Gap between rich & poor by city, man reports date as burglar, and Brits breed a new ‘Super Broccoli’

The weather is changing fast and it’s getting much cooler in the morning now. Step right in, and have a cup of Joe with me. I’ve got a full pot on, and a few stories to start your day. Make it a good one.

Gap between U.S. rich, poor is widest in Atlanta

Atlanta has widest income gap between rich and poor of all the major U.S. cities, the U.S. Census reported on Wednesday. New Orleans ranked second, followed by the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. Rounding out the list of 10 big cities with the largest gaps between high and low income are Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Gainesville, all in Florida; Athens, Ga.; New York; Dallas; and Baton Rouge, La.

Man reports date as burglar when girlfriend shows

Colorado Springs police say a man's girlfriend unexpectedly came home just before another woman was due to visit, so he called police to report his new acquaintance as a burglar.

The Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/vfcH8c ) that 24-year-old Kevin Gaylor was cited with a misdemeanor of false reporting to authorities.Police say Gaylor had invited a woman he met online to come to his home after 3 a.m.

Wednesday so they could get better acquainted, but his girlfriend came home first. Police say that when the other woman arrived, Gaylor called police and falsely reported an intrusion.

British scientists breed new 'super broccoli'

Popeye might want to consider switching to broccoli. British scientists unveiled a new breed of the vegetable that experts say packs a big nutritional punch.

The new broccoli was specially grown to contain two to three times the normal amount of glucoraphanin, a nutrient believed to help ward off heart disease.

"Vegetables are a medicine cabinet already," said Richard Mithen, who led the team of scientists at the Institute for Food Research in Norwich, England, that developed the new broccoli. "When you eat this broccoli ... you get a reduction in cholesterol in your blood stream," he told Associated Press Television.

Time to walk on down the road…

The mathematician who first theorized about infinity died in a mental institution

George Cantor first worked out the basic ideas about infinity in 1890. His theories were criticized at first, but now are accepted as one of the foundations of modern mathematics. Among other things, Cantor first showed that there are different types of infinity and that a given set has exactly as many positive numbers as there are positive even numbers (while conventional wisdom would suggest that there are twice as many positive numbers than positive even numbers).

This brilliant mathematician battled depression throughout much of his life, and died in 1918 in an institution. His work was initially received with harsh criticism, before finding acceptance in the mathematical community. Though some of his findings about infinity were certainly mind-boggling, his mental state likely had more to do with the criticism he received for his work than the concept of infinity itself!

Glad to see you go big boy B53…

The last of the nation's most powerful nuclear bombs has been taken apart in Texas.

Technicians at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo removed the uranium Tuesday from the last of the nation's largest nuclear bombs, a Cold War relic known as the B53.

The bomb put into service in 1962 was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, that killed as many as 140,000 people at the end of World War II.

Here’s your chance to get a free bridge, white Coca Cola cans, and what if the Internet was invented 100 years ago?

  Good Morning Humboldt County!

Your just in time for a cup of coffee. Pull up a chair and prepare to be entertained. I’ve got an eclectic selection of stories for you. Enjoy: 

 

Want to buy a bridge? Kentucky's giving one away

Officials in Kentucky are so keen to get rid of an obsolete but historic bridge on a rural stretch of highway that they are trying to give it away -- and even offering to dismantle and deliver it to its new home for free.

The 82-year-old span on state Route 80 in southeastern Kentucky needs to come down so a new bridge capable of handling heavier traffic can go up, the state Department of Highways said. But state officials would prefer not to demolish the existing structure, a 450-foot metal truss span built in 1929 that is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. So they are seeking to give it away. To sweeten the pot, the state is willing to have the bridge disassembled, transported and off-loaded at no charge. All the new owner has to do is reassemble and maintain it, said H.B. Elkins, spokesman for the Department of Highways, District 10, where the bridge is located.

Coca-Cola turns can white to help polar bears

Coca-Cola Co. is turning its red cans white to help draw attention to a campaign to protect polar bears and their habitats. Coca-Cola is giving $2 million to the World Wildlife Fund to support its work on polar bear protection. The two organizations are encouraging consumers to donate $1 and the beverage maker has agreed to give another $1 million to match these contributions.

The company said 1.4 billion of the white cans, along with white bottle caps on several products, will hit store shelves Nov. 1. The white cans will feature an image of a mother polar bear and her two cubs.

The "Arctic Home" campaign is designed to encourage people to learn about and help protect the polar bear's Arctic home.

Funds raised will support the World Wildlife Fund's polar bear conservation work, which includes working with local communities, supporting cutting-edge research and carrying out other conservation work.

           What if the Internet Was Invented 100 Years Ago?

We young'uns are all under the impression that, aside from the occasional fashion choice and their hilarious racism, people from the distant past were pretty straight-laced. This is only because of lies our grandparents and Tom Brokaw told us! Turns out that people from the last turn of the century were just as weird as people from this one. The Olds aren't going to get away with lying to us anymore, thanks to Black and WTF, the site that collects bizarre pictures from old times and puts them on your futuristic internet. Some of the pictures are forgeries, sure, but picking them out is half the fun! Go to Black and WTF to see more photos.

Time to walk on down the road….

Corporatism Is Not Capitalism: 7 Things About The Monolithic Predator Corporations That Dominate Our Economy That Every American Should Know

Right now, there is a lot of talk about the evils of “capitalism”. 

But it is not really accurate to say that we live in a capitalist system.  Rather, what we have in the United States today, and what most of the world is living under, is much more accurately described as “corporatism”. 

Under corporatism, most wealth and power is concentrated in the hands of giant corporations and big government is used as a tool by these corporations to consolidate wealth and power even further.  In a corporatist system, the wealth and power of individuals and small businesses is dwarfed by the overwhelming dominance of the corporations.

Eventually, the corporations end up owning almost everything and they end up dominating nearly every aspect of society.  As you will see below, this very accurately describes the United States of America today.  Corporatism is killing this country, and it is not what our founding fathers intended.

The following is the definition of “corporatism” from the Merriam-Webster dictionary….

the organization of a society into industrial and professional corporations serving as organs of political representation and exercising control over persons and activities within their jurisdiction

Corporatism is actually not too different from socialism or communism.  They are all “collectivist” economic systems.  Under corporatism, wealth and power are even more highly concentrated than they are under socialism or communism, and the truth is that none of them are “egalitarian” economic systems.  Under all collectivist systems, a small elite almost always enjoys most of the benefits while most of the rest of the population suffers.

The Occupy Wall Street protesters realize that our economic system is fundamentally unjust in many ways, but the problem is that most of them want to trade one form of collectivism for another.

But our founding fathers never intended for us to have a collectivist system.

Instead, they intended for us to enjoy a capitalist system where true competition and the free enterprise system would allow individuals and small businesses to thrive.

In an article that was posted earlier this year on Addicting Info, Stephen D. Foster Jr. detailed how our founding fathers actually felt about corporations….

 

The East India Company was the largest corporation of its day and its dominance of trade angered the colonists so much, that they dumped the tea products it had on a ship into Boston Harbor which today is universally known as the Boston Tea Party. At the time, in Britain, large corporations funded elections generously and its stock was owned by nearly everyone in parliament. The founding fathers did not think much of these corporations that had great wealth and great influence in government. And that is precisely why they put restrictions upon them after the government was organized under the Constitution.

After the nation’s founding, corporations were granted charters by the state as they are today. Unlike today, however, corporations were only permitted to exist 20 or 30 years and could only deal in one commodity, could not hold stock in other companies, and their property holdings were limited to what they needed to accomplish their business goals. And perhaps the most important facet of all this is that most states in the early days of the nation had laws on the books that made any political contribution by corporations a criminal offense.

Our founding fathers would have never approved of any form of collectivism.  They understood that all great concentrations of wealth and power represent a significant threat to the freedoms and liberties of average citizens.

Are you not convinced that we live in a corporatist system? Well, keep reading.

Via Break The Martix

China cuts back on entertaining TV, the great bee escape, and Rand admits to screwing up pot poll

                 Good Morning Humboldt County!

Your just in time for a cup of hot coffee and a look at some of today’s headlines. This mornings trio of tales runs the gamut from bees to mistaken pollsters. Pull up a seat and get comfortable:

 

China orders cutback on TV entertainment

China will limit the number of entertainment programmes allowed to air on television, from match-making game shows to dance broadcasts, and push to replace them with morality-building programming, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.

China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television starting next year will restrict shows that "record the dark and gloomy side of society", the Southern Metropolis Daily said. "For every satellite TV station, no more than two entertainment programmes can be aired during prime time from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every night," the paper said, citing a directive from the national broadcasting watchdog.

Millions of escaped bees shut down highway

A flatbed truck carrying hundreds of beehives overturned near a construction zone on a Utah highway, freeing millions of bees and forcing authorities to temporarily close Interstate 15, officials said on Monday.

"The driver lost control, hit the concrete barrier and rolled over. Of course, we then had bees everywhere," said Corporal Todd Johnson with the Utah Highway Patrol. The highway in southern Utah was shut down for several hours on Sunday evening and Monday morning, officials said. Local beekeepers worked through the night to gather the escaped bees. Officials said there was a net over the beehives but bees still managed to escape after the truck overturned.

Rand retracts report on pot clinics and crime

In a rare move for one of the nation's most highly regarded research institutions, Rand Corp. on Monday retracted a controversial report on crime around Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensaries after realizing that it failed to include any crimes reported by the city's Police Department.
Researchers with the Santa Monica-based think tank used crime data compiled by a firm that collects information from about 1,200 law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, but not the LAPD.

"They made mistakes," said Debra Knopman, a Rand vice president and director of the infrastructure, safety and environment division. "What we're wrestling with is how the mistakes went undetected."
The extraordinary lapse has the esteemed institution closely examining how it reviews its research. The discredited report went through an internal and an external peer review.
"This is not something we take lightly," Knopman said. "This is a rare event, but it's happened, and it's absolutely leading us to take a renewed look at the procedures we follow.

Time to walk on down the road…

Catch a falling star ... and fall colors

Photographer Jeff Berkes' picture of an Orionid meteor streak over Elverson, Pa., also features autumn leaves.

"The sky was crystal clear and a moody fog was rising off the lake when I set up my camera at 1 o'clock Saturday morning," Berkes told SpaceWeather.com. "The Orionids were streaking bright, and I counted a couple dozen during the night."

If you miss seeing the falling stars of the fall season, you can experience them vicariously by checking SpaceWeather.com. And there's always another show on the horizon, such as the Geminids (peaking Dec. 13-14).

More duck lore and facts about our feathered friends…

                           image on left                                                          image on right

Tea Party Group Urges Small Businesses ‘Not To Hire A Single Person’ To Hurt Obama

This article illustrates why people think Tea Party members are only interested in their ideology and extreme partisan politics. The people (the 99% ers) come in last with the Tea Party set.

Even for Tea Party standards, encouraging employers not to hire people in this terrible economy to make some vague and stupid point, is anti-American and shows their true colors.

As long as Congressional Republicans put off any chance for relief for unemployed citizens, the deeper the depression becomes. I prefer to to go by what Republicans do, rather than what they say, as the two are usually different. Here is a perfect example of what extremes these wackaloons will go: 

“Congressional Republicans have acted shocked and offended at Democrats’ suggestions that they are intentionally sabotaging the economy to try to win back the White House in 2012. Republicans have refused to pass President Obama’s jobs plan — which experts estimate will create at least 1.9 million jobs — and proposed an alternative plan that Moody’s says “will likely push the economy back into recession.”

Now influential Tea Party leaders are throwing caution to the wind and openly lobbying business owners to stop hiring in order to hurt Obama politically. This week, Right Wing Watch picked up on a message Tea Party Nation sent to their members from conservative activist Melissa Brookstone.

In a rambling letter titled “Call For A Strike of American Small Businesses Against The Movement for Global Socialism,” Brookstone urges businesses “not hire a single person” to protest “this new dictator”:

Resolved that: The current administration and Democrat majority in the Senate, in conjunction with Progressive socialists from all around the country, especially those from Hollywood and the left leaning news media (Indeed, most of the news media.) have worked in unison to advance an anti-business, an anti-free market, and an anti-capitalist (anti-individual rights and property ownership) agenda. [...]

I, an American small business owner, part of the class that produces the vast majority of real, wealth producing jobs in this country, hereby resolve that I will not hire a single person until this war against business and my country is stopped.

Brookstone cites Democrats’ support of the Occupy Wall Street movement as proof that Obama, media elites, and the like are “against business, private property ownership and capitalism.” Although she fails to explain how a freeze on hiring would send a bold pro-business message, given that such a boycott would further damage the economy and exacerbate high national unemployment.

But these Tea Partiers are only too happy to put politics ahead of the well-being of 14 million unemployed Americans, not to mention the businesses who are looking for qualified workers”"

This post was originally published by ThinkProgress.Written by Marie Diamond

Have a 338-pound burger, a preambulating potty, and kids would rather go to Chattanooga than Disneyland

             Good Morning Humboldt County!

Here we are going into a new week. I’ve got the coffee on and your invited to have a cup with me. I’ve got a trio of stories that I think will amuse you as you drink some brew. 

'Absolutely Ridiculous': Restaurant creates 338-pound burger

A U.S. restaurant famous for cooking up giant hamburgers has outdone itself.

The Detroit News reports that Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar made a 338-pound (153-kilogram) "Absolutely Ridiculous Burger" on Thursday. A crowd gathered to salivate over the unveiling of the $2,000 menu item. The sandwich packs 540,000 calories and takes 22 hours to cook. Manager Jason Jones says the burger, which has 15 pounds of lettuce, 30 pounds of bacon, 30 pounds of tomatoes and 36 pounds of cheese, comes with fries and a drink.

Perambulating potty? Wild ride for Teamster in a toilet

RICHLAND, Washington — What? No seat belt? A Teamster needed one when he took an unplanned ride in a portable toilet at a nuclear reactor site in Washington state.

The Tri-City Herald reported that on Oct. 5 a forklift operator picked up the chemical toilet to move it, not realizing it was occupied. The newspaper said that according to a Department of Energy report, the driver lifted the outhouse about a foot off the ground and moved about 15 feet across a gravel road.

The forklift blocked the door, trapping the Teamster. The driver set the toilet down, he heard the Teamster inside. The newspaper said the report didn't indicate exactly what the Teamster was saying about the whole affair.

Disney World? We want to go to Chattanooga!

Like many parents, Rina and Mike Zeller turned on a video camera to document the squeals of delight when they surprised their kids with news of a family trip to Disney World.But the kids didn’t jump for joy. Instead, much to the Zellers surprise, Sophia, 6, and Ian, 4, started crying and insisting that they’d rather spend their vacation in … Chattanooga.

“We live close enough to Chattanooga that we usually go there once a year for a long weekend trip,” said Rina Zeller. “The kids love the aquarium and children’s museum and stream running through the downtown area. And we’d been telling that we're going to take them to Chattanooga this year for fall break.” The Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau in Tennessee loved the tape and, of course, began sending it around. Since then the tape has shown up on TV stations nationwide and been viewed on YouTube more than 70,000 times. “It’s nice to know there are some kids that would rather visit Chattanooga instead of Disney World,” said Dave Santucci, vice president of marketing for the Chattanooga CVB. “Especially because most families can’t afford to go to Disney World every year. But they can afford to come back to Chattanooga.”

Time to walk on down the road…

As It Stands: Up in smoke: Obama’s promise to medical marijuana users

                                                  

                By Dave Stancliff/For The Times Standard
Remember how President Obama assured us he would work with the states who enacted medical marijuana laws when he campaigned for the presidency?
 He sure was blowing smoke on that one, wasn‘t he?
"The Obama administration really is more aggressive than the administration of his predecessor," said Americans for Safe Access (ASA) spokesman Kris Hermes in a  recent interview.
 The vast difference between Obama’s promises and what his administration is doing against medical marijuana has shocked many who voted for him. The “bringer of change” dangled some hope to states that approved medical marijuana, thereby snagging many votes. Obama clearly forgot what he had promised the states and the people living there after he got elected.  
  Obama’s war on medical marijuana is escalating and he’s blatantly trashing his promises. Incredible as it may seem, his administration has stated, “There are no medicinal properties in marijuana.” Not only is that a ridiculous thing to say, it’s a lie. 

  In the last twenty years, numerous independent studies and research done at universities across the country have revealed an ever-increasing number of medical applications for marijuana. Yet the Obama administration refuses to conduct any research on its own that might prove marijuana has medicinal properties.  
  Instead, they’ve chosen to conduct a search-and-destroy mission in California to eliminate state-approved pot dispensaries. A reign of terror intended to send a message.  It doesn’t matter that they take away people’s medicine and their way to get it safely.
 “We're not at war with people in this country," Obama's drug czar Gil Kerlikowske told The Wall Street Journal in May. I beg to differ. The raids on medical marijuana dispensaries have actually increased under Obama’s watch.
  The DEA propaganda machine tells the public marijuana has no medical qualities and is as dangerous as heroin. These outright lies are easily disproved by current and past research.
  Over the past eight months Obama has become arguably the worst president in U.S. history regarding medical marijuana. The most recent example is what happened to Northstone Organics, a Mendocino collective. They are the perfect example of cooperating with state law enforcement. The non-profit has been featured on Frontline (The Pot Republic), and was a pioneer for Mendocino County’s “ziptie” program.
   The Feds raided them anyway. California NORML Coordinator, Dale Gieringer, denounced the raid as a “shameful and despicable” attack on California’s most successful legally regulated marijuana cultivation program.”

  Escalating the war, US Attorney Laura Duffy says she’ll go after any marijuana advertising in the media. On September 21, Obama's ATF issued an open letter saying gun shops cannot sell guns to medical marijuana patients -- or people who are known to be addicted to drugs other than alcohol or tobacco, ironically enough.
Despite a previous Department Of Justice memo that targeting medical marijuana is an inefficient use of time and resources, four California-based U.S. Attorneys and their staffs have vowed an aggressive new crackdown on medical marijuana operations throughout the state.
   After Obama's inauguration, Attorney General Eric Holder said federal prosecutors would not enforce action against patients or providers who adhered to state law. Six months later, the new policy was officially articulated in the landmark Ogden memo: "Prosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources."
  What happened? Why the rabid all-out assault now? Either Obama has a short memory, or he’s been lying all along and waiting for an opportunity to step up the senseless war on marijuana. Also, look at the ties between Big Pharma (opposed to marijuana legislation for competition reasons) and the Obama administration.

 As Obama campaigns for his second term, one thing stands out to me: he’s an expert flip-flopper when it comes to political expediency.
 What you can do about this senseless war is to urge your Representative to co-sponsor HR1983, a bill forcing the Feds to stop their raids on state-approved medical marijuana programs.
  As It Stands, I suspect Obama (a former pot smoker) is going to have to answer to a large block of medical marijuana users who vote in 2012.

WEBSITES CARRYING THIS COLUMN: 

#1 http://newstweeters.com/2011/10/up-in-smoke-obama%E2%80%99s-promise-to-medical-marijuana-users-%E2%80%93-times/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=up-in-smoke-obama%25e2%2580%2599s-promise-to-medical-marijuana-users-%25e2%2580%2593-times
#2 Drug Sense

#3 http://www.brianccg.com/wp-content/plugins/FooterSpeed/display.php?dm=tw&k=Medical&t=search&baseurl=www.brianccg.com/wp-content/plugins/FooterSpeed/

#4 Hydrochronic Medical Marijuana Blog

#5 Social Toker – Where smokers socialize

Meet 1 % er John Hammergen: Nation’s Top ‘Robber Baron’

CEO: John Hammergren

Company: McKesson (MCK) Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Compensation: $131.2 million last year

Company net income (trailing 12 months): $1.2 billion

1-year shareholder return (as of Oct. 17): 17%

• Forbes.com: See the full list of the top 25 CEOs

I thought I’d share this profile of greed as an example of what the 99% ers of Occupy Wall Street are protesting about. His salary is obscene. Especially when you consider he pays less in taxes than you do! Gee…I wonder how Hammergren feels about legalizing marijuana?

Big-rig chicken spill recalls famous Hollywood Freeway Chickens

A big rig that spilled 5,000 live chickens ruffled a few feathers Thursday morning when they shut down lanes of a Northern California interstate near Vacaville, but longtime Angelenos may recall a similar poultry accident on the Hollywood Freeway that became part of L.A. lore.

In that 1969 crash, a truck driver was taking 500 to 1,000 chickens from the Valley to an L.A. slaughterhouse. At least 200 chickens flew the coop, escaping into the brush near the Vineland Avenue on ramp in Studio City.

Former Times columnist Steve Harvey, recalling that accident in a column in 2009, reported that the chickens -– like any good L.A. story –- quickly became famous and even inspired a screenplay.

"Commuters caught in traffic jams passed the time observing the free-living fowl," The Times' T.W. McGarry wrote. "Chickens have a slim repertoire of amusing antics, but it doesn't take much to distract someone inching up Cahuenga Pass at 2.2 mph." The so-called Freeway Chickens were fed by locals and lived for decades along the freeway. "They were dubbed the New Freeway Chickens in honor of Hollywood's love for sequels," Harvey wrote.

Study: Global Warming is real, lawyer brings drugs to jailed client, and a new trio of earthquakes rumble under Berkeley

   Good Morning Humboldt County!

You’re just in time for a cup of coffee and a few short reads to start the day. The weekend is upon us. I hope yours is relaxing and fun.

 

Climate study confirms what skeptics scoffed at: global warming is real

A new climate study shows that since the mid-1950s, global average temperatures over land have risen by 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.6 degrees Fahrenheit), confirming previous studies that have found a climate that has been warming – in fits and starts – since around 1900. The new research, which has yet to be formally published but which appears in four papers posted on BerkeleyEarth.org, uses new analytical techniques and a much larger set of records than the previous studies did.

Attorney arrested on suspicion of bringing drugs to jailed client

Acting on jailhouse intelligence, Los Angeles sheriff's deputies Friday arrested an attorney they say tried to smuggle 26 balloons of heroin and methamphetamine to a gang member in custody at the downtown courthouse.
Attorney Kenneth Markman, 47, was arrested on the 11th floor of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center when he tried to meet with his client in lockup. Deputies used a drug-sniffing dog to locate the narcotics wrapped in tape, said Sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker. In addition to the balloons, Parker said, deputies recovered small hypodermic needles and marijuana in a taped package.

    New trio of earthquakes rumble under Berkeley

A trio of earthquakes rattled Berkeley just as Saturday began, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The aftershocks came just two days after a pair of quakes shook Berkeley, include one strong enough to knock items off  shelves.

The first quake Saturday was  magnitude 2.8 and hit at 12:06 a.m., with its epicenter less than 100 feet south of the Claremont Hotel Club and Spa. A 1.3 aftershock hit at 12:14 a.m.in the same neighborhood, followed by a 2.5 quake at 12:45 a.m.

On Twitter, Berkeley residents chatted about the latest quakes. "Much weaker than [Thursday's], but enough to put me back on edge for the night," tweeted @AChanceFind.

On Thursday, a pair of larger quakes rattled the region, a 3.8 in the afternoon and a 4.0 at night. The evening quake was large enough to cause some items to fall from shelves in some homes near the Berkeley epicenter, and some plaster fell from the ceiling of a business in Oakland, according to KRON-TV, KPIX-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Time to walk on down the road…

GOP Chicken Hawks mad that the war in Iraq is ending

I’m not in the least surprised the “Just Say No Party” aka Republicans, are pissed that we’re pulling out of Iraq. Romney and the rest of the rabid right masquerading as senators and representatives for the people, don’t like the war machine to slow down.

Keeping at least one of his campaign promises, President Obama announced that all combat troops would be home for the holidays. Mind you, this pullout has been down on paper for two years, but now the Republicans are squealing like stuffed pigs that it’s too soon to pull out. In their beady little bird brains there is no good time to pull the talons of American’s military out of the oil-rich land they conquered nearly a decade ago.

My fondest wish would be to somehow gather up all of the GOP’s tough Chicken Hawks and put them in a special military unit. Then every dirty little war, or police action, this special unit would be the first to go into combat. What do you want to bet there’d be a world-wide pullout of American troops going back to the states?

graphic

 

Doomsday prediction fails, Wal-Mart cuts health care benefits, and a lawn full of zombie gnomes

           Good Morning Humboldt County!

The weather is getting cooler out and that first cup of hot coffee in the morning is a Zen-like experience. C’mon in and share a cup with me. You’ll be glad to learn that the world isn’t ending today, you’ll be disgusted with Wal-Mart, and amused by some zombie gnomes. Enjoy:

Preacher's doomsday forecast fizzles out ... again

Once again, the world failed to end, despite a high-profile prediction from a radio preacher in California.

Harold Camping, the 90-year-old leader of Family Radio International, stirred a global frenzy when he predicted that the Rapture would take 200 million Christians to heaven on May 21. When the Rapture didn't occur, Camping said he got his Bible-based calculations wrong and revised his prophecy to set the world's end on Friday, Oct. 21. But as the day wore on around the world, there was no sign that doomsday had dawned.

Wal-Mart rolls back health care benefits, NYT reports

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer and the nation's largest private employer, is slashing health benefits for part-time workers and raising premiums for many of its full-time staff, The New York Times reported Friday.

The newspaper said Wal-Mart announced to its workers this week that new part-time employees who work less than 24 hours per week on average would not be eligible for any of the company's health insurance plans. New employees who work 24 to 33 hours per week would not be allowed to add a spouse to their coverage, either, although children would still be covered.

    The night of the zombie gnomes
People like to dress up their lawns for Halloween with all kinds of scary things. I thought I’ve seen it all, but then I saw the zombie gnomes!

Looks like another garden gnome is about to get turned! Imagine a horde of these handmade zombie gnomes on your lawn this Halloween night.

Some wandering aimlessly (babbling incoherently in a British accent about travel plans, no doubt) while others feast on an unfortunate pink flamingo. $39 - Etsy via Nerd Approved

Time to walk on down the road…

 

Clueless Criminals: home raided after 'heroin for sale' fliers posted

This group of six brain-dead Portland, Oregon, drug dealers were so confident their neighborhood was safe to deal drugs that they passed out 8x10 fliers advertising “heroin for sale.”

Here’s what should really get them posted forever in a hall of fame for stupid criminals:  they put their names and the address of the drug house on the fliers.

No really… go here and check it out.

Photo: They had a lot more than heroin to offer. There was marijuana, a sawed-off shotgun, thousands of dollars in cash, and the materials for a methamphetamine lab inside the home.

NBA lockout talks have stopped, things looking extremely grim

Just when things were starting to look up — federal mediators! Marathon bargaining sessions! Small concessions from both sides! — it’s starting to look very, very grim for NBA fans once again.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, talks between the owners and the players have stopped, and the lockout has suffered what Wojnarowski calls a “huge setback”:Talks on a 50-50 BRI split broke down, and labor talks have ended, source tells Y! No new meetings scheduled. Huge setback in this lockout

Take a look at the 10 most secret societies in the world

No matter what their supposed purpose, there’s something inherently sinister about a secret society. Though most are formed with relatively realistic political and religious goals in mind, their focus on mystery and secrecy has made them the target of countless criticisms and conspiracy theories involving everything from aliens and the occult to world domination. Of course, the reality is usually much more innocuous, but that doesn’t mean that the groups don’t have some fascinatingly weird practices, or that they haven’t had an impact on world events.

With this in mind, the following are ten of the most famous and influential secret societies in history:

   Skull and Bones

        Famous Members
  George H.W. Bush, George W.Bush, John Kerry

Ivy League Colleges are known for their many secret societies and student organizations, and of these Yale’s Skull and Bones is probably the most famous. The society taps new students for membership every spring, and the only real prerequisite for membership is that the initiate be a campus leader. As such, athletes, members of the student council, and fraternity presidents are often considered. Skull and Bones counts among its membership U.S. Presidents, Senators, and Supreme Court Justices, which has lead many to argue that the group works as some kind of underground organization for the high-powered political elite. There is no denying that the club is well funded: an alumni organization called the Russell Trust Association bankrolls its activities, and the group supposedly owns an island in upstate New York.

Secret Practices
Skull and Bones’ membership is no longer kept secret, but their practices still are. The order meets twice a week, but just what goes on at their meetings has never been revealed. To the disappointment of conspiracy theorists, what rumors have come out are relatively innocuous. The group has supposedly taken part in a number of pranks, and was once even sued by chairman of the Apache tribe, who claimed the Bonesmen were in possession of the skeleton of Geronimo. Beyond this, the group is known for allegedly forcing new members to relate their sexual history to the rest of the society, and for giving out nicknames to each initiate. In a widely reported rumor, President George H.W. Bush was supposedly known as “Magog,” a name given to the Bonesman with the most sexual experience

Go here to read about the other nine secret societies. 

Gadhafi killed, thief uses crane to steal Jeep, and study reveals how gross public bathrooms are

           Good Morning Humboldt County!

It’s coffee time and all visitors are welcome. I’m serving up some hot Joe and stories to start your day. So c’mon in, pull up a seat, and join me. 

 

'We have been waiting for this moment': Libya confirms Gadhafi is dead

Deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been killed, the Libyan prime minister confirmed Thursday, following news of his capture and reports of his death.

The ousted dictator died of wounds suffered in his capture near his hometown of Sirte, according to a senior National Transitional Council military official and a government minister. "He was killed in an attack by the fighters. There is footage of that," the NTC's information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, told Reuters.

The military official, Abdel Majid Mlegta, told Reuters that Gadhafi was taken at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy that NATO warplanes had attacked.

UPDATE:

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

This video just in around 11:00 PST…

Up... and away! Thief uses crane to steal jeep

A thief used a crane to lift a Jeep Wrangler off of a northern Indiana car lot over the weekend, local media reported. Surveillance camera footage at LaPorte Chrysler showed someone driving a truck carrying a crane onto the lot, then circling around to park next to the 2008 Wrangler, Chicago NBC station WMAQ reported. Then the thief hooked the Jeep with the crane and loaded it onto a trailer.The entire operation, which occurred at 6:40 a.m. Sunday, took all of six minutes, according to WMAQ.

Don't touch! Study confirms your worst fears about public potties

No. 1: A new study on the germ orgies going down in America’s public restrooms truly puts the “P” in repulsive, repugnant and “Hey, how awesome are my Depends?”

No. 2: If you can, maybe just hold it until you get home.

Yes, we’re talking about relieving those two basic bodily functions and doing so in some of most bacteria-bedecked spaces anywhere. As long suspected, bathroom surfaces in U.S. restaurants, airplanes, stores, hospitals and other busy locales are often heavily contaminated with illness-causing microbes – and, in some cases, the bug colonies are even too large to measure, according to a paper to be presented Friday to the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Boston.

Time to walk on down the road…