Pakistani gives illegal contributions to politicians – Republicans are main recipients according to FBI records

Pakistani accused of masking contributions to US politicians

The FBI has arrested a man investigators say was an agent of Pakistan's official state intelligence service, accusing him of making roughly $2 million in political contributions in the United States without disclosing his connections to the Pakistani government.

Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai will appear in federal court this afternoon in Alexandria, Va. He's not charged with being a spy. But he is charged with being an unregistered agent or lobbyist of the Pakistani government.

He's the executive director of a group called the Kashmiri American Council. Political contribution records show he has given tens of thousands of dollars to congressional candidates and party organizations. The FBI said in court documents released Tuesday that the council is effectively run by the Pakistani government.

According to the records, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., head of the Pakistani caucus within the House, Burton received more than $10,000, including $2,000 each, the maximum allowable under U.S. law, in the 2004, 2008 and 2010 congressional campaigns.

In addition, Fai gave the National Republican Senatorial Committee $3,500 in 2004, $5,000 in 2006 and $1,000 in 2008. Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Pa., also received $2,000 in 2004. The only Democrat to receive a significant amount of money was Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., who received $2,000 in 1998.

graphic source

Some things you should be aware of about Social Security

Andy Landis, a principal with Thinking Retirement and the author of "Social Security: The Inside Story."  advises against buying into any media-created Social Security "crisis.

" "Social Security is solvent for decades to come, and the glass is three-quarters full even after that," Landis said. "How many programs, public or private, can say that with confidence? Can you name one private company that can say the same?" Story

WalMart receipt with Jesus’s face on it, Grandma neck deep in mud for 3 days, and Michigan bride arrested after wedding ceremony

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Who would have guessed Jesus would show up on a WalMart receipt?

Good Morning Humboldt County!

Have you got your cup of Joe and ready to go? This morning we’re looking at a WalMart receipt with Jesus Christ’s face on it.

Here in Humboldt WalMart is in the news, but nothing supernatural about that. A lot of folks think the devil is moving in to the Mall…maybe they’ll change their mind if they get a holy receipt like this couple did?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Missing Grandma found neck deep in mud!

I’ll bet this woman never goes for a stroll in the middle of the night again. She ended up stuck in the mud up to her neck for three days!

When someone finally heard her faint calls for help they called 911 and said someone was stuck in the swamp and they knew for sure a big alligator lived there.

Asked what went through her mind afterwards, she laughed and said,”Imagine, people actually pay for mud baths in spas!” You go Grandma! You’re my hero!

Michigan bride arrested on felony warrant after taking vows

A Michigan bride still wearing her wedding dress was arrested on a felony warrant and briefly jailed after exchanging vows at a Jackson-area church, police said.

The 53-year-old woman, whose name wasn't immediately released, was wanted on a 3-year-old warrant for identity theft, the Jackson Citizen Patriot reported.

Police believed the woman had moved to Florida, and they got two tips that she would be back in town for Saturday's wedding. She was arrested at City of Zion Ministries just after the ceremony, Blackman-Leoni Township Public Safety Officer Rick Gillespie said.

The woman was held for less than about 30 minutes before being booked, released on bond and picked up by her husband, Gillespie said. Officers gave her the chance to change clothes before she was taken to jail, but she declined, Gillespie said.

Officers had discussed whether to arrest her on her wedding day, and decided to do that because they had no other information about her whereabouts, Gillespie said. They let her pose for last-minute photographs before taking her to jail, he said.

Random Thought: fire everyone in Congress and start over

Random thought: The term "Congress" has several meanings, but first among them is "the act of coming together and meeting."

We have representatives who meet, but refuse to come together for reasons of perceived political gain. Since they are not doing what we elected them to do, that is be a "Congress", why can't we just fire them all?

I’ve heard the argument that the longer you're in Congress, the more effective you are.

Given the results of that effectiveness (as in current Congressional gridlock), wouldn't it be better to fire them all and start over in 2012?

The only people who seem to think that Congressman should have no term limits are Congressman and the people with their hands in their Congressman’s pockets. How the hell can we expect change when we have 85-year old Congressmen who have spent a major portion of their life holding down a Congressional seat? They cling to their old ways of thinking and resist any change that will dilute their power, or the power of their cronies.

 cartoon source for Senators running down steps -  cartoon source for Pig on Capitol Building

3-D printer makes anything real, BP Pipeline leak in Alaska, and a 77-year-old Congressman fights off intruder who broke into his home

This is definitely the most revolutionary video I have ever seen - it is sure to alter the way you think. The parameters of possibility have just overstepped the mark. This is literally amazing but they do not say anything about what it cost. It seems to me it would be quite useful for making parts for autos, boats, planes, space ships. What next?

Good Morning Humboldt County!

I’ve got a pot of virtual coffee on and your welcome to a cup.

A new week begins with some real Star Trek stuff as things are scanned and then replicated in a 3-D form.

This technology amazes me because I’ve never heard of it before. Have you?

 I must be more out-of-touch on modern technology than I expected.

BP pipeline leaks oily mixture onto Alaskan tundra

BP reported yet another pipeline leak at its Alaskan oilfields, frustrating the oil giant's attempts to rebuild its reputation after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP said on today that a pipeline at its 30,000 barrel per day Lisburne field, which is currently closed for maintenance, ruptured during testing and spilled a mixture of methanol and oily water onto the tundra.

Congressman, grandson fight off armed intruder

An eight-term congressman from Iowa helped fight off an armed man who invaded his farm house in Decatur County and attacked his daughter on Saturday night, according to a statement from his office.

The attack occurred around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday at a farm in Lamoni, where Rep. Leonard Boswell, a 77-year-old Democrat who represents Iowa's third congressional district, was spending the weekend with his wife, daughter and grandson.

"The intruder entered the front door of the farm house and physically assaulted Cindy while demanding money at gunpoint," read the statement from Boswell's office.

After hearing his daughter's screams, the congressman "entered the walkway of their house and immediately went for the guy's gun and was wrestling with him. They were both on the ground," Boswell's chief of staff Grant Woodard told local news station KCCI.While the two scuffled, Boswell's 22-year-old grandson Mitchell Brown grabbed a shotgun from a nearby room and confronted the intruder, who then fled into the surrounding field.

Time to walk on down the road…

As It Stands: Counting the many ways crime does pay

             By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
   Let’s get rid of that silly hackneyed phrase “crime doesn’t pay.” It’s not true.
I’m not sure if it ever was, but if it was, it must have been a long time ago in a long-forgotten land.

  Today, being notorious for committing a crime means people will offer money in the form of book deals, interviews, and movies. Maybe even a reality show for someone the public thinks got away with murder, like Casey Anthony.
  As odd as it sounds, crime is the basis of a legitimate industry that brings in billions of tourist dollars every year. True crime travel destinations vie with Caribbean cruises and trips to Disneyland.

    In Boston, where reputed crime boss and 16-year fugitive James “Whitey” Bulger is back in federal custody, tourists find mob-related tours an “offer they can’t refuse.”
“We’re definitely seeing more interest in our tours,” said David Aspro, who leads the Boston TV & Movie Sites Tour for New York-based On Location Tours.
   “We’ve sold out both the tours we’ve done since he was captured, and I think we’re on pace to do that again this upcoming weekend,” he told the Associated Press.
    The tour takes visitors to different locations ranging from Louisburg Square, the Beacon Hill park seen in “The Boston Strangler,” to the flower shop/headquarters of gang boss Fergus Colm (Pete Postelthwaite) in “The Town.”

     Not your cup of tea? Try a trip to “Sin City’s” Mob Experience Museum where criminal memorabilia from Nevada gangsters like Bugsy Seigel and Meyer Lansky is on display. They also have a new interactive  exhibit that takes visitors on a one-of-a-kind journey into Las Vegas’ crime riddled past. Amid extravagant realistic settings, the visitor becomes part of the exhibit. They’re given a name and a character of their choice to lead them on the historic virtual tour.
     Not interested in going to Las Vegas? No problem. Try the “Weird Chicago” tour.
You get to see the ghosts, gangsters, and the ghouls of the Windy City.
     Join Weird Chicago for a walk on the dark side of the city during this grisly and chilling tour. This is not an ordinary crime tour but a look at the most depraved murders in the city's history - and some of the darkest crimes ever committed. It’s a trip back in time to revisit some of the bloodiest crimes of Chicago's past.

 The tour includes death sites, crime scenes and haunts of Chicago's most notorious killers. Coming up soon; the Dillinger Death Anniversary Weekend on July 22 and 23rd.
    We must not forget Washington D.C. and the National Museum of Crime & Punishment. If you’re a serious crime fan, be prepared to roam three floors totaling 25,000 square feet and featuring over 100 interactive exhibits.
    This tour is a “Must See for CSI fans,” according to the Today Show. They now offer a history of the Casey Anthony case, along with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, the controversial  O.J. Simpson case (once considered the crime of the century) and an exhibit on the “Freeway Sniper.”
    Fans of crime dramas like CSI are offered a new tour in Los Angeles that will surely appeal to their investigatory instincts. "Crime Scene Tours" will allow visitors to explore some of the city's most famous crime scenes. Organized by Starline Tours, the operator claims the tour will be "perfect for amateur sleuths and drama junkies who enjoy television's most popular crime shows," according to a recent LA Times article.
    At each stop, tourists will hear a re-telling of the infamous crime that occurred there. Crime scenes include the North Hollywood bank robbery, which resulted in a spectacular shootout between the robbers and the LAPD.
   Also covered is the Black Dahlia murder - the crime scene and circumstances surrounding the murder of 22-year-old waitress Elizabeth Short, dubbed the “Black Dahlia by the press.”
    Without a doubt, crime pays. I’ve offered some examples, and there are plenty more out there if you want to add to this list. I make no moral judgment about those who follow crime stories, serial killers, etc. Heck, I have to count myself in that group.
     No. I simply point out that crime does pay. Every day. Still, the irony of rewarding the bad men and women in our society and those who seek to profit from their crimes makes me uneasy. I realize I’m complicit when I buy a book like “The Green River Killer,” or “In Cold Blood.”
      As It Stands, the answer is to not buy, read, or listen to, any true stories about killers in our society. Not a likely scenario for most of us.

Websites that have picked up this column:

God's Vacation and Other Matters – 7/17 metaphysics, spirituality,kundalini, synchronicity, mystical experiences, personal para-normal experiences, politics, comparative religions, global warming, the future, you name it

 Las Vegas Crime 7/17 Crime, law and justice, and police blotter near Las Vegas, NV or anywhere in the US.

Interceder – 7/17 James Whitey Bulger - Interceder – 7/17 Suddenlink

Squidoo – 7/17 Under Google News Board

DAHLIA JAMES BLOG – 7/17 #2 item

Famous People – 7/17 from Nevada News

Los Angeles Crime – 7/17 Crime, law and justice and police blotter, or Los Angeles, CA.

Topic Hawk – 7/17 What people are saying…

Famous Serial Killers – 7/17 under “Recent Posts”

Green River Yellow Pages 7/17

 

Turnabouts fair play? Colorado woman gropes female TSA agent!

Lately all the news has been about TSA officials groping everything from babies to 95-year-olds with diapers. Here’s a rather odd case of the tables being turned: 

“Authorities say a Colorado woman who allegedly groped a female Transportation Security Administration agent at Phoenix's international airport is facing a felony count of sexual abuse.

Phoenix police say 61-year-old Yukari Mihamae is accused of grabbing the left breast of the unidentified TSA agent Thursday at an airport checkpoint.

TSA spokesperson Kawika Riley confirmed the altercation to msnbc.com in a statement: "On July 14 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, local law enforcement arrested a passenger for assaulting a TSA officer during the screening process." 

TSA staff say Mihamae refused to be go through passenger screening and became argumentative before she squeezed and twisted the agent's breast with both hands. Police were called and say Mihamae admitted grabbing the TSA agent and continued to argue with officers before she was arrested.”

And the victor in the great LA bike-vs.-plane race is ...

Faster than a jet plane — that would be the bicyclists of Wolfpack Hustle.

Six bicyclists from the group, a loose collective of L.A. cyclists, were trying to see if they could beat a passenger on a JetBlue flight from Burbank to Long Beach, and they succeeded by a wide margin,the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

The "Carmageddon" challenge was born after JetBlue offered $4 plane rides from Burbank to Long Beach to get around the weekend closure of Interstate 405 in the northern part of the metropolitan area. An online article in Slate helped the challenge take shape.

The bicyclists and a blogger left a North Hollywood intersection at 10:50 a.m. The blogger had to drive to the airport for a 12:20 p.m. flight, then get a ride to the finish line at the Long Beach aquarium.

The cyclists took a route along the Los Angeles River, the Times reported, and made it in one hour and 34 minutes. They arrived at the finish just as the JetBlue flight was taking off — a victory for bicyclists trying to get fellow Los Angelenos to get out of the car once in a while to get some exercise on their commute.

Owl imprint on windshield, exorcists meet to tackle vampires, and say hello to the friendly ‘Fracosaurus’

Good Morning Humboldt County!

Grab a cup of Joe while we go through a few headlines this morning:

Ghostly Owl image left on car windshield

An imprint of an owl is left on a window pane after the bird crashed into the window. Sally Arnold returned home to Kendal, Cumbria, and found the huge imprint complete with eyes, beak and feathers on her bedroom window. The silhouette was left by the bird’s ‘powder down’ - a substance protecting growing feathers.

Picture: PA / RSPB

Exorcists meet in Poland, tackle vampires

Vampires, the devil's deceit and mental illness are among the hot topics for some 300 exorcists who flocked to Poland this week from as far away as Africa and India for a week-long congress.

Held at Poland's Roman Catholic Jasna Gora monastery, home to the venerated Black Madonna icon, this year's congress "examines the current fashion for vampirism in Europe and the world-over, schizophrenia and other mental disorders as well as the devil's deceit during exorcism," according to the monastery's radio station.

Gas driller dumps dino-themed coloring book

A natural gas drilling company says it's no longer distributing a children's coloring book featuring a hard hat-wearing dinosaur that's been criticized by a Massachusetts congressman and lampooned by Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert.

Talisman Energy says "Talisman Terry's Energy Adventure" is no longer being distributed following a barrage of criticism.

Critics called the coloring book's depiction of land before and after drilling overly rosy.

 The post-drilling image adds a rainbow and an eagle to the scene where the hydraulic fracturing drilling process took place. U.S. Rep. Ed Markey mocked the depiction of the "friendly Fracosaurus" in remarks last week on drilling safety. Colbert spoofed the book earlier this week.

Time to walk on down the road…

Lighthouse Keepers–a poem by Captain Stetson Turner

Lighthouse keepers have it easy
   All year long their homes are breezy;
Noises don’t disturb their labors,
   For they haven’t any neighbors.
They don’t need big wastebaskets
   For old papers, orange peels, or gaskets;
Just one careless motion
   And their trash drops in the ocean.

They don’t need nine holes or twenty,
   They get exercise aplenty;
One trip up the spiral stairway
   Equals three around the fairway.
Window shades are never needed,
   They can dress or strip unheeded;
Wakeful brats don’t have conniptions,
   Neighbors don’t give long descriptions.

When I’m old and don't need pity,
   I shall leave the sullied city,
Climb a lighthouse, bar the door,
   And trim my wicks forevermore.

                                                                                                                      Photo via Stumbleupon

No surprise to dog owners: study suggest canines/wolves adept at reading people's minds

To anyone who is familiar with the eerily human-like qualities of man's best friend, the news that dogs can read your mind shouldn't come as any surprise.

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I’ve suspected my pug Millie (shown here) has been able to read my feeble mind since she was a pup 8 years ago!

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The latest research adds to growing evidence that dogs can interpret both human body language and general behavior, and use it to their advantage.

"Dogs and [human-raised] wolves are capable of distinguishing between a person looking at them, someone who's paying attention and someone who's not," said Monique A.R. Udell, lead author of a study published recently in the journal Learning & Behavior. "They're more likely to beg [for food] from someone paying attention to them." More here