driver could be subject to blood sampling.
During the same holiday period in 2014, nine crashes killed nine people, including one pedestrian and child. Three of those deaths were alcohol-related, and four of the deceased were not wearing seat belts. This year, state troopers have arrested nearly 8,000 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol.
"Our department will be working diligently to make sure Tennesseans arrive at their destinations safely," Commissioner Bill Gibbons said. "It is our intent to enforce traffic laws in order to keep Tennesseans safe." The "no refusal" enforcement is take place in Knox, Hamilton, Davidson, Shelby, Washington, Putnam, Lawrence and Hardin.

Entire Florida police department busted for laundering millions for international drug cartels

Screenshot from "License to Launder" (Miami Herald)

US police have already killed more people since Xmas than UK cops have killed in the last 5 years

South Carolina police officers standing over body of Walter Scott -- screengrab

US police have already killed more people since Xmas than UK cops have killed in the last 5 years

In the last two years, a total of 4 people have lost their lives because of British cops, bringing the total number of citizens killed in the UK to 7 in the last 5 years. Since Xmas, police in America have killed 14 people (as of January 2nd).

Masked, costumed man arrested after locking himself in bathroom when asked to leave store

A masked, costumed man was arrested on Wednesday morning after causing a disturbance at a Kum & Go convenience store in Oklahoma, police report.

Michael Carter, 26, was detained by Broken Arrow officers for obstructing or interfering with police, a misdemeanor. According to police, Kum & Go employees asked Carter to leave the business, but he refused.

Instead, Carter locked himself in a store bathroom. In addition to the mask, Carter wore a red bandanna that was accessorized with forks, a makeshift red cape, and red sweatpants.
A toy gun was tucked into Carter’s waistband. Before entering the Kum & Go, Carter was seen at a nearby Whataburger restaurant, where a diner took photos of him. Carter is locked up in lieu of $500 bond.