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Read It Every Day And See If You Don't Go Nuts... Or Is It too Late For You Already?

More news of the weird, wild, wacky, wonderful and weawwy weawwy scawy. Read at your own risk. Void where prohibited. Actual mileage may vary. Not valid in combination with any other offer. No purchase necessary. Batteries not included. Light fuse, get away.


SCIENCE DAILY.COM
"Australian Dinosaur Found To Have South American Heritage"
It takes two continents to tango.

' Australia's links to South America have just gotten a bit closer, but not due to economic forces, rather fossil forces. University of Queensland palaeontologist Dr Steve Salisbury was part of an international team of palaeontologists from the US, Argentina and Australia that identified a fossil that had previously only been found in South America. Dr Salisbury, from UQ's School of Integrative Biology, said an upper arm bone found at Dinosaur Cove in southern Victoria, shares a suite of unique features with a medium-sized predatory dinosaur from Argentina called Megaraptor. He said it was the first time a dinosaur with unquestionable affinities to animals from other Southern Hemisphere continents had been recognised in Australia. "Throughout much of the Age of Dinosaurs, Australia formed part of the southern super-continent of Gondwana," Dr Salisbury said. "As a result, there has long been an expectation that our dinosaur fauna would show similarities to similarly aged faunas from adjoining Gondwanan landmasses, in particular Antarctica, New Zealand and South America. "Of the Australian dinosaurs that have been recognised so far, the consensus has been that some are relics of groups that went extinct much earlier in other parts of the world, while others have been seen as early representatives of groups that are more typical of the Northern Hemisphere. "Partly as a result, it has been proposed that Australia was somehow isolated from the rest of Gondwana, either through geographic or climatic barriers. Dr Federico Angolin, from the Argentinean Museum of Natural Sciences, said when the six palaeontologists on the research team independently recognised the close similarity between the Dinosaur Cove fossil and the remains of Megaraptor from Argentina, they knew they had an important discovery on their hands. Project leader Nate Smith, from The Field Museum in Chicago, said fossils of Megaraptor have previously only been found in central and southern Patagonia, in rocks at least 15 million years younger than those in southern Victoria "The recognition of Megaraptor in Victoria provides the first definitive evidence for interchange between the dinosaur faunas of South America and Australia during the Cretaceous," Mr Smith said. "Our results are consistent with several geological models for rifting between the southern continents during the time that these dinosaurs existed. "This discovery indicates that we might need to rethink the longstanding claims of the Northern Hemisphere affinities for many Australian dinosaurs, and of geographic and/or climatic isolation of Australian dinosaur faunas." '

SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER.ORG
"Terror from the Right"
Here's what the Republicans did NOT want you to hear, Americans. The new Civil War is already on.

' The slaughter engineered by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, men steeped in the conspiracy theories and white-hot fury of the American radical right, marked the opening shot in a new kind of domestic political extremism — a revolutionary ideology whose practitioners do not hesitate to carry out attacks directed at entirely innocent victims, people selected essentially at random to make a political point. After Oklahoma, it was no longer sufficient for many American right-wing terrorists to strike at a target of political significance — instead, they reached for higher and higher body counts, reasoning that they had to eclipse McVeigh's attack to win attention. What follows is a detailed listing of major terrorist plots and racist rampages that have emerged from the American radical right in the years since Oklahoma City. These have included plans to bomb government buildings, banks, refineries, utilities, clinics, synagogues, mosques, memorials and bridges; to assassinate police officers, judges, politicians, civil rights figures and others; to rob banks, armored cars and other criminals; and to amass illegal machine guns, missiles, explosives and biological and chemical weapons. Each of these plots aimed to make changes in America through the use of political violence. Most contemplated the deaths of large numbers of people — in one case, as many as 30,000, or 10 times the number murdered on Sept. 11, 2001. Here are the stories of plots, conspiracies and racist rampages since 1995 — plots and violence waged against a democratic America. '

SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL
"Web site connects consumers to free health care"
Why fight for national healthcare when you can go begging for charity? "Please, sir, can I have another chemo treatment?"

' The online resource comes as unemployment continues to rise in the region and growing numbers of local residents lose their health insurance along with their jobs. There are an estimated 250,000 people without health insurance in Sacramento County, said registered nurse Maria Robles, president of Californians for Patient Care. “Sacramento’s teachers, firefighters and state government workers are losing their jobs at an alarming rate,” Robles said in a press release. The online service provides information on how to get coverage and/or treatment at no or low cost. While the Web site is intended for consumers who need direction to services, doctors and other providers may want to use it to find out how to help an uninsured patient get access to further care. '

NY TIMES
"On Facebook, a Spy Revealed (Pale Legs, Too) "
Super Top Secret, except for a little social networking. WTBFD?

' The man in the Facebook photographs seems like your average guy having a little fun. Here he is in a festive scene at a park, gamely wearing a red fleece and a Santa Claus hat. Here he is again, playing Frisbee on the beach, clad in a pair of snug bathing trunks that show off his muscular, if pale (he is British) legs. Oops. It turns out that this is not a regular person at all. He is in fact Sir John Sawers, diplomat and spy, currently the British ambassador to the United Nations and soon to be the chief of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service. It is as if, suddenly, the Internet were awash with pictures of the C.I.A. director, Leon E. Panetta, cavorting half-naked on vacation. The photographs, and a great deal more, came from the collection of Sir John’s wife, Shelley, who has for some time enjoyed chronicling the life and times of her family and friends on a Facebook page. Since its presence was revealed in the tabloid newspaper The Mail on Sunday, the page has been altered so that any revealing photographs it may or may not contain can no longer be seen by the general public. '

REUTERS
"U.S. Justice Dept eyeing telecom probe"
I can haz iPhone on Mobi?

' The U.S. Justice Department has begun looking at big telecom companies such as AT&T Inc (T.N) and Verizon Communications (VZ.N) to try to determine if they have abused their market power, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday. The report said that a probe could concern exclusive agreements between phone companies and handset makers or whether phone operators are "unduly restricting" services third parties companies can offer on their network. Lawmakers have recently raised questions about whether large wireless carriers were hurting smaller rivals by entering into exclusive agreements with the makers of popular phones. Deals like AT&T's pact with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) for exclusive rights to U.S. iPhone sales are at the center of some lawmaker concerns. The iPhone has made this trend a bone of contention among consumers because of the devices' widespread popularity and the fact that AT&T has been the sole U.S. provider selling it since 2007. Exclusivity deals often end after about a year. '

CNN
"N.C. terror suspects had arms, ammo, FBI 'playbook,' agent says"
Wonder how they got the FBI's playbook?

' Men arrested last week on suspicion of plotting a "violent jihad" overseas had weapons, thousands of rounds of ammunition and $13,000 cash in their home, an FBI agent testified in court Tuesday. Also found at the home of Daniel Patrick Boyd and his sons were gas masks and a book that FBI special agent Michael Sutton called "essentially our playbook to how we respond to acts of terrorism." On a tape made in May 2009, the elder Boyd talks about getting the money needed to wage jihad and hitting Wells Fargo trucks and banks. He makes reference to how he had robbed a bank in Pakistan. In the search of the Boyd home the FBI says agents found: • Several weapons; • 27,000 rounds of ammunition, including some armor-piercing types; • $13,000 in cash. In addition, Dylan Boyd had a deposit slip for $16,000; • Four gas masks; • A book called "Emergency Response to Terrorism," which Sutton said would be useful to someone trying to counter law enforcement; '

WASHINGTON POST
"Researchers: Social Security Numbers Can Be Guessed"
If it ain't broke, why are they fixing it?

' Researchers have found that it is possible to guess many -- if not all -- of the nine digits in an individual's Social Security number using publicly available information, a finding they say compromises the security of one of the most widely used consumer identifiers in the United States. Many numbers could be guessed at by simply knowing a person's birth data, the researchers from Carnegie Mellon University said. The results come as concern grows over identity theft and lawmakers in Washington push legislation that would bar businesses from requiring people to supply their Social Security number when purchasing a good or service. "Our work shows that Social Security numbers are compromised as authentication devices, because if they are predictable from public data, then they cannot be considered sensitive," said Alessandro Acquisti, assistant professor of information technology and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and a co-author of the study. A Social Security Administration spokesman said the government has long cautioned the private sector against using a Social Security number as a personal identifier, even as it insists "there is no fool proof method for predicting a person's Social Security Number." "For reasons unrelated to this report, the agency has been developing a system to randomly assign SSNs," which should make it more difficult to discover numbers in the future, Mark Lassiter, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration, said by e-mail. '

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OLD NEWS, BOLD NEWS

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NO OLD BOLD NEWS? JUST SOME CRAZY STUFF THAT HAPPENED A WHILE AGO...

OK, WE FINALLY CLEANED OUT OUR WEIRD & FUNNY NEWS LINKS FILES

But We're Passing The Savings Along To You, The Weird & Funny News Consumer. You're Welcome!

We've been out of it for a while. Health problems, financial problems, problem problems. Problems. Now we're trying to catch up. Some of this may not be news to some of you, but it all strikes us as interesting, weird, funny, sad or scary. And we're too tired to write any more. So we'll just pass this all along to you now, if that's OK. Yaaaaaawn...


OREGON LIVE.COM
"Feathered fuel tank soaks up hydrogen"
Now if they could only find a way to tell chickensh*t from chicken salad.

' The gas tank of the future may be full of chicken feathers. Engineers have discovered a way to store large amounts of hydrogen fuel using carbonized downy fluff, which could help pave the way to clean, green cars. Treated chicken feathers work like a sponge. They soak up large amounts of hydrogen and hold it in a small space so the tank can be a conventional size and the fuel won't need to held under dangerously high pressures. "The question came up," Wool said, "of what to do with the six billion pounds of waste chicken feathers" produced every year. He experimented for years with various ways to use feathers and eventually wondered if they might store hydrogen. Scientists have long known that hydrogen sticks well to carbon surfaces. Research has focused on tiny nanotubes, in which sheets of carbon are rolled into a compact space. The problem is nanotubes are expensive: A 20-gallon tank of them can cost more than $1 million. Chicken feather fibers are mostly composed of keratin, a natural protein that forms strong, hollow tubes. The breakthrough moment came when researchers heated feathers to 700 degrees, causing a process called carbonization that created billions of tiny pores. They had found an ideal place to pack large amounts of hydrogen. The new feather-based material can be produced at a small fraction of carbon nanotubes' cost. A 20-gallon feather-based tank would be about $100. '

STUFF.CO.NZ
"Eyebrows up, blowup dolls down in Undy 500"
Not sure if love-doll marriage is legal down under. The land of wonder. The land down underpants.

' Queenstowner Mark Ferguson, 42, turned heads and dropped jaws when he turned up to the underwear raceday wearing just carpet slippers and a pair of tiny white underpants which he shared with inflatable friend "Brian". Ferguson and Brian lined up against about a dozen other semi-naked guys (none of whom had inflatable sextoys in their underpants) to race a several-hundred-metre course up and down the beach in Queenstown Bay. Over hay bales, under hurdles and into the lake they went. Ferguson was knocked out in an early heat, but he was not blaming the result on the rapidly deflating Brian. "He kept me nice and warm," he said. A veteran of the first Undy 500 at Queenstown Winter Festival 1996, Ferguson instead blamed his early exit on his decision to wear carpet slippers a poor choice, he reflected, in the era of professional sport. '

USA TODAY
"New 'American Patriot's Bible' sees USA's 'godly roots' "
Further proof that God is dead. Or deaf, dumb and blind.

' "This Bible is designed for the decent, hardworking core of America, the ordinary man or woman who loves this nation and believes it springs from godly roots," says Richard G. Lee, a Southern Baptist pastor from Georgia who served as the Bible's general editor. Lee is the founding pastor of the 4,000-member First Redeemer Church in Cumming, Ga. A registered Republican who's organizing an Independence Day-themed "Restoring America" conference featuring conservatives David Limbaugh and Oliver North, Lee said he's "disappointed" when politicians "use the word of God for the purpose of vote getting." His goal was to create a "non-partisan" Bible, but he quotes Republican Ronald Reagan more times than Democrats Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy combined. In an interview, Lee said he doesn't even know if Carter, a fellow Georgian and longtime Baptist Sunday school teacher, is a Christian. As for President Obama? "I haven't seen any patriotism from him yet." Lee sprinkles his Bible with some 300 articles about "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," the right to keep and bear arms, the war in Iraq and religious broadcasting. While some have praised the Patriot's Bible— former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called it "fascinating" — others have condemned it as something akin to theological and political heresy. "Get thee behind me, Satan," wrote "Crunchy Con" blogger Rod Dreher on Beliefnet. "To the extent that this Bible's publishers conflate serving Christ with patriotism … they are corrupt, and corrupters." Evangelical author and pastor Greg Boyd's lengthy critique, posted on Christianity Today's website, calls Lee's Bible "idolatrous," saying, "There's not a single commentary in this Bible that even attempts to shed light on what the biblical text actually means." '

BBC NEWS
"US dinosaur had Chinese cousin"
Hey, maybe we can start naming our dinosaurs after US Presidents! Republican Presidents. Reaganus Megastupidus? Tyrannus Dubyus? Crookus Nixonius? Hooverus Depressus?

' Scientists in China say they have identified the first Asian example of a group of dinosaurs previously found only in the Americas and Europe. The researchers say the specimen is closely related to the Sauroposeidon dinosaur fossils of North America and have named it Qiaowanlong kangxii after a Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty. '

MITRE.ORG
"Every Little Thing It Does Is MAJIIC: A Technology for the Net-centric Age"
Does it bother anybody that our military boffins , or their PR people, use so many terms and references from lame TV shows? "MAJIIC," "Quantum Leap"? Really, dude? Oh, well, as long as Al Qaida doesn't have any hackers, we're safe. They don't have any hackers, right? Right?

' Members of a Special Forces Unit head toward a spot in Iraq, not knowing exactly what conditions they will find or where the moving target is. As they get closer, they call up digital maps and visuals in the transport vehicle—visuals taken in real time from surveillance sensors in the area. Even a year ago, much of this wasn't possible. Is it magic? No, it's MAJIIC, an innovative concept that's moved from prototype to nearly deployed technology with multiple sponsors in a few short years. The MAJIIC (Multi-sensor Aerospace-ground Joint ISR Interoperability Coalition) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration, a concept MITRE helped to develop, pulls streaming data from airborne surveillance platforms, using Web-services technology to pass the information to the people who need it most. The "ISR" in MAJIIC stands for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance—just the type of information a pilot or tank commander needs before or during battle. That makes MAJIIC a potentially powerful part of the growing collection of net-centric tools the military requires in the 21st century. The ideas behind network-centric operations are still relatively new, and the existence of operational net-centric technology even newer. For decades, the Department of Defense (DOD) has followed the "process-before-post" approach to handling data and images. Analysts sort and evaluate images and other types of data before sending the results back into the field—a painstaking, sometime hours- or even days-long process. By using the power of the network to send information directly to field personnel and command centers, warfighters receive what they need to know quickly and efficiently, in many cases within minutes of its collection. The military calls this method of handling information "post before process." According to MITRE's John Kane, a systems engineer and technical manager for the program, "MAJIIC works in a 'pull' environment, not a broadcast or data-push environment. Users will be able to discover these data services dynamically, even if they have never heard of MAJIIC. Users can query for ISR data within certain coordinates or topics and view the data over low bandwidth communications." All information posts and inquiries occur within a secure, secret-level environment, using enterprise-wide, Web-based tools. One Leap for a Program: Although still in its development phase, MAJIIC was demonstrated this past August at Quantum Leap 2—a high-level showcase of net-centric technology sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration. The demonstration performed successfully and generated a lot of enthusiasm from the services, so much so that MAJIIC is scheduled to be operational in 2005. '

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Backup plan to get NASA to moon cheaper"
It's either this or a Great Wall Of Lunar China staring at us every night.

' Like a car salesman pushing a luxury vehicle that the customer no longer can afford, NASA has pulled out of its back pocket a deal for a cheaper ride to the moon. It won't be as powerful, and its design is a little dated. Think of it as a base-model Ford station wagon instead of a tricked-out Cadillac Escalade. Officially, the space agency is still on track with a 4-year-old plan to spend $35 billion to build new rockets and return astronauts to the moon in several years. However, a top NASA manager is floating a cut-rate alternative that costs around $6.6 billion. This cheaper option is not as powerful as NASA's current design with its fancy new rockets, the people-carrying Ares I and cargo-lifting Ares V. But the cut-rate plan would still get to the moon. '

FARM FOUNDATION.ORG
"What's Driving Food Prices?"
So, the price of oil and the price of corn are linked. And both are driven by speculation on the commodities markets. So, Wall Street is eating good when oil prices rise, anyway.

' Since 2006, energy and agricultural markets have become closely linked as biofuels production surged. Ethanol and biodiesel were linked as energy substitutes for gasoline and diesel, and usage of crops for these biofuels became large enough to influence world prices. In the last half of 2008, crude oil prices fell rapidly, but gasoline prices fell faster and further. Low gasoline and crude oil prices reduced the expected use of corn for ethanol which, in turn, put pressure on ethanol prices and corn prices. By the end of 2008, the ethanol industry’s economic fortunes had deteriorated such that up to two billion gallons of capacity was idled. There have been changes in the way markets are now functioning but the basic relationship between crude oil and corn remains strong. '

SOURCE
"OTHER WEIRD, FUNNY & SCARY NEWS"

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BASS ACKWARDS HEADLINES

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DYSLEXIC VIEWS OF THE NEWS

HOW PEOPLE WITH READING DISABILITIES SEE THE DAY'S TOP STORIES

OK, It Sounded Funnier When We Told That Deaf Guy Who's Always Laughing...

Come to think of it, what the f**k is he laughing at? [Checks fly.]


GOOGLE NEWS
"Colombian swine comes down with the president flu"
We wondered why he was snorting so much.

' Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has the swine flu and officials have advised other South American leaders who met with him at a summit of the infection, authorities said Sunday. '

CQ POLITICS
"Ex-Christ Aide To Be Appointed to Florida Senate Seat"
Wow. We thought the Apostles were all dead! Or Democrats!

' Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will appoint George LeMieux, his former chief of staff, to succeed Sen. Mel Martinez after the Republican incumbent resigns his seat in early September. '

BBC
"US trailer park death toll rises "
Better them than us. How much is the toll, anyhoo? Wait, I have exact change of life!

' An eighth person has died following an attack in a mobile home in the US state of Georgia, police say. '

TIME MAGAZINE
"Amid the Nation's Fallen, Kennedy Is Laid to Rest"
They should have bought one of those things for when you need help, cuz you've fallen and you can't get up. What was Mr. Kennedy doing there? Was he sleepy, Mommy?

' A story told around Arlington National Cemetery holds that John F. Kennedy paid a visit around Veteran's Day in 1963. As he stood near the mansion that once was home to Robert E. Lee, taking in the sweeping view of the Potomac River down below and the National Mall rolling out toward the distant Capitol, he remarked, "I could stay here forever." '

LIVE SCIENCE.COM
"Powerful Ideas: Mutant Polyester + Bacteria = More Biafras"
Jello?

' Brewing a certain type of biofuel with a mutant bacteria and polyester could double the fuel's production, researchers have found. '

THE WASHINGTON POST
"Obama Supporters Organize Bus Tour, Campaign-Style Events Across U.S."
Someone should tell them he won. Nah, let 'em punk themselves.

' President Obama's supporters hope to recapture the energy of last year's triumphant election campaign in a bid to regain control of the health-care debate, planning more than 2,000 house parties, rallies and town hall meetings across the country over the next two weeks. '

THE PHILADELPHIA ENQUIRER
"Mofo set to return Key to prison today"
How dat mofo got da key?

' ASHLAND, Ky. - Former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo's new, assigned residence doesn't match the grandeur of the 27-room mansion he maintains in Philadelphia or the 100-acre farm he owns near Harrisburg. Maybe it's the razor wire. '

LIVE SCIENCE.COM
"Why We Cry"
Maybe it HURTS, you stupid f**king boffin!

' A scientist now proposes a new theory for why crying evolved - tears can act as handicaps to show you have lowered your defenses. '

YAHOO TECH NEWS
"Apple denies assault & battery with exploding iPhones"
That Steve Jobs is like a NINJA!

' US technology giant Apple said Friday it had seen no evidence that overheating batteries had caused screens on some of its iPhone devices to explode, blaming incidents in France on "external force." '

REUTERS
"Dead AM DJ found apartment in New York"
Amazing. Most live people can't find one.

' DJ AM, the stage name of disc jockey Adam Goldstein whose music could be heard on albums by Madonna and Will Smith, was found dead in his New York apartment on Friday, police said. He was 36. '

REUTERS
"No Black Eyed Muslims at Malaysia concert, Please"
Sounds like discrimination against battered spouses!

' Muslims in Malaysia have been barred from attending a concert by U.S. hip hop band the Black Eyed Peas sponsored by Guinness which is owned by the world's biggest spirits group Diageo. '

BBC
"Moon mission 'terminates' India "
DIABOLICAL!!!

' India's space agency has abandoned its inaugural moon mission a day after scientists lost communication with the orbiting Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. '

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TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

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Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

HORRIBLE NEWS

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FROM THE DARK DEPTHS OF THE HUMAN SOUL

PEOPLE EATING BABIES, RAPING HORSES, VOTING REPUBLICAN

How Come The "Christians" Never Say Anything About Any Of This?

Oh, yeah; cuz it's them doing it... Well here's the latest insanity from across the nation. Please try not to join in. The general climate is crazy enough, thank you very much, Republicans.


NY TIMES
"Mother Guilty of Killing 4 Girls Whose Bodies Decomposed in Home "
Foreclosure kills.

' In January 2008, when federal marshals arrived to evict Ms. Jacks from her foreclosed row house in Washington Highlands, a neighborhood in Southeast Washington, they found the bodies of the four girls in two upstairs bedrooms. The three youngest — Aja Fogle, 5; N’Kiah Fogle, 6; and Tatianna Jacks, 11 — were lined up by age in one bedroom, while Brittany Jacks, 17, was naked in a second bedroom that had been sealed with duct tape, according to court statements and documents. A knife was lying near her body. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Warning signs missed in baby dismemberment case"
Family, police, social workers shaken, but not stirred to action in time to avert tragedy.

' The warning signs were there. Otty Sanchez, a schizophrenic with a history of hospitalizations, wasn't taking medication and was depressed after her son's birth, the boy's father said. A simple request seemed to set her off, alarming him and his family. Yet, the 33-year-old woman was staying in a house where she had access to samurai swords. Child welfare officials were never called. Instead, Sanchez's troubles became apparent to authorities when they found her before dawn Sunday screaming that she had killed her baby. Her 3 1/2-week-old son was dismembered in a scene so gruesome that police were left shaken. Authorities said Sanchez tried killing herself after butchering her newborn son, Scott Wesley Buchholz-Sanchez, with a steak knife and two swords while her sister and two nieces, ages 5 and 7, slept in another room. Sanchez told police — who described a scene so horrifying that investigators could barely speak to one another — that the devil made her kill, mutilate and eat parts of her only child. '

CNN
"Baby cut from slain mom's womb found alive"
Yet another texting horror story.

' A baby believed to be ripped from the womb of its mother has been found, Massachusetts police said Wednesday. In addition, authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with the crime. Police discovered Haynes' body Monday, after neighbors complained about a stench.
advertisement Haynes, 23, was found in the closet of a bedroom, wrapped in bedding. Police think she had been dead for several days. She was last seen on July 23, and Corey was one of the last people to see her, authorities said. A friend of Haynes told CNN affiliate WHDH that she received a text message from Haynes at 11:20 p.m. Thursday that said she was having wine coolers with a friend at her apartment. '

AFP
"Rats kill one US baby, nibble toes off another"
Guess rats love babies, too.

' A baby attacked by rats bled to death in her Louisiana crib while an Ohio infant lost two toes to the vicious rodents in a pair of bizarre attacks. Three people were charged with child endangerment after authorities determined that the six-week-old Ohio baby had been bitten repeatedly by rodents "over a lengthy period of time," the Pike County sheriff department said. But charges have not yet been filed in the case of the Louisiana child who bled to death last week from hundreds of rat bites, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. '

YAHOO NEWS
"8-year-old rape victim to remain in state hands"
WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TAKING CANDY FROM STRANGERS???!!!

' A Liberian man whose 8-year-old daughter allegedly was raped by four boys, and then reportedly shunned by her family, must wait at least three months before possibly regaining custody of the girl. The father, who is not being named to protect the girl's identity, met with Child Protective Services on Monday. The girl was taken into state custody after officials said they heard the victim's parents blame her and didn't want her anymore. But the father denied Monday that he ever blamed her or said that his daughter brought shame to the family. "That is not true," the father told The Associated Press. Prosecutors have charged a 14-year-old Liberian refugee as an adult. Three other boys — ages 9, 10 and 13 — have been charged in juvenile court. Police said the boys lured the girl to an empty storage shed with the promise of chewing gum. Then they restrained her while taking turns assaulting her. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Witness: No help needed to make pastor a `demon'"
Eight year old brides? Is that Christian?

' A woman who says she was a child bride of evangelist Tony Alamo told jurors Wednesday that the minister had so many partners that he had to schedule when he would have sex with them. The woman, now 30 and living in Florida, said she was a third-generation Alamo follower into adulthood — until the Arkansas-based pastor took an 8-year-old as his latest bride. At one point, the woman said, she objected when Alamo graphically described how he fondled the girl as she held a stuffed animal. "He told me to shut up and that I shouldn't question what `the Lord told me to do,'" the woman said. The witness also testified that she left the compound briefly in 2005 after Alamo forced her to acknowledge falsely that she had had sex with her father and another woman. She returned after failing to adjust to life on the outside. "I was born and raised there. It was all I knew. I was scared," she said through tears. "I wondered if I was making the right decision. I was told that if I left I would burn in hell." The woman said she left for good in 2006 and contacted prosecutors after state and federal agents raided Alamo's compound near Fouke in southwestern Arkansas last Sept. 20. The government revised its indictment against Alamo to include some of her allegations. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Oldest woman to give birth dies, leaving twins"
"Between a rock and a hard place." Yes, death & birth.

' She devoted years to caring for her mother, who died at age 101. Then Maria del Carmen Bousada embarked on a quest to become a mom herself. She lied to a California fertility clinic to skirt its age limit, and later pointed to her mother's longevity as a reason to expect she'd be around to care for her kids. At age 66 she had twins, becoming the world's oldest new mom — and raising questions about maternity so late in life. Now she is dead at age 69, leaving behind boys not yet 3. Bousada's brother told the Diario de Cadiz newspaper his sister died Saturday, though he did not disclose the cause. Bousada said in November that she was being treated for stomach cancer. Shortly after her sons, Pau and Christian, were born in December 2006, Bousada reflected on her decision to deceive doctors in order to have a family. "I think everyone should become a mother at the right time for them," she told the British tabloid News of the World, which showed her beaming as she cradled her 1-month-old infants, both dressed in pale blue pajamas. "Often circumstances put you between a rock and a hard place, and maybe things shouldn't have been done in the way they were done, but that was the only way to achieve the thing I had always dreamed of, and I did it," she said. '

HEALTH DAY NEWS.COM
"Babies Can Comprehend 'Canine' Language"
Roh, rearry?

' What's in a bark? A new study suggests that 6-month-old babies know the answer. Researchers found that most infants who were tested could figure out that an aggressive bark goes with an angry-looking dog. They also seemed to know that friendly-looking pooches voice their feelings in a different way. The babies managed to do this even though they weren't very familiar with dogs. It's not clear whether the babies actually know that a dog baring its teeth is a sign of trouble, but they're showing a level of sophistication regarding how dogs reveal their emotions, said study author Ross Flom, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The study didn't examine what the babies actually perceived about the barks and the canine expressions. No one knows if they're aware that a normal-looking dog is a better prospect for playtime than one that looks -- and sounds -- like it wants to take a bite out of the nearest leg. Still, it's "remarkable" that babies that aren't exposed to dogs can figure out how to link their barks to their faces, Flom said. That means they can connect audio and visual cues, he said. As for the future, researchers are exploring how humans relate to dogs, which have a long history of interacting with people, and wolves, which don't. Over time, Flom said, dogs and humans have learned how to communicate with each other. '

HEALTH DAY NEWS.COM
"Exposure to Common Pollutant in Womb Might Lower IQ"
I thought people were getting stupider. They definitely DRIVE stupider.

' "Children exposed to prenatal or in-utero air pollution from traffic oftentimes have lower birth weights, somewhat smaller head circumferences, and a number of adverse outcomes," he noted. "There's certainly enough there to suggest an effect. And I think any one of those outcomes -- if they happen early enough in life -- can affect development through childhood and exert an impact on intelligence," Jerrett said. '

LA TIMES
"Judge says La Jolla seals must go; governor says otherwise"
As a trained seal himself, Arnold supports full rights for all aquatic mammals.

' A Superior Court judge Monday ordered the city of San Diego to shoo the harbor seals off the beach at the Children's Pool in La Jolla by Thursday. But within hours, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that will allow the city to declare the beach a marine sanctuary and allow the seals to remain. The day’s seal activities began with Superior Court Judge Yuri Hoffmann declaring, as he has done in the past, that the 1931 deed from the state to the city requires that the beach be maintained as a place for children. The city plans to use a public address system to blare out the sound of dogs barking in hopes of convincing the seals to slither back to the ocean. The cost of keeping the seals off the beach has been estimated at $700,000 a year, including the salaries of police officers to protect city employees controlling the public address system. For decades the tiny beach was a favorite of families, offering clean sand and a protected cove. But two decades ago the harbor seals decided to make the beach their resting and pupping place. Their feces has made the beach unusable for humans but watching the seals has become a tourist attraction. '

LIVE SCIENCE.COM
"Girl Sees Fine With Half a Brain"
Sadly, she will only be able to vote Republican, and must be put to sleep. Sorry, Sarah.

' A 10-year-old girl from Germany has had quite a normal life despite the fact that she was born with only half her brain. Even more surprising, she has almost perfect vision in one of her eyes. Now, scientists have figured out why. The girl's brain rewired itself - likely in the womb - so that it's able to process information from both the right and left fields of vision even though she is missing the right brain hemisphere, which failed to develop while she was in the womb. The child's case is the only one of its kind known in the world, researchers said. '

YAHOO NEWS
"12 shot, injured at Baltimore cookout in drug feud"
Crips & Bloods Annual BBQ Goes Sour.

' A gunman burst into a backyard cookout held in the memory of two men who'd been shot to death a year earlier, wounding 12 people in a shooting police say was sparked by a gang feud, Baltimore police said Monday. In all, 16 people were shot in a period of about three hours on Sunday night and early Monday morning, police said. A pregnant 23-year-old and a 2-year-old girl were wounded at the cookout, but they were expected to recover. Two men were killed in one of the later shootings, but it was apparently unrelated to the cookout attack. '

AFP
"Holocaust museum shooter indicted for murder"
Eaten alive by hate, hunh, Republicans?

' A resident of Maryland, which borders Washington DC, Von Brunn was an unapologetic racist, who described the United States on his blog as "a Third-World racial garbage-dump -- stupid, ignorant, dead broke and terminal." He served time in prison after entering the US Federal Reserve in 1981 carrying a shotgun, saying he was going to carry out a citizen's arrest. According to his ex-wife, his hatred of Jews and blacks "ate him alive like a cancer '

AFP
"Boston cop suspended after racist outburst: police"
Cancer of the mind.

' The email describes Gates, who was arrested and briefly detained earlier this month at Harvard, near Boston, as a "banana-eating jungle monkey," according to a copy published by news site. The city's mayor, Tom Menino, was quoted referring to Barrett as a "cancer in the department" and calling on him to be fired. The email allegedly written by Barrett lambasts Gates for getting into an altercation with police. "I am not a racist, but I am prejudice towards people who are stupid," reads the alleged diatribe -- containing frequent grammatical and spelling errors -- against Gates and local newspaper the Boston Globe. "He has indeed transcended back to a bumbling jungle monkey." '

YAHOO NEWS
"Man grins while charged in deaths of 2 deputies"
Guns don't kill people... Oh, wait, yes they do.

' A man accused of killing two deputies who were trying to arrest him grinned and chuckled to himself as he appeared in court Monday and learned prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty. [Deputies] Whitebird and Williams were trying to arrest Holbert for failing to make a court appearance after he was released on bond in a domestic violence case in February. In that case, his mother said he tried to strangle her after he was inhaling paint thinner, court records show. According to an affidavit, "Ms. Holbert and her kids are in fear of Ezekiel's explosive behavior." Ross said Holbert also has a "history of involuntary commitments" for psychiatric problems. Holbert's sister, Tamara Rodriguez, filed for a protective order against him in June 2007, claiming he threatened to kill her husband and her children. "I'm so scared for my family that he is going to kill someone," Rodriguez wrote in the petition. "He has three guns in the house that he brags about that he is going to shoot my husband with." '

YAHOO NEWS
"Okla. trooper suspended for fight with paramedic"
Pulling over an ambulance with an emergency patient inside. Bravo, occifer!

' An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper caught on video cussing and fighting with the driver of an ambulance carrying a patient has been suspended for five days. A patrol spokesman said Trooper Daniel Martin was put on unpaid suspension Wednesday and must undergo an anger assessment. A cell phone video of the May 24 scuffle that was widely distributed over the Internet shows Martin grabbing the paramedic, Maurice White Jr., in a choke hold around the neck. Martin's dashboard-mounted camera showed him stopping the ambulance, cussing and accusing White of failing to yield. He also threatened to arrest him. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Police: SC man charged with having sex with horse"
In all fairness, he was hung like a horse.

' A South Carolina man was charged with having sex with a horse after the animal's owner caught the act on videotape, then staked out the stable and caught him at shotgun point, authorities said Wednesday. But this wasn't the first time Rodell Vereen has been charged with buggery. He pleaded guilty last year to having sex with the same horse after owner Barbara Kenley found him in the same stable and was sentenced to probation and placed on the state's sex offender list. '

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

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NEWS OF BRUNO & SENILE MICE

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SHAMEFUL, CREEPY, SILLY NEWS UPDATE

RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WHOSE BLOOD PRESSURE IS TOO LOW

The Rest Of You Click On Out Of Here Before Your Head Explodes!

We'd like to believe that we live in a sane world, guided by reason, enlightened, sorta. And then we pick up the newspaper. Every day, a new series of indictments of the whole human race. Well, not you and me, buddy! We're OK. Right? Right? Hey, put down that ax!


INVESTORS SPOT.COM
"Caffeine Reverses Alzheimer's Disease In Mice"
One tiny mocha-soy-cheese latte!

' In the first of today's reports, mice who had been bred to develop Alzheimer's-like memory problems were given caffeine in their drinking water at 18 - 19 months old (about the age of 70 in human years), for a duration of two months. Another group of Alzheimer's mice received plain drinking water. At the end of two months, mice who had received the caffeine performed 50 percent better than the plain water drinkers - in fact, they performed as well as mice their age without dementia. In addition to the improved memory and thinking skills, the caffeinated mice had nearly a 50 percent reduction in beta amyloid, the plaques that form in the brain causing Alzheimer's disease. Investigators theorized that the caffeine suppresses bacterial formations that lead to the formation of beta amyloid plaques. The second experiment was conducted as a follow-up, this time using normal mice, those that had not been engineered to get Alzheimer's disease. The mice were administered caffeine from young adulthood through old age. In this case the mice given caffeine had the same results as the mice who were not given caffeine, suggesting that caffeine cannot improve your memory or thinking skills beyond your normal abilities. '

AFP
"Zoo evacuated after chimps escape"
Apparently, they've been reading Darwin.

' A zoo was evacuated on Sunday after about 30 chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure. The animals escaped from 'Chimp Island' and found their way into a keeper area where their food is prepared, the zoo said. More than 5,000 visitors were asked to leave Chester Zoo, near Liverpool, shortly after the break-out as keepers rounded up the chimps. '

REUTERS
"Spain police foil radio control zeppelin jailbreak"
Was it a led zeppelin?

' Spanish police said on Friday they had foiled an Italian drug trafficker's plan to break out of jail in the Canary Islands using climbing equipment and a four-metre-long zeppelin. "The plan consisted of using a remotely controlled zeppelin to bring him night-vision goggles and climbing equipment with which to escape," a National Police statement said. '

E!
"No Laughing Matter: Brüno Re-sued for Emotional Damages"
Now that's REALLY tacky!

' Olson dropped her charges of assault and battery against against Cohen and NBC Universal, and is now setting her sights on the "emotional distress" the Brüno star and his film crew allegedly caused when they sent Brüno to her charity bingo tournament, according to THR, Esq. "The amendment to the original complaint does not change the cause of the injuries plead in the original complaint," Olson's attorney, Kyle Madison, told the trade. "Mrs. Olson's brain injuries were never alleged to have been derived from an assault or battery. She suffered two brain bleeds after the confrontation ensued with Mr. Baron Cohen. According to California case law, any injuries deriving from intentional infliction of emotional distress are recoverable. Mr. Baron Cohen and those associated with the production of Brüno are accountable for inflicting serious emotional distress and the resulting injuries to Mrs. Olson." '

REUTERS
"Berlin 'sex academy' offers tips for visitors"
I think I know this dummy!

' The show features several life-sized plastic models, naked and in various positions. One female mannequin light ups when touched in the right spot. A voice shrieks "That's it!" when the visitor manages to put his finger on the elusive G-spot. '

BBC NEWS
"Australia probes navy 'sex game' "
What's Australian for "Love Boat"?

' According to Channel Seven news, sailors on board HMAS Success put a cash value on each woman's head. Sleeping with a female officer or a lesbian, or having sex in a strange place, won more money, the report said. '

AFP
"Son tries to sell sexy photos of mum on Internet after row"
The family that... Oh, sh*t, I don't know.

' "He was quite naughty... I thought 'you cheeky little git'," she said. But she was also annoyed that Trade Me withdrew the second set of pictures, of which she approved. "I insisted Michael show me first, the little bugger. They are quite artistic. There is nothing dodgy about them." "I wanted 50 per cent of the sale, but more than that I miss the nice comments." '

ASBURY PARK PRESS, NJ
"Military academy head faces child porn charges"
Why is it always the religious nuts? Oh, right; they're nuts.

' Cedar Bridge Military Academy Superintendent Steven T. Baryla, 27, was taken into custody Monday after the execution of a search warrant yielded, "physical and electronic evidence,'' linking him to the possession and distribution of child pornography, according to a statement issued by Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford. Cedar Bridge is a privately-run, Christian faith-based camp for youths between the ages of 11 and 17 that advertises extracurricular military training and experiences. Based in Toms River, the camp itself is located outside of Harrisburg, Pa., and hosts two- to five-week training programs during the summer, according to the company's Web site. '

HOMELESS CHILDREN AMERICA.ORG
"It is unacceptable for one child in the United States to be homeless for even one day."
At long last, America, have you no shame?

' The year 2008 will long be remembered by Americans as a time when grossly overpaid bankers, captains of industry, and carmakers hobbled to Washington, hats in hand, begging for bailouts and infusions of billions of dollars. Ignored by members of Congress and the media were scores of children – many still infants and toddlers – who were homeless in the midst of this economic turmoil. Without a voice, more than 1.5 million of our nation’s children go to sleep without a home each year. Homeless, these children also endure a lack of safety, comfort, privacy, reassuring routines, adequate health care, uninterrupted schooling, sustaining relationships, and a sense of community. These factors combine to create a life-altering experience that inflicts profound and lasting scars. '

YAHOO NEWS
"New GI benefits vary widely by state"
Penalizing Iraq War Veterans and States that subsidize higher education: Your tax dollars at work.

' Veterans who choose a private school in Texas could get close to $20,000 a semester from the government for a typical course load. Those picking schools in California will get nothing for tuition. The explanation stems from the formula the government created, as well as a much-criticized decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs on how to implement the law. The new GI Bill covers full in-state undergraduate tuition and fees at any public college. That's far more generous than the old GI Bill, which provides a monthly stipend that is the same from state to state. But Congress also wanted to help veterans attend often pricier private schools. So the new bill offers them an amount equal to the tuition at the most expensive public college in the same state. That penalizes veterans going to private colleges in states that have kept their public university tuition low. As a result, the new GI Bill is a great deal for such vets in states like New Hampshire, New York and Texas; a pretty good one in states like Ohio; and hardly any deal at all in Massachusetts and especially California, where the state constitution prohibits public universities from charging tuition. Instead, California's public universities typically charge "fees" of several thousand dollars per year. Critics argue the Department of Veterans Affairs misinterpreted the law and should have combined tuition and fees in coming up with reimbursement levels. That would have put the total California benefit at around $13,000 per year. '

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SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

NEWS TO AMUSE

.
WEIRD SCENES FROM OUTSIDE THE GOLD MINE



BULLS & BEARS, VEGGIES & DINOSAURS, COPS & ROBBERS, ROBOTS & ARRANGED MARRIAGES

A Wide Assortment Of Absurd Current Events This Week. Enjoy.

The worst thing about human society is the people. Without the people, humanity would be great. What a society we could all have if only there were none of us. Fortunately, science and industry, diplomats and the military are working on that. Thanks to their efforts, someday, Gawd willing, it will be nice and quiet on this planet. We only hope we live to hear it. See you then!


GOOGLE NEWS
"1 dead at Pamplona; first goring death since '95"
Cappuccino kills!

' A charging bull gored a young man to death Friday at Pamplona's San Fermin festival, the first such fatality in nearly 15 years. Nine others were injured in a particularly dangerous and chaotic chapter of the running of the bulls. The last fatal goring at the running of the bulls claimed the life of 22-year-old American Matthew Tassio in 1995. In 2003, a 63-year-old Spanish man, Fermin Etxeberri, was trampled in the head by a bull and died after spending months in a coma. Friday's death raises to 15 the toll since record-keeping began in 1924. A brown, 1,130-pound (515-kilogram) bull named Cappuccino fell early in the run and ended up on its own. Cappuccino is the bull behind Friday's fatality, although this happened in a slightly earlier stretch of the route, said one of the herders, Humberto Miguel. '

REUTERS
"Oldest U.S. mounted police unit gets budget axe"
Buried the lede! "Police officers sent to glue factory."

' But after 150 years, police officials said they need to eliminate the mounted unit, a move city officials estimate will save some $700,000 (422,500 pounds) for a city budget that has been strained by a 19-month long U.S. recession that has hammered tax revenue. '

REUTERS
"Australia discovers 3 new large dinosaurs"
Throw another Carpopenaeus on the barbie, mate!

' Fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia, including a meat-eater larger than Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movies, suggesting Australia may have a more complex prehistoric past. The two plant-eating and one carnivore dinosaurs, the first large dinosaurs unearthed since 1981, were found in Queensland and date back 98 million years to the mid-Cretaceous period. "It not only presents us with two new amazing long-necked giants of the ancient Australian continent, but also announces our first really big predator," paleontologist John Long, head of sciences at Museum Victoria said on Friday. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Plant disease hits eastern US veggies early, hard"
No wonder the killer tomatoes attacked us! They think we're responsible for this!

' Meg McGrath, professor of plant pathology at Cornell University, calls late blight "worse than the Bubonic Plague for plants." "People need to realize this is probably one of the worst diseases we have in the vegetable world," she said. "It's certain death for a tomato plant." '

INFORMATION WEEK
"Toyota Develops Mind-Controlled Wheelchair "
They couldn't have started with maybe a snack-cart prototype? Can't wait to see the love dolls.

' The system enables a person to make a wheelchair turn left or right to move forward simply by thinking the commands. The response time is in 125 milliseconds. One millisecond is equal to 1/1000 of a second. The BTCC's system uses several sensors placed over the areas of the brain that control motion to measure electrical activity in the region. The electical impulses triggered by the rider thinking of turning or moving the wheelchair are picked up and analyzed by an onboard laptop that passes the commands on to the wheelchair. The system has an emergency stop that can be activated by the user puffing his cheeks. In the future, the BMI technology is expected to be applied to other types of brain waves that generate various mental states and emotions, the BTCC said. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies"
I'd be afraid that if I coughed one or both of my nuts would pop out of my mouth on that balcony.

' The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out four feet from the building's 103rd floor Skydeck. Their transparent walls, floor and ceiling leave visitors with the impression they're floating over the city. "It's like walking on ice," said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. "That first step you take — 'am I going down?'" Kemp was among the visitors who got a sneak preview of the balconies Wednesday. "The Ledge," as the balconies have been nicknamed, open to the public Thursday. Visitors are treated to unobstructed views of Chicago from the building's west side and a heart-stopping vista of the street and Chicago River below — for those brave enough to look straight down. '

NPR NEWS
"Revolutionary War Museum Surrenders"
It was the "Joey Buttafuocco's Ye Olde Sunshine Patriot Taverne: Authentic Colonial Cheese Steaks" right on the battlefield next to the museum that did it. Waiters with their feet wrapped in rags. Tacky.

' A final Revolutionary War battle has come to an end. Plans for a $200 million museum complex inside Valley Forge National Historical Park — where George Washington's army once camped — have been scrapped. After vocal opposition and legal challenges, the planned American Revolution Center will now be built about 25 miles away, in the heart of Philadelphia. '

LA TIMES
"No Michael Jackson resolution in Congress"
Your tax dollars at work. Or not.

' Pelosi said she did not think it was necessary for Congress to have a resolution to honor Jackson. "What I have said to my colleagues over the years . . . is that there is opportunity on the floor of the House to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish," she said. "A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views that are not necessary at this time." Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, declined to comment Thursday on Pelosi's decision. The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who attended the Jackson memorial service in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The resolution called for honoring Jackson as a "global humanitarian and a noted leader in the fight against worldwide hunger and medical crises" and celebrating him as an "accomplished contributor to the worlds of arts and entertainment." Some lawmakers have paid tribute to Jackson from the House floor. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Judge blocks publication of Salinger spinoff book"
Phony bastards!

' U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts issued her written ruling in Manhattan after considering arguments in a lawsuit brought by the 90-year-old reclusive author against the publishers of "60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye." Batts said Swedish author Fredrik Colting had "taken well more from `Catcher,' in both substance and style, than is necessary for the alleged transformative purpose of criticizing Salinger and his attitudes and behavior." She said Colting's claim that he also wrote the book to critically examine Salinger's most famous character, Holden Caulfield, was "problematic and lacking in credibility." She also rejected arguments that the depiction of a character in Colting's book to represent Caulfield 60 years later was a parody. She said in a footnote that Colting and his publishers made no indication before the lawsuit was filed that the book was meant as a parody or critique of Salinger's work. '

REUTERS
"Medici lawyer says Kohn didn't get Madoff payments"
If you think their artists are great, wait till you see their attorneys!

' Investors are suing Medici in Austria and the United States. Some of the lawsuits contend that Kohn was implicated in Madoff's scheme or that she should have grown suspicious of his steady performance and should have warned investors. '

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
"British warning: Summer is forced marriage season"
There's still time to register at Chattel.com.

' Seventeen years old, she had already refused to marry her first cousin two years earlier – an act of defiance that resulted in her being withdrawn from school by her parents. "I couldn't believe they had brought me from Birmingham to Pakistan on such a huge lie," she says. "It crushed me." That was more than decade ago, but government figures released today suggest the true scale of Britain's forced-marriage problem is only now beginning to emerge. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 8,000 cases of forced marriage occurred in Britain last year, according to the Department for Children, Schools, and Families. Most are teenage girls from Britain's large Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Indian communities. They're married off, according to the report, to bond the young women to their community, keep clan promises, or as a way to provide a British visa for a foreign family member or friend. The figures have delivered a fresh jolt to Britain's multicultural paradigm, which until recently handled reports of forced marriage and associated "honor crimes" as cultural issues, beyond the remit of the justice system '

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IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

NEWS TO MAKE YOU CRAZY

.
YOU WON'T BELIEVE SOME OF THE STUFF THAT'S GOING ON

LIVE SCIENCE.COM
"LiveScience Image Gallery: Iraq Dust Storm"
Is global warming real? The answer is blowin' in the wind.


DON'T WORRY, YOU'RE NOT CRAZY YET --IT REALLY IS THEM

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. The End Is Near, My Proctologist Says...

Yeah. It's a wonderful life, all right all right. And every day there are new wonders. Like, we wonder what the f**k is wrong with people? If you know, please fix it.


LIVE SCIENCE.COM
"Huge Iraq Dust Storm Seen From Space"
But, but, but, Rush says there's no global warming!

' A giant dust storm that has raged through Iraq and other Middle East countries for more than a week has been imaged by satellite. Many Iraqis considered the storm to be the worst in living memory, according to news reports. Hundreds of people reported to the hospital for respiratory distress, and the blowing dust interfered with travel by air and on land. A drought has dried out wetlands and other pockets of moisture in the arid country, which increases the number of places where the shamal [NW wind] can pick up dust. The resulting dust storms can last for days. '

WASHINGTON POST
"Israeli navy commandeers Gaza aid boat"
"Spirit of Humanity"? Can't have any of that in Israel today!

' The Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying foreign peace activists trying to break a blockade of Gaza on Tuesday and forced it to sail to an Israeli port, the military said. An earlier statement by the voyage's organizers, the Free Gaza Movement, said the vessel, renamed the Spirit of Humanity, left the Cypriot port of Larnaca on Monday bound for Gaza with three tons of medical supplies. The 20 passengers include former U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire and other activists from Britain, Ireland, Bahrain and Jamaica. '

AFP
"Amnesty accuses Israel of using human shields in Gaza"
The Nazi's were good teachers, apparently.

' "Much of the destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects," Amnesty said in a study. Israeli troops forced Palestinians to stay in one room of their home while turning the rest of the house into a base and sniper position, "effectively using the families, both adults and children, as human shields and putting them at risk," the group said. "Intentionally using civilians to shield a military objective, often referred to as using 'human shields' is a war crime," Amnesty said. It could not support Israeli claims that Hamas used human shields. It said it found no evidence Palestinian fighters directed civilians to shield military objectives from attacks, forced them to stay in buildings used by militants, or prevented them from leaving commandeered buildings. More than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died during the offensive Israel launched in response to rocket fire from Palestinian militants. Amnesty said 300 children were among those killed. "Others, including women and children, were shot at short range when posing no threat to the lives of the Israeli soldiers," it said. "Most of the cases investigated by Amnesty International of close-range shootings involve individuals, including children and women, who were shot at as they were fleeing their homes in search of shelter. "Others were going about their daily activities. The evidence indicates that none could have reasonably been perceived as a threat to the soldiers who shot them and that there was no fighting going on in their vicinity when they were shot," the report said, adding that "wilful killings of unarmed civilians are war crimes." It said Israel's use of white phosphorus shells was also a clear breach of international law. '

MCCLATCHY
"Flood of Afghan heroin fuels drug plague in Russia"
Here's another reason we're in Afghanistan: It's the world's largest supplier of heroin, a huge source of off-the-books money for black ops, and government officials' retirement funds.

' Russian authorities seized 2.4 metric tons of heroin in 2006, about three times the seizures in 2002, according to United Nations figures. That's a small fraction of the estimated 60 metric tons that are thought to arrive in Russia from Afghanistan each year. The drugs usually reach Russia from Tajikistan and Kazakhstan in trucks or, in smaller amounts, tucked away in train compartments or nervous travelers' stomachs. The trade is nothing new in Russia , but after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, it exploded. Afghan opium production climbed from 3,400 metric tons in 2002 to a record 8,200 metric tons in 2007, partly because U.S. and NATO -led troops put a low priority on curbing it. Heroin flooded into Central Asia , and on to Russia . '

MCCLATCHY
"Chinese makers of faulty products rarely suffer consequences"
Chinese officials & businessmen have no law, no ethics, and no morals. But then, neither do many in our government and business communities, who allow this to go on. The answer: Buy nothing from China. Read your labels, people. This crap is everywhere, and it's costing American lives and jobs.

' Chinese manufacturers made more than half of the goods that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled last year, but few of them paid any price for producing defective wares. The long list of faulty products included Chinese-made highchairs whose seat backs failed, steam cleaners that burned their users, bikes whose front-wheel forks broke, saunas that overheated, illuminated exit signs that stopped working when commercial power failed, dune buggies whose seat belts broke on impact and coffee makers that overheated and started fires. It also included loosely knotted soccer goal nets that entrapped and strangled a child and a toy chest whose poorly supported lid fell on a toddler's neck and killed him, according to CPSC filings. For starters, suing a Chinese company in a Chinese court isn't a good idea for most American plaintiffs, said Michael Lyle , a seasoned international lawyer. "It's like suing Michael Jordan in Chicago ." Yet many Chinese manufacturers also evade trial in the U.S. simply by persuading judges that their companies had no substantial business presence in the states in which they've been sued. That's not hard for Chinese manufacturers, which typically rely on independent importers to sell to the American market. Moreover, without the threat of high-dollar damage claims, Chinese and other foreign manufacturers can continue to produce shoddy and dangerous goods undeterred. That's clear from another part of the CPSC's list of recalls. It cites 2008 makers of faulty and sometimes deadly products that the agency deemed defective years ago but are still being shipped here. They included breakable toys on which infants can choke, lead toys, toys painted in appetizing lead-based colors and cribs whose slats are far enough apart to trap babies' heads. To be sure, the frequency of recalls that involve Chinese makers reflects the country's outsized role in supplying Americans with low-priced goods. Roughly 40 percent of imported U.S. consumer goods are from China. Their recall rate is much higher than 40 percent, however. In 2007, the CPSC named Chinese makers in 69 percent of all recalls, of both imported and domestically produced goods. In 2008, China's share was 53 percent. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Pa. doc at center of VA cancer probe admits errors"
ANOTHER CHANCE??? Keep out of my flippin' butt, you butcher!

' Flippin, 68, of Charleston, W.Va., testified that he lost his job during five months he spent in bed, incapacitated, after Kao implanted seeds into his rectum instead of his prostate in 2005. The VA suggested he was suffering from hemorrhoids or constipation afterward, but an Ohio State University physician finally diagnosed the problem as radiation burn and surgically corrected it, Flippin said. "Rev. Flippin, we should have, we can do better," Dr. Kao said. "I hope we have a chance to do better for you and your colleagues in the future." Flippin said he would have chosen another treatment option, such as having his prostate removed, had he known the risks involved with the radiation seeds. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Mississippi's still fattest but Alabama closing in"
In America today, the rich are starving themselves and the poor are morbidly obese. The poorest States are the fattest, and will soak up the most medical services. Yet they're against public healthcare. Poor AND stupid, those Red States.

' While the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds — the oldest boomers — than among today's 65-and-beyond. Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row. Three additional states now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, including Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent. In 1991, no state had more than a 20 percent obesity rate. Today, the only state that doesn't is Colorado, at 18.9 percent. The South is the fattest region. The Northeast and West are slightly slimmer than the rest of the country. '

REUTERS
"Pet python kills Florida toddler"
Sorry, but child plus predator pet equals natural selection. They should sterilize the parents.

' A Florida toddler was strangled on Wednesday by a 12-foot (3.6-meter) albino Burmese python that escaped from a holding tank in the girl's home, authorities said. Wildlife officials are increasingly concerned about the proliferation of non-native pythons in Florida's wilderness areas. State officials say there may be as many as 150,000 Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, living in the wild in the Everglades, where they have no natural predator. Wildlife experts say the population grew from snakes dumped in the fragile wetlands by pet owners who no longer wanted them and pose a significant threat to native species. '

REUTERS
"Drug cartel tunnelers target U.S. border town"
So much for the big fence.

' The agents found two men constructing the exit for a sophisticated but unfinished tunnel from Mexico. The discovery was no great surprise because authorities have been finding tunnels every two or three weeks all year. As security tightens along the Mexico border, the twin cities of Nogales -- where stores, homes and warehouses in Mexico and Arizona lie just a few yards (meters) either side of the fence -- are in the grip of a tunneling boom. '

CNN
"Bomb parts smuggled into 10 federal buildings during test"
Outsourcing strikes again. What do expect from civilians working "privatized" Federal security jobs for minimum wage without supervision or training? Republicans make us safer? BULLSH*T!!!

' Plainclothes investigators sent to test security at federal buildings in four U.S. cities were successful in smuggling bomb components through guard posts at all 10 of the sites they visited, according to a government report. The investigators then assembled the bombs in restrooms and freely entered numerous government offices while carrying the devices in briefcases, the report said. The buildings contained offices of several federal lawmakers as well as agencies within the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security, which is responsible for safeguarding federal office buildings. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, conducted the tests to check on the effectiveness of the Federal Protective Service .The FPS protects federal buildings by having about 1,200 federal law enforcement officers oversee an army of 13,000 private security guards. Wright says his immediate goal is to have federal officers -- not contract guards -- protect Level IV buildings, and ultimately to have them protect Level III buildings as well. '

SF SCOPE.COM
"Comics artist Mark Sable detained for Unthinkable acts"
Our security can't stop bombs, just comic books.

' 'The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble. The first page of the Unthinkable script mentioned 9/11, terror plots, and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics.' '

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Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

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FUNNY, SCARY, WEIRD NEWS TODAY

.
SHARKS, VOLCANOS & COOKIES ARE COMING TO GET YOU

"Sarychev Peak on Matua Island"

YOU CAN'T RUN AND YOU CAN'T HIDE

We Gots Dem Ol' Pyroclastic Flow Blues

Ah, nobody lives forever. If the Tylenol don't getchya, the swinebird flu will. So go enjoy a quick hookup, before the little pink elephants come back. Hic.


LIVE SCIENCE.COM
"Amazing Volcano Photo Reveals Shock Wave"
Mother Nature having a smoke.

' The main plume appears to be a combination of brown ash and white steam, according to a NASA statement. The vigorously rising plume gives the steam a bubble-like appearance. The surrounding atmosphere has been shoved up by the shock wave of the eruption, scientists said. Volcano plumes are so chaotic that they produce lightning, as revealed in pictures for the first time earlier this year. The smooth white cloud on top may be water condensation that resulted from rapid rising and cooling of the air mass above the ash column. This cloud is probably a transient feature, scientists say, with the eruption plume is starting to punch through. The cloud casts a dark shadow to the northwest of the island. '

NPR
"Sex Without Intimacy: No Dating, No Relationships"
News Flash: It's always been like this. Young people screw around, until they are too fat, old & ugly to get laid. Then they start with the weird fantasies about how much sex other, younger people are having. Except it's never quite that easy or that plentiful. It's called human nature. Report that.

' Young people during one of the most sexually active periods of their lives aren't necessarily looking for a mate. What used to be a mate-seeking ritual has shifted to hookups: sexual encounters with no strings attached. "The idea used to be you are going to date someone that is going to lead to something sexual happening," Bogle says. "In the hookup era, something sexual happens, even though it may be less than sexual intercourse, that may or may not ever lead to dating." '

LIVE SCIENCE.COM
"Pets Pass Superbug to Humans"
It's not just fleas any more.

' "As community-acquired strains of MRSA increase in prevalence, a growing body of clinical evidence has documented MRSA colonization in domestic animals, often implying direct acquisition of S aureus infection from their human owners," they write. "MRSA colonization has been documented in companion animals such as horses, dogs, and cats, and these animals have been viewed as potential reservoirs of infection." '

YAHOO NEWS
"Great white sharks hunt just like Hannibal Lecter"
Fortunately, Clarisse Starling is on to them

' Great white sharks have some things in common with human serial killers, a new study says: They don't attack at random, but stalk specific victims, lurking out of sight. The sharks had a distinct M.O. They were focused. They stalked from a usual base of operations, 100 yards from their victims. It was close enough to see their prey, but not close enough to be seen and scare off their victims. They attacked when the lights were low. They liked their victims young and alone. They tried to attack when no other sharks were around to compete. They learned from previous kills. And they attacked from below, unseen. '

LIVE SCIENCE.com
"Oldest Elephant Relative Found"
In case you were wondering what ever happened to Roseanne Barr... And this is why braces are important, kids:

' The animal's relation to elephants was determined via analysis of the specimen's teeth and skull. While it lacked a trunk, the animal had an enlarged first incisor, which researcher Emmanuel Gheerbrant of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France, says represents a primitive tusk. It was much smaller than the tusks of today's elephants. '

THE WASHINGTON POST
"Among Many Peoples, Little Genomic Variety"
And in Ireland, we have the Guinness gene.

' Among West Africans, a chance mutation in the blood protein hemoglobin turned out to partially protect against malaria. It rapidly became common in places where malaria was a huge threat to survival. Similarly, a mutation allowing adults to digest milk became valuable when Middle Easterners and Europeans domesticated cattle. About 90 percent of Scandinavians now carry it. '

REUTERS
"Nestle recalls Toll House cookie dough after E. coli warning"
Mmmmm! Chocolate sh*t cookies! Try the chocolate sh*t mint cookies. Better for your breath.

' Nestle's U.S. baking division said on Friday that it was voluntarily recalling its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned of the risk of contamination with E. coli bacteria. Nestle said the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were investigating reports of illnesses caused by E. coli O157:H7 in consumers who also reported having eaten raw cookie dough. E. coli can cause abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrhea, the FDA said. '

REUTERS
"Will two flus mix in Indonesia? Experts worry"
Or in "developed" countries without universal single-payer national healthcare.

' Ben Cowling, public health expert at the University of Hong Kong, said people with serious infections who would be admitted to hospitals in developed countries and survive might die in poorer countries. '

REUTERS
"Drug cos at odds with FDA over acetaminophen risk"
Oh, thank Gawd! I thought the number one cause of acute liver failure was Bud Lite.

' Estimates vary, but a 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found acetaminophen use was the most common cause of the estimated 1,600 cases of acute liver failure that year, the FDA said. Alcohol use and liver disease can also increase a consumer's risk, experts say. '

YAHOO NEWS
"States could lose money over prison rapes"
Oh, NO! The State might lose money! Look for the infomercial & the DVD: "Guards Gone Wild!"

' Inmates who are short, young, gay, or female were more likely to be victimized than other inmates. Even when inmates are willing to report abuse, their accounts are not always taken seriously and reported to appropriate officials. In a 2007 study, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that more than 60,000 inmates are sexually abused every year. The study found that 4.5 percent of those surveyed reported being sexually abused in the previous 12 months. That study also said more prisoners reported abuse by staff than by other prisoners: 2.9 percent to about 2 percent, respectively. The commission's report recommended that prison authorities adopt more internal monitoring, such as video cameras, as well as external oversight by review boards. '

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TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

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NEWS, NOUVELLES, NOTICIAS, NACHRICHTEN

.
OF THE WORLD, DU MONDE, DEL MUNDO, DER WELT

YOUTUBE: KAGUYA
"Earthrise, Earthset"
Look! There's you!


WEIRD TALES AND STOOOOOPIT STUFFS FROM AROUND THE PLANET

Why Watch FuxSnooze When You Can Get The Nitty-Gritty Direct From Every Foreign City?

As the big self-important newspapers and television networks die out for lack of an audience, there is still plenty of business going on between millions of news-junkies and all those little flat-footed beat reporters in every little town and big city neighborhood on Earth. Get some coffee, maybe a doughnut and check out the latest sense and nonsense from the rest of humanity. And save me a chocolate coconut.


TIME MAGAZINE
"Coming to an Ex-U.S. Car Dealer Near You: Pickups From India"
The race to the bottom is over. We won!

' Dramatically weakened by recession, U.S. automakers in the next few years are likely to be challenged on their home turf by car manufacturers from the developing world. But, while the Chinese were expected to be the first to land in North America, it now looks like India will beat China to the U.S. market - and not with cars, but with light trucks. But U.S. consumers have in the past shunned diesel-powered vehicles, and it's unclear whether the Mahindra trucks, which will be manufactured in India, will have a clear advantage when it comes to sticker price. Mahindra says the price, which analysts expect to be around $20,000, will be divulged closer to the December launch date. Perez says the trucks "will not be cheap, but will be reasonably priced." Competitors have base models starting at around $15,000. "Mahindra will have to tread the thin line between cheap and value," says Mohit Arora, J.D. Power's senior director for India. "Too cheap will affect quality perceptions, while a higher price will alienate buyers." (See pictures of the world’s cheapest car.) Mahindra will also have to contend with skepticism surrounding the made-in-India tag. Indian companies are recognized by Americans for outsourcing and call centers, not for manufacturing prowess. The most famous Indian manufacturer today may be Tata Motors, which garnered international recognition earlier this year when it launched its $2,000 minicar, the Nano. Tata plans to start selling the Nano in the U.S. in 2011. To create brand awareness for its pickups and SUVs, Mahindra is expected to spend around $20 million on Internet and print advertising leading up to the trucks' debut. The vehicles will be imported from India; the company has no immediate plans to build pickups in the U.S. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Okla. paramedic wants trooper's gun and badge"
Super trooper?

' Martin stopped the ambulance May 24 for failing to yield. White says he got out of the ambulance to tell the trooper they were taking a patient to the hospital. The argument quickly escalated into a scuffle and Martin put White in a choke hold. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Oregon woman obsessed with rabbits arrested again"
Silly trick! Rabbits are for kids!

' Problems for Sakewitz started in October 2006 when police in Hillsboro, about 15 miles west of Portland, found and confiscated nearly 250 rabbits in her home, including about 100 dead ones in freezers and refrigerators. Police said she broke into the facility where the survivors were being cared for in January 2007 and stole most of them back. Authorities found her a few days later in Chehalis, Wash., with eight live rabbits and two dead ones in her car. Another 130 rabbits were recovered at a nearby horse farm. '

YAHOO NEWS
"NY man charged with impersonating dead mother"
The funny thing is, he's not a psycho.

' Authorities claim that following his arrest, Parkin told them that because he held Prusik when she breathed her last breath, "I am my mother." Parkin, who lived with his mother, was accused of hatching the scheme after she passed away in 2003 at age 73. He managed to conceal the death by falsifying her death certificate, then collected $52,000 from her $700-a-month Social Security checks over the next six years, prosecutors said. Authorities say Parkin also got another $65,000 in rent subsidies by falsely claiming he had a disability and that his mother was still alive and was his landlord. Parkin used his friend Rimolo to pose as the mother's nephew when going to cash checks and do other business, prosecutors said. A security camera photo from the DMV office shows a frail-looking Parkin in a wig and dark glasses, Rimolo by his side, as he fills out paperwork. The ruse began to unravel amid a dispute over the mother's home, which was sold at foreclosure in 2003. Parkin challenged the purchase by suing the new owner on his mother's behalf so he wouldn't be evicted. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Police: Man attacked in Okla. for bologna sandwich"
I dunno. Sounds like baloney to me. I could kill for a good pastrami sandwich, though...

' A man in Oklahoma City said he was attacked for his bologna and cheese sandwich. Police say 24-year-old Roger Hamilton told them he was sitting on a bus station bench Wednesday, about to put mayonnaise on his sandwich, when another man began staring at him. Hamilton told police that the man then punched him in the mouth and grabbed his sandwich and left. '

YAHOO NEWS
"Dead pilot's wife: He was in 'perfect health'"
Please fasten your seat belts. We are now headed into... the Twilight Zone.

' The Continental Airlines pilot who died on a trans-Atlantic flight from Brussels to Newark was in "perfect health" and fellow crew members initially thought he had just fallen asleep, his wife told a Houston television station. '

REUTERS
"U.S. SEC says "dark pools" are emerging risk to market"
Where the big fish feed.

' Dark pools, where orders are anonymously matched so that traders do not alert the wider market to their intentions, have triggered concerns that stock pricing may not be transparent and that a privileged few are benefiting. The lack of post-trade transparency makes it difficult for the public to assess dark pool trading and to identify pools that are most active in particular stocks. "This ... has the potential to undermine public confidence in the equity markets, particularly if the volume of trading activity in dark pools increases substantially," SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said in remarks prepared for delivery to the New York Financial Writers Association. "The lack of reliable information can prompt speculation and suspicion about the basis for market fluctuations," she said. Dark pools, she said, are among the emerging risks to investors and markets that the SEC is focusing on. '

AFP
"US Senate votes formal apology for slavery"
Fingers crossed.

' In a step that has angered some African-American lawmakers, the measure takes pains not to fuel the push for the US government to pay reparations to the descendants of African slaves. "Nothing in this resolution (a) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or (b) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States," it says. '

LA TIMES
"NASA launches mission to explore the moon"
TAKE ME!!!

' NASA took the first concrete step toward returning human beings to the moon Thursday, successfully launching the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on a mission to find the best place to land and build Earth's first off-world colony. '

NPR
"More Families Pull The Plug On Their Home Phone"
Do not ask for whom the bell tolls...

' The concept of a home phone may soon be going the way of the corner pay phone. Government research shows that more and more households are getting rid of their land line. And for the first time, cell-phone-only homes outnumber those with just land lines. '

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TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

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Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

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