CAROLINA NATURALLY

Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of Carolina Naturally.

Today is Valentine's Day ..!

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Today in HIstory

1349		2,000 Jews are burned at the stake in Strasbourg, Germany.
1400		The deposed Richard II is murdered in Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire.
1549		Maximilian II, brother of the Emperor Charles V, is recognized as the future king of Bohemia.
1779		American Loyalists are defeated by Patriots at Kettle Creek, Ga.
1797		The Spanish fleet is destroyed by the British under Admiral Jervis (with Nelson in support) at the battle of Cape St. Vincent, off Portugal.
1848		James Polk becomes the first U.S. President to be photographed in office by Matthew Brady.
1859		Oregon is admitted as the thirty-third state.
1870		Esther Morris becomes the world’s first female justice of the peace.
1876		Rival inventors Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell both apply for patents for the telephone.
1900		General Roberts invades South Africa’s Orange Free State with 20,000 British troops.
1904		The “Missouri Kid” is captured in Kansas.
1912		Arizona becomes the 48th state in the Union.
1915		Kaiser Wilhelm II invites the U.S. Ambassador to Berlin in order to confer on the war.
1918		Warsaw demonstrators protest the transfer of Polish territory to the Ukraine.
1920		The League of Women Voters is formed in Chicago in celebration of the imminent ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
1924		Thomas Watson founds International Business Machines Corp.
1929		Chicago gang war between Al Capone and George “Bugs” Moran culminates with several Moran confederates being gunned down in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
1939		Germany launches the battleship Bismark.
1940		Britain announces that all merchant ships will be armed.
1942		Japanese paratroopers attack Sumatra. Aidan MacCarthy‘s RAF unit flew to Palembang, in eastern Sumatra, where 30 Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed A-28 Hudson bombers were waiting.
1945		800 Allied aircraft firebomb the German city of Dresden. Smaller followup bombing raids last until April with a total death toll of between 35,000 to 130,000 civilians.
1945		The siege of Budapest ends as the Soviets take the city. Only 785 German and Hungarian soldiers managed to escape.
1949		The United States charges the Soviet Union with interning up to 14 million in labor camps.
1955		A Jewish couple loses their fight to adopt Catholic twins as the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to rule on state law.
1957		The Georgia state senate outlaws interracial athletics.
1965		Malcolm X’s home is firebombed. No injuries are reported.
1971		Moscow publicizes a new five-year plan geared to expanding consumer production.
1973		The United States and Hanoi set up a group to channel reconstruction aid directly to Hanoi.
1979		Armed guerrillas attack the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
1985		Vietnamese troops surround the main Khmer Rouge base at Phnom Malai.
1989		Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini charges that Salman Rushdie’s novel, The Satanic Verses, is blasphemous and issues an edict (fatwa) calling on Muslims to kill Rushdie.

The origin of sighing

Researchers pinpoint origin of sighing reflex in the brain

“You must remember this: a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.” Contrary to the words immortalized by the piano singer in “Casablanca,” a sigh is far more than a sigh. Heaving an unconscious sigh is a life-sustaining reflex that helps preserve lung function....

The Ups And Downs Of Life Overseas

Americans living abroad have all kinds of reasons for doing so. Some wanted to shake their lives up. Others followed a job or spouse. Some went for a visit and then decided to stay. All of them miss something from the United States, but also cherish their new experiences. Heather Mancini lives in Barcelona, Spain.

What she misses most about life in America: Family and friends. “When I was still single and living abroad, I got back to the States once or twice a year. Now that I have a family, and many of my friends and family have their own families, two or three years may pass without seeing some of my siblings or closest friends.”
What she loves most about life in Spain: “I learn something new every day. It could be a new word in another language, politics in another country, or how to prepare a cultural dish. Also, my kids hold three passports and will grow up with an international mindset, speaking four languages. I’m not sure what others think, but to me, that’s pretty cool.”

Buzzfeed interviewed 14 Americans living in countries from Germany to Japan to Argentina, and asked them what they’ve learned from their experiences.

Which Countries Are Happiest?

Which Countries Are Happiest? Global Survey Suggests Capitalism and Wealth Aren't Delivering the Goods

American Capitalism Has Failed Us

American Capitalism Has Failed Us: We're Overworked, Underemployed and More Powerless than Ever Before

Duke Energy Fined For Coal Waste Spill, But Environmentalists Say That's Not Enough

The fine is the latest in a series of penalties owed by the company for its involvement in the spill.

Welfare Drug Tests In Tennessee Are Coming Up Pretty Close To Empty

Welfare Drug Tests In Tennessee Are Coming Up Pretty Close To Empty

Texas couple brings Nigerian nanny to America — then turns her into a slave

Texas couple brings Nigerian nanny to America — then turns her into a slave

A Texas couple was arrested on Monday for enslaving a Nigerian woman who they brought to the United States under the belief she would be caring for their children.

Gellar: American-Muslim Olympian Too 'In Your Face' With Her Hijab

Gellar: American-Muslim Olympian Too 'In Your Face' With Her Hijab

Gellar has a huge problem with a Muslim-American fencer who wears a Hijab.

***

Gellar has a huge problem with reality to begin with ...

This study shows how the media fuels support for anti-Muslim discrimination — and even war

Muslim woman wearing a headscarf looks out a window (Shutterstock)

This study shows how the media fuels support for anti-Muslim discrimination — and even war

Since the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, news stories with negative portrayals of Muslims have dominated the media.

Atheist lawmaker outsmarts bible-thumping Arizona Republicans who tried to block his invocation

Atheist lawmaker outsmarts bible-thumping Arizona Republicans who tried to block his invocation

Mendez, an atheist, asked in early January to deliver the invocation Monday, when the Secular Coalition of Arizona would be visiting the Capitol — but his request was denied.

An historian explains how 'christian' nationalists lie about Thomas Jefferson and his legacy

Fox hack: Georgia’s plan for school-sanctioned prayer ‘drags us back to the era of insanity’

Serial 'foot-stomper' has been assaulting women

A man in Austin, Texas. has been aggressively stomping on women's feet. Dozens of victims say they have encountered this man and they say his actions seem to be getting more violent. The women are typically alone when the incidents occur. They're either walking to or from a bus stop, sitting at the bus stop or on the bus itself when the man approaches them and starts stomping on their feet. It's so bizarre and confusing that they don't immediately recognize it as assault. It happened to Kerry Kovacik at around 4:30 one afternoon. She was catching the bus at Riverside and Congress when she says a man on a bicycle, stopped next to her and stomped hard on her foot.

"I immediately pushed him off of me and asked him what the F he was doing and he said this was normal for him and just casually rode off and then looked back and smiled," says Kovacik. After she told her fiancé what happened, they posted about it online. "It's the strangest form of assault that I've been made aware of," says Kovacik's fiancé, Joey Blanco. "My foot bruised and was swollen and I realized, if he's doing this to other people he could break someone's foot or it could escalate," Kovacik adds. Sure enough he was doing it to others. A post on Reddit, (with link to photo of the alleged foot-stomper), garnered dozens of responses and caught the attention of Deborah Robacker.
"He just like, stood up and stomped on my foot kind of aggressively," she recalls. Robacker was on the bus when the man stomped on her foot. Just before that she witnessed him aggressively elbow another woman. "It's not okay to go around assaulting people for no reason when they didn't do anything to you," Robacker says. Another woman who didn't want to be identified also had a run-in with the foot-stomper. "He started touching my foot with his foot and saying "footsie, footsie" and he got more and more aggressive and it startled me," the woman says.
A couple of months later, he targeted her again. That time he jabbed her in the back. "I yelled at him to stop and he again started laughing and then he rode away on his bike," she recalls. According to online posts, the man has been spotted harassing women on and around buses on Riverside Drive, South Congress Avenue and South Lamar Boulevard. Multiple women have filed reports with Austin Police. One victim says after filing her report she received a letter saying there wasn't enough information for police to go on but her case would remain open. These victims hope by talking about what's happening more people will be aware of it and this man will be stopped.

An American Couple Has Been Sentenced To 20 Years In A Kuwaiti Prison

An American Couple Has Been Sentenced To 20 Years In A Kuwaiti Prison. Is It Because They’re Gay?

Indian lawyer unsuccessful in attempt to sue Hindu God for mistreating his wife

Indian lawyer Chandan Kumar Singh has made at unsuccessful attempt to sue popular Hindu God Ram. Mr Singh said that he took the action because he felt "Lord Ram was unjust to his wife Sita", and he wanted a court in the eastern state of Bihar to "acknowledge this fact". The court wasn't convinced with his argument and rejected his plea last week, saying it wasn't a "practical case". And to add to Mr Singh's woes, a group of his colleagues have accused him of "seeking publicity", and one of them has sued him for defamation. Ram is the hero of the Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic of 24,000 stanzas. He is revered by millions in India and around the world.

Mr Singh is undeterred by the criticism, and believes strongly that he has a valid case. He quotes from religious scriptures to support his argument. "It's well known that Ram asked Sita to prove that she was pure after he rescued her from the clutches of the demon king Ravana. He did not trust Sita," Mr Singh said. "Ram's treatment of Sita shows that women were not respected even in ancient times. I am aware that the case may sound ridiculous to many, but we have to discuss this part of our ancient religious history. I will file a case again because I really believe that Indians have to acknowledge that Ram mistreated Sita."
Mr Singh also rejected allegations that he was merely seeking publicity. "I filed the case because we cannot talk about respecting women in modern day India when we know that one of our most revered gods did not treat his own wife with respect," he said. But he admits the reactions have taken him by surprise. "I expected some objection but did not anticipate that my colleagues would turn against me. I was only talking about justice and had no intention of hurting anybody's religious sentiments," he said. "Is it wrong to seek justice for women? The court's acceptance of my plea would have sent a good message that respecting women was important to Indians."

But his colleagues are not convinced. Lawyer Ranjan Kumar Singh said that the plea "insulted Hindus". "He has a history of filing publicity-seeking pleas. But this time he has gone too far. He has hurt our sentiments," he said. Ranjan Kumar Singh has also filed a defamation case against his colleague. "We have also requested the bar council to cancel his license to practice law. All lawyers are united against Chandan, he needs to learn a lesson," he said. "We see Ram and Sita as one and worship them as a couple, there is no question of us believing that Ram mistreated Sita," Ranjan Kumar Singh added. But Chandan Kumar Singh insists that "his fight isn't against Ram". "I too worship Ram. I am a practicing Hindu. I apologize to people if they feel hurt, but I cannot ignore the fact that Sita wasn't respected," he said.

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