It’s that time of the year again: Black Friday violence erupts

     Good Morning Humboldt County!

Welcome to this special Black Friday posting. You’re about to read how crazy people can  get when it comes to saving money. It seems to get worse every year, but retailers say the day brings in from 30% to 40% of their annual sales.

I can’t help noticing most of the trouble happens at Wal Mart stores. Is there a social comment there? Have a cup of coffee with me, pull up a chair, and see what you think. 

Violence erupted at Black Friday sales across the U.S. with one bargain-hunter left critically injured after being shot during a robbery and 15 other people injured when an angry shopper used pepper spray.

Several of the incidents took place at Wal-Mart stores as millions of Americans loaded up on holiday purchases.

Updated 10:39 a.m. ET: Police said they were investigating a possible shooting in the parking lot of Valley West Mall in West Des Moines, Iowa, NBC station WHO reported. There was no immediate report that anyone was injured.

Police got a call of shots fired shortly before 4 a.m., when the mall opened. They wouldn't say whether they had a suspect, and they reassured shoppers that the mall is safe..

Updated 9:50 a.m. ET: A 55-year-old shopper was shot and wounded during a robbery near a Wal-Mart in Myrtle Beach, S.C., NBC station WMBF reported.

Tonia Robbins, 55, was shot in the foot after two men demanded her purse shortly after 1 a.m. ET Friday as she stood by the trunk of her car with friends.

Updated 9:45 a.m. ET: An explosive device was found at a break room at a Wal-Mart in Cave Creek, Ariz., according to reports Friday. 

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said a suspicious package was found inside a refrigerator in the store break room on Thursday. The store was evacuated as a precaution while deputies investigated the package.

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Updated at 9:40 a.m. ET: A Black Friday shopper was shot and critically injured during a robbery outisde a Wal-Mart in San Leandro, Calif., early Friday, police said.

Police patrolling the parking lot found a victim suffering a gunshot wound and a possible suspect being detained by family members of the victim.

Police said the victims were walking to their car with their purchases and were approached by multiple suspects who demanded the merchandise.

A fight ensued and one suspect pulled out a gun and shot one of the victims. Some of the victims wrestled down one suspect as the other suspect fled the scene.

The victim who was shot is in critical but stable condition at a local hospital. The suspect in custody is an adult male in his mid '20s, but it is not known if he was the shooter.

Updated at 7.30 a.m. ET: An angry woman used pepper spray when Black Friday bargain-hunters tried to cut in line at a crowded Wal-Mart store in Los Angeles late Thursday, leaving 15 people with minor injuries. The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 p.m. PT (1:20 a.m. ET Friday) in the San Fernando Valley as shoppers looking for deals were let inside the outlet.

NBC News reported police said no more than 15 were hurt, 10 of them for the effects of inhalation of pepper spray.

Police Lt. Abel Parga said a woman used pepper spray, then left. Parga said police were looking for the woman and no arrests have been made. "It was an unhappy customer,'' he said.

A witness told Los Angeles' NBC4 that the incident started as people waited in line for the new Xbox 360.

The witness said a woman with two children in tow became upset with the way people were pushing in line. The witness said the woman pulled out pepper spray and sprayed the other people.

NBC News quoted a police officer as saying the flare-up was triggered when a crowd rushed toward merchandise following a "big reveal" of items that had been hidden by draping.

Update at 5:45 a.m. ET: Authorities say gunfire erupted at a North Carolina mall as holiday shoppers gathered, the Associated Press reported.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said detectives were looking for two suspects after gunfire rang out at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville early Friday. No injuries were reported.

The first shots were fired around 2 a.m. outside the mall near a food court entrance. Investigators say several more shots were fired after one of the suspects ran inside the mall. (article source)

Happy Thankgiving to my friends, family, and fellow bloggers!

 

 We all have something to be thankful for.

 Sometimes it isn’t easy to remember what is good in your life.But if you think about it…

long enough…

You’ll come up with the answer.

Have a thoughtful Turkey Day!                    - - Dave

How White Supremacists Are Trying to Make an American Town a Model for Right-Wing Extremism

I still remember what a peaceful and nice town Kalispell was in 1995 when my wife and I visited there. We stayed in a nice motel overlooking Big Mountain, a ski resort. We didn’t see any signs of neo-Nazis back then. It’s with regret, that I share this article with you. Extremists are getting more militant every year. Hate has found a foothold in the Flathead Valley: 

“The Pioneer Little Europe (PLE) movement has brought dozens of white supremacists to the Flathead Valley. They are increasingly making their presence known by staging public events, openly recruiting and distributing racist literature, stocking up on firearms at area gun shows while dressed in neo-Nazi clothing, working for local anti-gun control and anti-abortion campaigns (according to Gaede), and issuing violent threats to perceived enemies.

The growing numbers of PLE white supremacists in the Flathead Valley parallels a recent influx to the area of ultra right-wing "Patriot" movement leaders and their followers. Their combined forces are rapidly transforming the region into the hottest flash point of right-wing extremism in the country.

Nationwide the anti-government Patriot movement is surging, and the number of racist hate groups has surpassed 1,000 for the first time since the Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading authority on extremism, began tracking white supremacist activity.” (Read the rest of the story here)

Reefer Madness, Gooey tar paralyzes 150 vehicles, and a Texas teen steps in a sinkhole

               Good Morning Humboldt County!

 C’mon in this blustery morning and have a hot up of coffee with me. Make yourself comfortable and pull up a seat, I have a trio of stories to start your day:

 

Reefer Madness: CA Cop Worries Legalizing Pot Will Make Window Washers Fall From High-Rises -- And Kill Passersby

Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department’s Robert McMahon has been drinking the Kool-Aid, and he is very worried about how decriminalized pot may affect California's future. His vision is straight ouf of a 1930s pot propaganda film.“What will happen to our kids if this stuff is legal? Think about 20 years from now what L.A. will look like?” he asks RollingOut.com. McMahon is of the following opinion:

“We’re talking about loss of work and collisions, work-related industrial injuries. Somebody comes to work stoned, and they are working some heavy equipment or up on a high-rise — a window washer that’s stoned — not only could he [or she] injure himself, but some of his or her negligence could cause someone else to be injured.” (emphasis added)

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

Gooey tar paralyzes more than 150 vehicles in Pa.

More than 150 cars were disabled and countless others damaged after a tanker truck spilled sticky goo along nearly 40 miles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Tuesday night, officials said.

A leaking valve on the tanker, which was transporting liquid driveway sealant, caused black tar-like fluid to flood the highway, stopping motorists in their tracks as their wheels and undercarriages became mired in sludge.

The tanker began leaking near New Castle, Pa., and continued to spill sealant as it drove eastbound for 39 miles until it exited the turnpike at a service plaza in Oakmont, Turnpike spokesman Bill Capone said. The driver was not aware until getting off the turnpike that the tanker was leaking, Capone told WTAE.com.

Sinkhole swallows Texas teen standing on street corner

Houston-area residents have to wonder if they'll be next after a teen who was standing on a street corner was swallowed by a sinkhole that opened suddenly when an underground water main burst. Giovanni Long, 16, told khou.com that he fell several feet and was under water for about 15 seconds as he tried to claw his way out of a hole 6 feet deep and 10 feet wide as he was walking in Kleinwood, a suburb northwest of downtown Houston.

"Everything beneath me crumbled," he told the website after the Monday afternoon incident. "I didn't know what to do." "I was trying to dig my way out of the hole, but the ground kept breaking back into me," added Long, who finally got out with a few scratches on his back and a sprained ankle. "It's funny now that I think about it ... but when it happened, it was actually scary." Why the 12-inch water line broke wasn't determined, but it's possible that recent rain after months of drought caused the ground to shift.

Time to walk on down the road…

A Gaga Thanksgiving, a Duck hunting town, and ‘Father Dollar Bill’ dies

Gaga and Tony Bennett perform a duet…now I’ve heard everything.

 Good Morning Humboldt County!

Good to see today. I’m glad you stopped by. There’s some virtual hot coffee available, so grab a cup and a comfortable seat. Here’s today’s offerings:

 

Celebrate Thanksgiving by watching Lady Gaga deep-fry waffles

ABC is celebrating Thanksgiving this year with "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving," a 90-minute prime-time special hosted by, naturally, Lady Gaga. The first promotions for the special, which was conceived and directed by Gaga herself, seem to preview an unexpected side of the well-known provocateur that her fans may have not previously seen. Rather than shocking outfits or elaborate stage performances (though those may be in store as well), ABC has announced that the special will feature Gaga performing a duet with 85-year-old jazz singer Tony Bennett, a tearful interview with Katie Couric and Gaga learning to make deep-fried turkey and waffles for her Thanksgiving guests with chef Art Smith.

Duck hunting is an obsession in U.S. town

Rocker Ted Nugent has hunted duck in the state of Arkansas. So have former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The small town of Stuttgart, population 9,745, is known as the duck capital of the world. For the next two months, thousands of hunters will contribute more than about $1 million a day to the local economy, according to the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce.

The town thrives on its duck hunting heritage. Businesses erect banners welcoming hunters. A local motel is named the Duck Inn and has the Duck Blind Lounge. The Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie hosts a permanent exhibit called the "Waterfowl Wing" that duplicates a duck hunt, and posh duck lodges sit on prime hunting land on the outskirts of Stuttgart.

Jordan Johnson, 33, started hunting at age 14. He said duck hunting is an experience accessible to anyone in Arkansas. "Duck hunting in Arkansas is more about sharing the outdoor experience with friends, family and business associates than hunting ducks," Johnson said. "There are just as many business and family decisions made in a duck blind as there are at any boardroom or golf course."

Rev. Maurice Chase, 'Father Dollar Bill,' dies at 92

Funeral services were pending Monday for the Rev. Maurice Chase, a Catholic priest known as "Father Dollar Bill" for his holiday giveaways of $1 bills to the homeless on Skid Row.
Chase, 92, died Sunday night at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer, according to his nephew, Robert Boyd.
"He was a really great, colorful, wonderful man," he said.
Chase was a fixture on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles on holidays such as Easter and Thanksgiving. The homeless and poor would line up for blocks as Chase would hand out $1 bills -- or sometimes larger denominations to the particularly needy.
On Easter, Chase stood outside the Salvation Army shelter and handed out about $20,000, much of which was donated by celebrities including Bob Newhart and Dolores Hope. Last Thanksgiving, he handed out about $15,000.

Time to walk on down the road…

Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion, c.1954 by Salvador Dali

time is stranger than ever before

liquid seconds dripping on the floor

No one uses a clock anymore

wristwatches leave the skin sore

time running out on the poor

we’re all going out the same door

forever more

forever more

-Dave

 

Deadly dog treats, LA street slides into the Pacific, Nebraska sues over 420 vanity license plate

           Good Morning Humboldt County!

The coffees on…c’mon in, grab a cup and a seat and let’s start this day with a few stories. The days are flying by, so it’s nice to start them off slowly with this quiet time. Enjoy: 

Chicken jerky treats linked to mystery illnesses, deaths in dogs

Chicken jerky treats may be to blame for dozens of new reports of mysterious illnesses and some deaths in dogs, prompting a renewed warning for pet owners by the Food and Drug Administration.

At least 70 dogs have been sickened so far this year after reportedly eating chicken jerky products imported from China, FDA officials said. That’s up from 54 reports of illness in 2010. Some of the dogs have died, according to the anecdotal reports from pet owners and veterinarians. The new warning follows previous FDA cautions about chicken jerky treats in 2007 and 2008. But after a high of 156 reports of illness in 2007, the number of complaints dropped. Now, it's rising again. Dog owners and vets are reporting that animals may be stricken with a range of illnesses within days or hours of eating chicken jerky, including kidney failure and Fanconi syndrome, a condition characterized by low glucose.

Chunk of LA street, cliff slide into Pacific

A large chunk of a Los Angeles street and the coastal bluff it sat on crumbled into the ocean amid heavy rains on Sunday.

A section of Paseo Del Mar in the San Pedro area that for months had been creeping toward the ocean collapsed as a storm struck Southern California, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement.

The mayor said there were no injuries and no property was damaged. The scenic route had been long closed. It had been bisected by 25-foot-deep fissures in places and the city had erected a chain link fence and warning signs. The fissures first appeared last spring, and engineers had been monitoring potential landslide risk. The peninsula's scenic qualities prompted decades of homebuilding that some experts blame for further destabilizing the historically unstable ocean bluffs.

Nebraska refuses pot-promoting vanity plate, ACLU sues

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Nebraska's motor vehicle department for refusing to issue a personalized license plate that refers to an unofficial holiday known as National Pot Smoking Day.

An attorney who supports marijuana legalization had requested a plate reading "NE 420", letters and numerals that refer to Nebraska and April 20, the date of the unofficial holiday.Frank Shoemaker, the attorney from Holbrook, Nebraska, who requested the plate, is the sponsor of a petition drive for a state ballot measure next year to legalize marijuana.Beverly Neth, director of the DMV, refused to issue the plate and said the "420" numerals were used to promote marijuana use, an illegal drug in the state.

Officials aren’t so picky in Ohio (photo above)

She said the numbers were also a combination that could be associated with Adolf Hitler, who was born on April 20, 1889, and the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, which took place on April 20, 1999. Amy Miller, Nebraska ACLU legal director, said there was nothing obscene or offensive about Shoemaker's proposed plate. "It's purely political speech relating to a current ballot initiative." The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that license plates are a legitimate place for personal and political expression, said Tracy Hightower-Henne, an ACLU volunteer cooperating attorney in Omaha.

Time to walk on down the road…

As It Stands: Federal study reveals ‘Fracking’ safety concerns

              
 By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

One of the biggest challenges in the 21st century is meeting our energy needs. 
Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a proven technology that has been around since the 1940s, but has recently come under close scrutiny for safety reasons.
A federal report released on Nov. 10, said the shale gas industry should take “urgent action to improve drilling practices” or regulators and the energy industry risk a public backlash that could slow development.
In a time when jobs are desperately needed, unlocking massive supplies of oil and clean-burning natural gas from dense deposits of shale is a financial boon. Fracking has been used in more than one million U.S. wells, and has produced more than seven billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. To learn more about the process go to: http://www.energyfromshale.org/shale-extraction-process.
 There’s no doubt that fracking has helped local economies and made a large contribution to our energy needs in America. Unfortunately, the process involved in fracking has produced toxic side effects. Rather than get into why these side effects weren’t discovered decades sooner, I will address the known facts that are available today.

 In June 2005, Susan Wallace-Babb walked outside her house and almost immediately passed out. She was unaware of a problem with a pair of fuel storage tanks at a natural gas well less than a half-mile away. One of them had overflowed into the other causing fumes to drift to her location.
As weeks passed, whenever she went outdoors, her symptoms worsened. Wallace-Babb's doctor began to suspect she had been poisoned. Neither states nor the federal government have systematically tracked reports from people like Wallace-Babb, or comprehensively investigated how drilling affects human health.
  ProPublica, a web magazine dedicated to “Journalism in the Public Interest,” recently examined government environmental reports and private lawsuits and interviewed scores of residents, physicians and toxicologists in four states—Colorado, Texas, Wyoming and Pennsylvania—that are drilling hot spots.
 Their research showed that cases like Wallace-Babb's go back a decade in parts of Colorado and Wyoming, where drilling has taken place for years. They are just beginning to emerge in Pennsylvania, where the Marcellus Shale drilling boom began in 2008.

 Concern about such health complaints go back to 2007 when Wallace-Babb testified before Congress.
A pair of environmental monitoring water wells drilled deep into an aquifer in Pavillion, Wyo., contain high levels of cancer-causing compounds and at least one chemical commonly used in hydraulic fracturing, according to new test results released on Nov. 9 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 
The Pavillion area has been drilled extensively for natural gas for 20 years and is home to hundreds of gas wells. For a decade, residents have claimed that hydraulic fracturing in particular - has caused their water to turn black and smell like gasoline. Some residents say they suffer neurological impairment, loss of smell, and nerve pain they associate with exposure to pollutants.
Meanwhile, the gas industry - led by the Canadian company EnCana, which owns the wells in Pavillion - has denied that its activities are responsible for the contamination. Despite their denial, EnCana has supplied drinking water to the residents. 
 The wells also contained benzene at 50 times the level that is considered safe for people, as well as phenols - another dangerous human carcinogen - acetone, toluene, naphthalene and traces of diesel fuel.
The EPA said the water samples were saturated with methane gas that matched the deep layers of natural gas being drilled for energy. The research in Wyoming is separate from the agency's ongoing national study of hydraulic fracturing's effect on water supplies, and is being funded through the Superfund cleanup program.

 Another troubling aspect of the fracking process is the compounds used; the industry has steadfastly refused to divulge everything they contain. That alone has rung alarm bells that are now heard nationally. Now is not the time to bury our heads in the sand and let partisan politics take over. No one wants a battle of energy corporations versus people’s health.
 Health and contamination problems from fracking have to be taken seriously and addressed sooner, rather than later. If the industry wants to show it can be a good neighbor, now is the time to cooperate with researchers and solve these issues to everyone‘s satisfaction.
 As It Stands, I’m hopeful the fracking process can be improved  for both the people living near the active wells, and for the sake of this country’s energy supply.

Story of the Week: Lobbyists target Occupy Wall Street protestors

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

This is why we need to get rid of lobbyists.

       Good Morning Humboldt County!

Good to see you. C’mon in and enjoy a cup of hot coffee with me. Today I have a special edition exclusive for you. Call it the opening shot from the 1% ers who have decided to wage all-out class warfare.

It’s always been about the “Haves” and the “Have Nots.” Now we have a lobbying firm offering to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement. What are the Wall Streeters afraid of? Read on:

A well-known Washington lobbying firm with links to the financial industry has proposed an $850,000 plan to take on Occupy Wall Street and politicians who might express sympathy for the protests, according to a memo obtained by the MSNBC program “Up w/ Chris Hayes.”

The proposal was written on the letterhead of the lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford and addressed to one of CLGC’s clients, the American Bankers Association.

CLGC’s memo proposes that the ABA pay CLGC $850,000 to conduct “opposition research” on Occupy Wall Street in order to construct “negative narratives” about the protests and allied politicians. The memo also asserts that Democratic victories in 2012 would be detrimental for Wall Street and targets specific races in which it says Wall Street would benefit by electing Republicans instead.

According to the memo, if Democrats embrace OWS, “This would mean more than just short-term political discomfort for Wall Street. … It has the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bulls eye.”

The memo also suggests that Democratic victories in 2012 should not be the ABA’s biggest concern. “… (T)he bigger concern,” the memo says, “should be that Republicans will no longer defend Wall Street companies.”

Two of the memo’s authors, partners Sam Geduldig and Jay Cranford, previously worked for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Geduldig joined CLGC before Boehner became speaker;  Cranford joined CLGC this year after serving as the speaker’s assistant for policy. A third partner, Steve Clark, is reportedly “tight” with Boehner, according to a story by Roll Call that CLGC features on its website.

The CLGC memo raises another issue that it says should be of concern to the financial industry -- that OWS might find common cause with the Tea Party. “Well-known Wall Street companies stand at the nexus of where OWS protestors and the Tea Party overlap on angered populism,” the memo says. “…This combination has the potential to be explosive later in the year when media reports cover the next round of bonuses and contrast it with stories of millions of Americans making do with less this holiday season.”

The memo outlines a 60-day plan to conduct surveys and research on OWS and its supporters so that Wall Street companies will be prepared to conduct a media campaign in response to OWS. Wall Street companies “likely will not be the best spokespeople for their own cause,” according to the memo.  “A big challenge is to demonstrate that these companies still have political strength and that making them a political target will carry a severe political cost.” 

Part of the plan CLGC proposes is to do “statewide surveys in at least eight states that are shaping up to be the most important of the 2012 cycle.”

The memo indicates that CLGC would research who has contributed financial backing to OWS, noting that, “Media reports have speculated about associations with George Soros and others.”

"It will be vital,” the memo says, “to understand who is funding it and what their backgrounds and motives are. If we can show that they have the same cynical motivation as a political opponent it will undermine their credibility in a profound way.”  (article source)

Modern day Jesus Christ attempts to assassinate the Anti-Christ President Obama

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (photo right) told authorities it was no coincidence he looked like Jesus Christ. He was the modern day version he assured those who listened to him.

He really wanted to get on the Oprah show to spread his message(!) in a bad way, but never got the invite. Go figure.

So Oscar, aka Jesus Christ, went out with an assault rifle to gun down the Anti-Christ…none other than President Obama. Who knew?

But, as fate would have it, he was caught shortly after shooting at the side of the White House, which he reportedly wounded a couple of times. Obama and family weren’t at home when he tried to bless them with his assault rifle.

We live in really strange days folks. It’s not everyday the son of God goes on a rampage and tries to take out the leader of the free world with a semi-automatic weapon and doesn’t even come close! Somewhere in the hinterlands of America some GOP wannabe presidents are destroying their contracts with the “Great Deceiver.” God bless America!

 

  

First known foreign cyber attack on a U.S. industrial system?

Federal investigators are looking into a report that hackers managed to remotely shut down a utility's water pump in central Illinois last week, in what could be the first known foreign cyber attack on a U.S. industrial system. The Nov. 8 incident was described in a one-page report from the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, according to Joe Weiss, a prominent expert on protecting infrastructure from cyber attacks.

Cyber security experts said that the reported attack highlights the risk that attackers can break into what is known as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. They are highly specialized computer systems that control critical infrastructure — from water treatment facilities, chemicals plants and nuclear reactors to gas pipelines, dams and switches on train lines.

Canada goes to plastic money, House declares pizza a vegetable, and Backers win right to fight for Prop. 8

I wonder how long it will take counterfeiters to duplicate these?

     Good Morning Humboldt County!

I think a cup of coffee on a rainy day is a Zen-like thing when its coupled with reading. C’mon in and grab a cup of brew. Pull up a chair, and see what I’ve culled from the headlines to start your day:

Watch out counterfeiters: Canada is planning to abandon paper money

This week, our friend to the north introduced the first in its new line of all-plastic notes -- a cool $100 bill made out of a single sheet of plastic polymer and tricked out with all kinds of high-tech security features.

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The House of Representatives dealt a blow to childhood obesity warriors on Thursday by passing a bill that abandons proposals that threatened to end the reign of pizza and French fries on federally funded school lunch menus.
The scuttled changes, which would have stripped pizza's status as a vegetable and limited how often French fries could be served, stemmed from a 2010 child nutrition law calling on schools to improve the nutritional quality of lunches served to almost 32 million U.S. school children. The action is a win for the makers of frozen French fries and pizza and comes just weeks after the deep-pocketed food, beverage and restaurant industries successfully weakened government proposals for voluntary food marketing guidelines to children.

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         Backers win right to fight for Prop. 8

The California Supreme Court ruled that the sponsors of Proposition 8 have the right to defend the measure, clearing the way for federal courts to decide the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans.
Thursday's unanimous decision, written by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, strongly affirmed that ballot sponsors may represent California in defending initiatives when elected officials fail to do so. Gov. Jerry Brown and Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris have refused to challenge last year's federal ruling against Proposition 8.

Robin Tyler, left, and Diane Olson, who were among the original plaintiffs in the 2004 lawsuit that led to same-sex marriages in California, said that the California Supreme Court’s decision Thursday was not a loss for them, merely a hurdle. (Michael Robinson Chavez, Los Angeles Times)

Time to walk on down the road…

The world we live in is one big mystery…

photo source

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. --Albert Einstein

Jobless rate down, Marilyn Monroe memorabilia for sale, and it’s Guinness Record Day

             Good Morning Humboldt County!

C’mon inside on this rainy day and have a cup of coffee with me. I’ve searched out three stories for your reading entertainment this morning. Records are being set today as people from around the world try to get their name in the Guinness Book of World Records. So pull up a seat, relax, and read:

New jobless claims slide to 7- month low

New claims for unemployment insurance dropped to their lowest level in seven months, government data showed on Thursday, raising hopes that hiring may be picking up.

"The U.S. economy continues to show signs of strong momentum. The improvement in claims underscores that the gains in labor market activity over the past few months are being sustained," said Millan Mulraine, a senior macro strategist at TD Securities in New York.

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

Marilyn Monroe memorabilia going on sale at auction house

Leapin' leprechauns, it's Guinness records day

Irish leprechauns, tea-sipping Britons, Australian ABBA impersonators and the oldest yoga teacher on the planet were just some of the people setting world records Thursday.

More than 300,000 people around the world took part in the seventh annual Guinness World Records Day, in which a number of records have already been confirmed.

 

Time to walk on down the road…

Does anyone know the consensus on Vitamin D? I’m hearing two different stories…

Earlier this year while getting my annual physical at the VA Clinic, my doctor told me I can’t take enough vitamin D and prescribed it for me in large daily doses. He gushed about how it was a miracle nutrient that would prevent me from getting prostate cancer.

I was sold until I saw another (civilian) doctor last week and he told me not to take vitamin D. I didn’t need it. It was just a fad among some less-informed doctors he suggested. I left his office understandably confused.

Two polar opposite opinions on the merit of taking vitamin D coming from two doctors. I’ve been waffling about taking vitamin D since my last visit. Then I read this article today about new research showing that higher than normal levels of it can make the heart beat too fast and out of rhythm (a condition known as atrial fibrillation). 

 The way I’ve always understood it is most people get at least some of their daily needs of vitamin D from sunlight. The research out of the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah warns that everyone absorbs supplements (like vitamin D) differently and should have their blood levels tested to be safe.

If I don’t take vitamin D will I get prostate cancer? If I do will my heart go into overdrive and crash? I hate choices like this. Maybe I’d have been better off not even hearing about these conflicting studies and mindlessly gobbled the controversial nutrient forever.

As It Stands, The only way I can make a decision, after giving this dilemma great thought, is to….flip a coin!

College coach blames loss on latest video game release

As It Stands list of “Stupid Things People Say,” has been expanded today to include the following story:

I’m going to chalk this excuse up under the heading of Creative Ways to Explain Losing a Football Game...

“One week after crowd-surfing in the postgame locker room after beating West Virginia, Louisville coach Charlie Strong isn’t riding so high after his team’s 21-14 home loss to Pitt.

But Strong has a reason for the Cardinals’ sluggish follow-up to their big win: The release last Tuesday of the popular video game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3″ distracted his players from their preparation. Yes, Strong was serious. “It’s young people,” Strong said. “That’s what we’re dealing with. We’re dealing with young guys who–all of the sudden there’s something new and they want to try it, and it just engulfs them.” Hmm, we know college kids tend to waste time playing video games, but this seems like the most-ludicrous excuse ever.” [Mike Rutherford on Twitter]

Opposition to fracking in Australia growing, America’s two-tiered society, suspect wanted for shooting at White House

    Good Morning Humboldt County!

Step right in, grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and relax. The first of the three stories I have for you is on fracking (a mining procedure) in Australia. It’s becoming controversial in the states because of a recent study that shows fracking is polluting aquifers. My Times-Standard column will deal with this issue Sunday.

Opposition to fracking in Australia in Australia growing

Australia's coal seam gas industry is expected to grow into an $80 billion enterprise as demand for gas, particularly in Asia, drives rapid growth in the industry.

A big concern is a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, which involves blasting large amounts of water mixed with sand and chemicals into coal seams to free trapped gas.

The process, also known as "fracking," is used on about 8 percent of coal-seam gas wells in Queensland, although that will likely increase to 25 to 40 percent of wells as they age and the gas becomes more difficult to extract, according to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. Opponents say fracking could pollute groundwater beneath prime agricultural land, but the industry says safety precautions mean that water quality will not be impacted and that the industry can co-exist with farmers.

Middle-class areas shrink as America divides into 'two-tiered society' of rich and poor

The portion of American families living in middle-income neighborhoods has declined significantly since 1970, according to a new study, as rising income inequality left a growing share of families in neighborhoods that are mostly low-income or mostly affluent.

The study, conducted by Stanford University and scheduled for release on Wednesday by the Russell Sage Foundation and Brown University, uses census data to examine family income at the neighborhood level in the country’s 117 biggest metropolitan areas.The findings show a changed map of prosperity in the United States over the past four decades, with larger patches of affluence and poverty and a shrinking middle.

         Suspect hunted after bullet strikes White House

                                 UPDATE BELOW

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating whether a shooting incident in Washington on Friday night was a rash attempt to fire at the White House.

Initial police reports said the Friday shooting at around 9 p.m. involved two cars speeding along Constitution Avenue, the wide street south of the White House and the Ellipse. The shots were believed to have been fired from a moving car as it passed along the 1600 block, a little over a third of a mile from the White House, in an area between the White House and the Washington Monument.

The car from which U.S. Park Service police believe the shots were fired was found about seven blocks away, crashed into a barrier, with an assault-type rifle still inside. About 10 shell casings were also found in the car, indicating that the shots were fired from inside the vehicle, NBC News reported. The car has been traced to Oscar Ramiro Ortega, 21 (Photo left), who has connections to Idaho, Utah, and Texas, authorities said. He is also known by the name Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, according to the Secret Service.

The latest on this story:White House shooting suspect arrested

Time to walk on down the road…

As It Stands features Artwork by Nacho Diaz

 

This artist has a very unique style that I think you’ll appreciate…

Reason # 24 for living in Humboldt County: Nightmare roads identified in congestion study

The single most congested stretch of highway in the United States, according to the researchers, is on the Harbor Freeway in Los Angeles, specifically the three-mile stretch of northbound California Highway 110 near Dodger Stadium.

The report estimates more than 1.4 million person hours are wasted each year by people sitting in traffic at that one intersection, using 2.1 million gallons of gasoline. A person hour is an hour spent by one person; if six people are in a car stuck for an hour in a traffic jam, that's six person hours lost.

The second-worst stretch of highway is just a few miles to the south, where the Harbor Freeway intersects with Interstate 10 just south of downtown Los Angeles near the Staples Center. In that six-and-a-half-mile corridor, 1.1 million person hours are wasted and 3.6 million gallons of fuel are lost each year.

Six of the seven most congested stretches of highway in the country are in Los Angeles; the other is New York City’s Van Wyck Expressway just outside John F. Kennedy International Airport. (Article source)

Nightmare roads:
Farther down the list, it seems every big city has its nightmare road, including:

• San Francisco: Eastbound Interstate 80 at the Bay Bridge.
• Houston: Eastbound Interstate 10 at T.C. Jester Boulevard.
• Chicago: The Stevenson Expressway at State Street.
• Seattle: Southbound Interstate 405 at Coal Creek Parkway.

4 reasons songs get stuck in your head, oil boom in ND raises rents, pushes seniors out, and study links solvent to Parkinson’s disease

          Good Morning Humboldt County!

I’m glad you could make it today. I have some hot coffee on so grab a cup, pull up a seat, and check out the trio of headlines I picked to start your day.

    4 reasons a song gets stuck in your head

“Known as earworms, these random snippets of songs or melodies pop into our minds repeating themselves again and again like a broken record. For me, another one was that silly jingle from the McDonald's filet-of-fish commercial, which undoubtedly would delight advertisers but I found both amusing and mildly annoying.

So it helps to know that earworms are an incredibly common experience: Studies suggest that 90 percent of people get them at least once a week. Over the last decade, researchers have spent time collecting data to learn who gets earworms, how often they occur, how long they last and which songs won't budge from our brains.

Now, a new British study in the journal Psychology of Music has tried to understand their origins. They looked at how earworms, which psychologists call involuntary musical imagery, get started in the first place.”

Oil boom raises rents in ND, pushes seniors out

After living all of her 82 years in the same community, Lois Sinness left her hometown this month, crying and towing a U-Haul packed with her every possession.

She didn't want to go, but the rent on her $700-a-month apartment was going up almost threefold because of heightened demand for housing generated by North Dakota's oil bonanza.

Other seniors in her complex and across the western part of the state are in the same predicament. "Our rents were raised, and we did not have a choice," Sinness said. "We're all on fixed incomes, living mostly on Social Security, so it's been a terrible shock."

                Study links Parkinson's disease to industrial solvent

Researchers found a six-fold increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's in individuals exposed in the workplace to trichloroethylene (TCE). Although many uses for TCE have been banned around the world, the chemical is still used as a degreasing agent.

In 1997, the US authorities banned its use as an anaesthetic, skin disinfectant, grain fumigant and coffee decaffeinating agent, but it is still used as a degreasing agent for metal parts.

Time to walk on down the road…