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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of Carolina Naturally.
Today happens to be Rubber Duckie Day ...!
 
Carolina Naturally is read in 205 countries around the world daily.   
  
Dreams do come true ... !
Today is - Make Your Dreams Come True Day

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Today in History

1397
John of Gaunt marries Katherine Rouet.
1846
President James Polk dispatches General Zachary Taylor and 4,000 troops to the Texas Border as war with Mexico looms.
1862
Lincoln names Edwin M. Stanton Secretary of War.
1900
To combat Czech nationalism, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary decrees German the official language of the Imperial Army.
1919
California votes to ratify the prohibition amendment.
1923
Hitler denounces the Weimar Republic as 5,000 storm troopers demonstrate in Germany.
1927
A woman takes a seat on the NY Stock Exchange breaking the all-male tradition.
1931
The bridge connecting New York and New Jersey is named the George Washington Memorial Bridge.
1937
The United States bars Americans from serving in the Civil War in Spain.
1943
General Leclerc’s Free French forces merge with the British under Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery in Libya.
1944
Plants are destroyed and 64 U.S. aircraft are lost in an air attack in Germany.
1945
The Red Army opens an offensive in South Poland, crashing 25 miles through the German lines.
1947
British troops replace striking truck drivers.
1955
Chase National and the Bank of Manhattan agree to merge resulting in the second largest U.S. bank.
1965
Two U.S. planes are shot down in Laos while on a combat mission.
1968
U.S. reports shifting most air targets from North Vietnam to Laos.
1976
Argentina ousts a British envoy in dispute over the Falkland Islands.
1980
The United States offers Pakistan a two-year aid plan to counter the Soviet threat in Afghanistan.
1982
Air Florida Flight 90 Boeing 737 jet crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge shortly after takeoff, then plunges into the Potomac River; 78 people, including 4 motorists, are killed.
1990
In Virginia, Douglas Wilder, the first African American elected governor of a US state, takes office.

The cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran that's tearing apart the Middle East, explained

by Max Fisher · Monday, January 04
The supposedly ancient Sunni-Shia divide is in fact very modern — and it's not really about religion.
Only a few days into the new year, the Middle East has already taken a significant turn for the worse. The region's greatest rivalry, between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has become rapidly and significantly more toxic in the past few days, and it could have repercussions across the Middle East.
On Saturday, protesters in Tehran attacked the Saudi embassy, ransacking and burning it as Iran ignored or refused Saudi requests to protect the building. Saudi Arabia formally broke off diplomatic relations with Iran on Sunday, on Monday saying it would cut commercial ties and ban Saudi travel to Iran as well. Sudan and Bahrain, both Saudi allies, severed ties as well.
In some ways, this sort of diplomatic confrontation was perhaps inevitable: Saudi Arabia and Iran see one another as enemies, and are locked in an escalating competition for influence and dominance of the Middle East. That rivalry goes far beyond just words, with both countries backing militant groups and proxy forces throughout the region, particularly in Syria. Their competition is a major driver of conflict in the Middle East, including the growing violence along Sunni-Shia lines.
There had been hints that Saudi Arabia and Iran, perhaps exhausted by their conflict, might be willing to deescalate in 2016, maybe even finding peace deals for the wars in Syria and Yemen. But this week's events have ended those hopes, and suggest things may rather get worse. That's not just bad for Saudi Arabia and Iran — it is bad for the entire Middle East, as both regional conflicts such as Syria and generalized Sunni-Shia tension are likely to increase.
We are only four days into 2016, and already it is a year in which things in the Middle East have taken, impossible though it may seem, a significant turn for the worse. Here's how it happened and why this has Mideast analysts so worried.
This began with an execution in Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that it had executed more people in a single day than most death penalty countries, including the United States, kill in an entire year: 47, at 12 different sites across the country. Some were killed by beheading, according to the Guardian, and others by firing squad.
What makes the mass execution most significant is not its scale but rather the name of one man among the 47, many of whom were Sunni jihadists and al-Qaeda terrorists. That name is Nimr al-Nimr: a prominent religious leader from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority.
Nimr's execution outraged the Middle East's Shia communities and the leaders of Shia-majority countries. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi condemned the execution, warning of "repercussions" for regional security. Iran threatened vague consequences, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards telling Saudi Arabia to expect "harsh revenge." Protests broke out in Bahrain, Pakistan. In Iran, protesters set fire first to a Saudi consulate building in Mashhad and then to the embassy in Tehran.
The government's choice to kill Nimr wasn't just about this one religious leader. For Saudi Arabia, Nimr represented the danger of internal Shia dissent, behind which it saw Iran's nefarious hand — and perhaps also an opportunity to generate more support for its struggling war in Yemen. For Shia throughout the region, though, Nimr was a symbol of Saudi Arabia's oppression of Shia, and of the dangers that Shia face in the mostly Sunni Middle East.

Are We Heading to a Global Economic Catastrophe?

Experts Think Gas Prices About To Go Lower Than EVER – You Won’t Believe How Low

Experts Think Gas Prices About To Go Lower Than EVER – You Won’t Believe How Low (IMAGES)
Now, this is LOW. Thanks, Obama!
Read more 

You Should Pay Attention To The 'Friedrichs' Supreme Court Case

The Supreme Court has again decided to reconsider "settled law." The goal is to bankrupt public employee unions by denying them funding for services they are legally bound to provide to every worker – including nonmembers.

The Death of the Professional ...

Breitbart Racist Is Attacking Neil Degrasse Tyson: ‘He Is Stupid And His Politics Are Dumb’

Breitbart Racist Is Attacking Neil Degrasse Tyson: ‘He Is Stupid And His Politics Are Dumb’
Want to piss off a wingnut?
Tell them a black guy is smarter than they are.
Read more 

Mexico’s murder rate has led to decrease in men’s life expectancy

Mexico’s murder rate has led to decrease in men’s life expectancyMexico’s murder rate has led to decrease in men’s life expectancy
Mexico’s staggering homicide rate has taken a toll on the mortality rate for men — and it could be even worse than the statistics indicate, a new study from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health suggests. Improvements in living standards and in the availability of...

How Fox News Helps Domestic Terrorists

How Fox News Helped Domestic TerroristsHow Fox News enabled the rise of deadly domestic terrorists who want to kill your family.

‘Militiamen’ Live Hand To Mouth On Gov’t Disability And Their Wives’ Hard Work

Experts: ‘Militiamen’ Live Hand To Mouth On Gov’t Disability And Their Wives’ Hard Work
An expert gives an insightful look into the real lives of the ‘Murican “patriot.”

Dog as the Original Terrorist ...

North Korea Claims Successful Detonation Of Hydrogen Bomb

North Korea Claims Successful Detonation Of Hydrogen Bomb

Police chiefs accuse Ohio sheriff of posing as DEA rep to steal drugs from their departments

A group of Ohio police chiefs claim that a local sheriff stole drugs from their departments, falsely claiming that he was collecting the illegal substances for disposal by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Firefighters called to reported fire in abandoned grain elevator found man juggling flaming batons

Firefighters responding to a suspected grain elevator fire in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday night opened the doors to find a man juggling flaming batons.
The Engine 10 crew received a 911 call at around 7pm reporting a fire on the eighth floor of the building, Fort Worth fire spokesman Lt. Kyle Falkner said.
“When they got up there they saw a guy juggling flaming batons in the grain elevator,” Falkner said. He said the man didn’t have a reason to be there. “They put his torches out,” he said.
Falkner said there was no damage to the building. Fort Worth police did not have any reports of arrests or officers sent to the location, said Cpl. Tracey Knight, a police spokeswoman.

Suspected shoplifter had steaks down his pants together with cream cheese and beer up his shirt

A 45-year-old man allegedly stuffed a pack of steaks in his pants, then placed a pack of cream cheese and two beers in his shirt at a supermarket in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Sunday morning, according to a police report.
Wesley Deane Stiller was arrested for shoplifting at the Food Lion at about 9:30am. An employee told officers that Stiller entered the store at about 9:10am with another man.
While he was in the store, Stiller walked over to the meat counter, selected a pack of steaks, and placed them down the front of his pants. Stiller then passed the dairy cooler and placed a pack of cream cheese and placed it up his shirt, the police report states.
He then passed the beer cooler and placed two 24-ounce cans of beer up his shirt. Stiller and the other man got in a check-out line, and while the other man paid for his items, Stiller did not, the report states. He was detained by an officer as he was talked towards the exit door. Stiller was charged with a first shoplifting offense and booked into the Myrtle Beach jail.

During Great Recession employees drank less on the job ...

During Great Recession employees drank less on the job, but more afterwardsDuring Great Recession employees drank less on the job, but more afterwards
Periods of economic uncertainty tend to influence drinking problems among people who lose their jobs, as some turn to alcohol due to stress or because they have more free time and fewer responsibilities. But what about the drinking habits of people who remain...

California lawmakers seek to end the 'tampon tax'

California lawmakers seek to end the 'tampon tax' with new bill

Jennifer Lawrence: When You Attack Planned Parenthood, You’re Attacking All Women

Jennifer Lawrence: When You Attack Planned Parenthood, You’re Attacking All Women
‘I wouldn’t have been able to get condoms and birth control and all these things I needed as a normal teenager who was growing up in a Jesus house.’

Why Vacation Sex Is Good for Your Relationship

Sometimes love can lose its luster, and couples can drop sex down a few notches on the priority list. But it turns out all these jaded lovers might need is a stay at a hotel.

Abandoned Hospital Mystery Light Solved

A mysterious light seen in an abandoned building reveals much about the psychology of perception.

Six science mysteries that might be solved in 2016

Conceptual image of a 'Yeti' (YouTube)
From the origin of life to the fate of the universe, there’s plenty scientists simply don’t know. But they are making progress.

We have not always been the only human species around ...

As an Anthropologist I know there are many extinct human species. Here are 10 of the most mysterious
Modern humans or Homo sapiens are now the only living species in their genus, but several other species of ancient humans have existed through history. Our friends at Hybrid Librarian have put together this informative video which lists 10 of the most mysterious extinct human species. This is so interesting!
To think there were people roaming the earth over 600,000 years ago! It’s hard for us to actually perceive that sort of time scale in our heads, you really have to sit and think about to appreciate just how far back some of these species go.
Boskop man at number 7 is one that really peaked my interest. Their heads are so big that it reminds me so much of how we would describe aliens .. .

Mushroom-Grown Chairs

Mushrooms could be used to produce the manufacturing material of the future

Woman injured after head-on collision between two horse-drawn buggies

One person was injured following a collision between two horse-drawn buggies south of Middlebury, Indiana, last Friday.
According to a report from the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department, the crash happened shortly before 9pm on County Road 41 north of County Road 34, south of Middlebury.
Deputies said a buggy driven by Eldon Miller, 22, of Millersburg, was travelling south on County Road 41 and went left of centre . Miller's buggy struck the left front of a northbound buggy driven by Freeman Slabach, 52, of Goshen. Slabach's buggy overturned.
A passenger in the second buggy, Marlene Slabach, 50, of Goshen, was taken to IU Health Goshen Hospital for treatment of a laceration to her face and back pain, deputies said. No one else was injured, deputies said. No citations were issued at the scene.
There's a short video of the aftermath here.

Miniature horse learned how to open gate of field before running away to join the fire brigade

A miniature horse named Harvey is back home after learning to open the gate to his paddock, escaping and attempting to join the fire brigade. Firefighters in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, arrived at work on Monday morning to find the miniature horse had mysteriously appeared in the yard at the town's fire station.
Instead of signing it up as a mascot, they issued an appeal to find out where it had come from, and swiftly discovered it was missing from a paddock up the road.
"Just shown up to work and there is a pony in the yard," said a spokesman for Trowbridge fire brigade. "I have seen some weird things in my time but coming face to face with a pony at work just about takes the biscuit."

Sand Tiger Shark Nursery Found in Busy NY Bay

The rare shark has taken up residence near the bustling shore waters of Long Island's Great South Bay.

A Whale's Heart

How do you send a blue whale heart from Canada to Germany? It isn't easy.

Animal News

So far at least, bowhead whales off Alaska may be benefiting from a warmer Arctic. 
The finds boost Australia’s total number of known freshwater fish species by nearly 10 percent.

Animal Pictures