When one vote ended a political career

A Time Magazine report illustrates what will surely happen to many Congressmen in the November elections.

From the report:

As the House prepares for its final push on health care, there are Democratic members, particularly those from conservative districts, who are facing a hard truth: This is the kind of vote that can end a career.

It was the night of August 5, 1993, and Bill Clinton was one vote short of what he needed to get his economic plan through the House--a vote he got, when freshman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (pictured) switched hers.

The other side of the Chamber seemed to explode. Republicans pulled out their hankies and started waving them at her, chanting: "Bye-bye, Margie."

Rep. Margolies-Mezvinsky had sealed her fate with that one vote to please Bill Clinton.

She found out the Republicans were right when they waved good bye to her after her vote. She learned the hard way that voting against the wishes of her constituents can have consequences.

Her Main Line Philadelphia district was the most Republican-leaning of any represented by a Democrat in Congress. She was not re-elected.

She was not the only one to be charmed by Bill Clinton. By the next election one-third of the women who had come to the House in the Class of 1992 were gone--largely as the result of that one vote.

How many Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky’s will there be this year? Probably dozens.

Link here and here.

Obama and the white coat redux

Obama brought in healthcare professionals from all 50 states for a photo-op (shown above) in the Rose Garden to help shore up support for ObamaCare last October.

It didn’t work.

Fast forward to March, 2010:

Barack Obama speaks about healthcare reform in the East Room of the White House in Washington March 3, 2010 as another group of "white coats" stand behind him.

Will his new “white-coat brigade” help him this time?

Did Obama sell a judgeship for a healthcare vote?

Obama named the brother of an undecided House Democrat to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Barack Obama hosted ten House Democrats at the White House. All of them voted against the health care bill in November. He is obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes.

One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah. The White House just sent out a press release announcing that today President Obama nominated Matheson's brother Scott M. Matheson, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Whether or not Scott Matheson has the credentials to be a judge, the question is: was his nomination used to buy off his brother's vote?

Link

Coffin with cell phone on sale at Verona fair

Shoppers at the international luxury fair in Verona, Italy found a cell-phone-equipped golden coffin.

The coffin was priced at a mere 280,000 euros (381,000 dollars).

No mention of how many minutes of talk-time was included.

Link

Chili 50 peso coins in circulation with country misspelled

Oops ... A Chilean 50 peso coin in Santiago, shows the name of the country misspelled as "chiie," rather than "Chile." More than a million of the coins were issued in 2008 and no one noticed until late last year.

The mint director was fired over the incident. Chances are the new mint director will use a spell check for any future coins.

Many of the misspelled coins are still in circulation although collectors are buying them up because they feel they are rare and will increase in value.

Ordinarily a 50 peso coin from Chile is worth about 10 cents

Link

WSJ: healthcare 51-vote option is abuse of power

From the Wall Street Journal regarding the use of ‘reconciliation’ (nuclear option) to ram ObamaCare through:

Abuse of power. An undemocratic disservice to our people and to the Senate's institutional role.

A string of electoral defeats and the great unpopularity of ObamaCare can't stop Democrats from their self-appointed rendezvous with liberal destiny—ramming a bill through Congress on a narrow partisan vote.

What we are about to witness is an extraordinary abuse of traditional Senate rules to pass a bill merely because they think it's good for the rest of us, and because they fear their chance to build a European welfare state may never come again.

Limited to 20 hours of debate, reconciliation bills need a mere 50 votes in the Senate, with the Vice President as tie-breaker, thus circumventing the filibuster.

Both Democrats and Republicans have used reconciliation on budget bills so Democrats are now claiming that using it to pass ObamaCare is no big dealHowever, it was never intended for use on significant multi-billion dollar legislation such as ObamaCare.

Democrats are only resorting to it now because their plan is in so much political trouble—within their own party, and even more among the general public—and because they've failed to make their case through persuasion.

More here.

Saudi student received 400 traffic violations since 2008

A Saudi Arabian student has racked up 400 traffic violations since 2008 in Dubai for a grand total of 356,000 dirhams ($97,000) in fines.

The photo above shows traffic in Dubai.

The student had eluded police for the past two years but they finally caught up with him and have made him cough up 256,000 dirhams ($69,754) for "normal" traffic violations, the Khaleej Times reported.

Additionally, he also must pay 100,000 dirhams ($27,247) to recover his car which was impounded by police, the paper said.

Link

Report: the flu season that fizzled

It was the flu pandemic that wasn’t.

The H1N1 swine flu came and mostly went and seasonal flu has barely come at all in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal said in a survey of the flu front.

The media kept the flu scare in headlines until the facts were indisputable that it was NOT a flu pandemic as predicted.

Were members of the media more concerned about our health or about the ‘health’ of the healthcare bill in congress?

The longer swine flu stayed in the headlines, the easier it should have been to pass the bloated 2,000+ page healthcare bill.

From the Wall Street Journal article at the link below:

It’s a puzzle why there isn’t more swine flu around, given how many people haven’t been infected or vaccinated, according to the experts.

The lack of punch from seasonal flu is also a mystery.

There is a high possibility the swine flu scare was mostly hype created by the media. Otherwise why were so many doctors trying to downplay the flu severity all last fall?

It was the flu pandemic that wasn’t. It was the flu season that fizzled.

Link

Someone should tell Biden the 20th Century ended in 1999

One last boot shine before inspection

A member of the Ukrainian honor guard wipes his boot during a memorial ceremony for those who died in the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979-1989) in Kiev, Ukraine.

Global warming “proof” keeps unraveling

Reports at the links below say the head of the 'Climategate' research unit admits sending 'pretty awful emails' to hide data.

Scientists at the heart of the Climategate row were yesterday accused by a leading academic body of undermining science's credibility.

The Institute of Physics said 'worrying implications' had been raised after it was revealed the University of East Anglia had manipulated data on global warming.

While being grilled by the Science and Technology committee in the House of Commons professor Phil Jones denied trying to suppress data.

The photo shows Professor Phil Jones being grilled by the Science and Technology committee in the British House of Commons.

The e-mails uncovered last November, however told a different story.

They revealed scientists plotting how to avoid responding to Freedom of Information requests from climate change skeptics.

Some even appeared to show the researchers discussing how to manipulate raw data from tree rings about historical temperatures.

In one, Professor Jones talks about using a 'trick' to massage figures and 'hide the decline'.

Professor Jones, who was forced to stand down as head of the CRU last year, said it was not 'standard practice' to release data and computer models so other scientists could check and challenge research.

More here and here.

Who said Brutus Thornapple* was dumb?

*Brutus Thornapple is the 'born loser' in the Born Loser comic strip shown above.

Desperate to pass healthcare Democrats face hurdles

A CNN report at the link below is titled, “Democrats face health care hurdles amid talk of reconciliation.”

Reconciliation, also called the “nuclear option” where only 51 votes are needed instead of 60 votes.

Democrats are quick to point out it has been used in the past by Republicans. However, when it was used the past it was only used for minor items such as to approve judgeships but never for significant multi-billion dollar legislation such as ObamaCare.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that reconciliation "cannot be used to pass comprehensive health care reform."

Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, added that it "won't work because it was never designed for that kind of significant legislation."

They may try to use it anyway even though it would be political suicide for scores of Democrat politicians.

If the 51-vote option is used, buying votes such as the “Louisiana Purchase” to buy Senator Mary Landreau’s vote and the “Cornhusker bribe” for Nelsons vote will not be necessary.

If the 51-vote option is not used, it may take a lot more bribes this time around.

Link

Y2K-like bug in PlayStation 3 Network

Sony has warned that a glitch has knocked PlayStation 3 users off the game console's online network and said that data loss could occur if gamers continued using the machines.

Sony said in a blog post Monday that the problem was likely caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system, reminiscent of the Y2K bug a decade ago.

The problem is affecting older PlayStation 3 models, but not the newest slim version that went on sale in September.

Link

Speaking of the Y2K bug...

Remember the Y2K “millenium bug” scare ten years ago?


Airplanes were supposed to fall out of the sky. Nuclear power plants were to melt down like the disaster in Chernobyl. People would freeze with no electricity.

Bottled water, flour, canned food, generators and even camping stoves flew off store shelves. Some people even stockpiled cans of gasoline in their garages.

Americans woke up to a New Year’s Day in 2000 that was not much different than any other. It had been much ado about nothing.

The sun even came up that morning! The doomsday alarmists had been wrong.

People who had stockpiled avoided eye contact with neighbors who had not.

Re-stocking fees provided a lucrative profit center for many stores as patrons returned unused generators and camping stoves.

The Y2K scare quickly faded like a distant memory.

During the next three months several free-lance computer programmers came to our office for tax preparation. Their income was much higher than previous years as businesses paid a premium to help prepare their computers for the dreaded Y2K bug.

When the census takers come knocking...

Doctors to Obama: quit smoking and drink in moderation

According to Obama’s medical examination on Sunday, Obama is still trying to kick his smoking habit and his lifestyle prompted the doctors to also recommended "moderation of alcohol intake".


A report in the UK press says:

Obama is sensitive about his cigarette habit and tetchy with reporters who raise it. But after his 90-minute medical at the Navy hospital outside Washington yesterday morning, his doctors confirmed he had not yet managed to conquer the habit and suggested he "continue smoking cessation efforts".

It was described as self-use "nicotine replacement therapy".

News reporters in the U.S. are afraid to write about Obama’s smoking and drinking habits.

Link

New TigerText iPhone app controls your messages

TigerText is an iPhone app released February 25 that promises to save you from being found out by your spouse (or significant other) or the media such as National Enquirer or TMZ.

It could be useful for cheating spouses or anyone else who wants their messages to disappear. You can even set a time limit on how long the message will linger before disappearing from both the sender's and receiver's phones.

Not only that, TigerText messages cannot be forwarded anywhere, stored anywhere or sold to anyone including tabloid magazines.

TigerText arrived too late to help Tiger Woods.

Founder Jeffrey Evans claims the name “Tiger” was selected for the app before the Tiger Woods texting scandal but the company decided to stick with the name anyway.

People text like they talk and some of the things they say, taken out of context, can come back to haunt them.

Link

Man nabbed for robbing same bank in 24 hours

A robber held up the same bank in Hamburg, Germany twice within 24 hours just a week after being released from jail -- for the same crime.

The 50-year-old man went into a savings bank, brandished a pistol and said, "I was here yesterday, and I want money again today!"

The repeat offender made off with 450 euros ($600) but with the help of video surveillance cameras, police were able to detain him three hours later. They said he had been in jail for robbing banks in Hamburg in 2002 and 2004.

Link

About the Gaddafi - Switzerland feud

Libya's leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi (pictured) has called for a jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland as an ongoing diplomatic row between the two nations comes to the boiling point.

The BBC reports that Gaddafi criticized a recent Swiss vote against the building of minarets and said Muslims must boycott the country.

The Libya vs. Switzerland feud began in 2008, when a son and daughter-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi were arrested in Geneva and accused of assaulting two servants.

The couple denied wrongdoing and the charges were quickly dropped, but the row continued.

Offended by Swiss newspaper portrayals of his son, Gaddafi withdrew billions in Libyan funds from Swiss banks in July of last year, prompting the Swiss president to fly to Tripoli to apologize for the arrest.

Colonel Gaddafi was still angry and six months ago two Swiss businessmen were arrested in Tripoli for overstaying their visas. One was allowed to leave Libya last week, but the second was thrown in prison for a four-month term.

But Libya has not been the only one stoking the feud.

On Feb. 14, Switzerland banned 188 Libyans including Col. Gaddafi himself, from entering its country. Libya immediately retaliated, freezing all visas of citizens belonging to the 25 European countries (including Switzerland) that belong to the continent's shared visa system, called Schengen.

More here and here.

Russian hockey team embarrassed in Vancouver

Reaction to the ice hockey Olympic results:

Russia's hockey empire crumbled in front of the world.

Russia's 7-3 loss to Canada in its Olympic hockey quarterfinal game is one of the most definitive, declarative and emphatic emasculations the sport has seen in decades.

The headline of the Sport Express daily read:

“If you were asleep, you were lucky.”

In Russia, the state news agency RIA Novosti put it more succinctly:

“Nightmare in Vancouver.”

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The glory days are over
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Head coach Vyacheslav Bykov predicted the reaction the team would receive back home. "Let's put guillotines and scaffolds up on Red Square. We have 35 people in the squad — let's finish them all off," he told reporters.

More here and here.

Do you have an exciting weekend planned?

Magnatude 8.8 quake hits Chile

The Globe and Mail reports:

A devastating magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shattering buildings and bridges, killing at least 122 people and setting off a tsunami that threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.

The photo shows vehicles damaged after the collapse of an overhead portion of a road in Santiago.

Chilean President Michele Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile.

“We have had a huge earthquake, with some aftershocks,” President Bachelet said from an emergency response centre. She urged Chileans not to panic.

In the 2 1/2 hours following the 90-second magnitude 8.8 earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported 11 aftershocks, five of them measuring 6.0 or above.

Officials in Japan and Australia warned a tsunami from the earthquake was likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours.

Link

Huddling together helps keep you warm

Times must be really getting tough

Quote of the day February 25, 2010

“It's easy being Vice President — you don't have to do anything.”

- Joe Biden, just before the afternoon session of the health care summit Thursday

He is highly qualified.

Tumbling block houses in Rotterdam

The Kubuswoning Cubic Houses in Rotterdam were completed in 1984 and designed by the Dutch architect Piet Blom.

They are considered one of the top examples of abstract architecture in the world.

Each of these tilted appearing dwellings is intended by the architect to represent a single tree in a larger forest.

Each dwelling unit is laid-out identically with a living space on the bottom, a bedroom and bathroom in the middle and an extra space on top that lets in stunning light through a pyramid shaped skylight.

The interior of every unit is the same as all the others and is a reminder of Levittown, Long Island, New York. It obviously has a lot more class than Levittown. Maybe the ‘tumbling block’ community could be called Levittown on steroids.

Poll: majority say government a threat to citizens' rights

A CNN national poll found that a majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to the rights of American citizens.

Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Forty-four percent of those polled disagree.

The study also finds that Americans overwhelmingly think that the U.S. government is broken. It is interesting to note that the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed.

The group of Americans holding out hope the government can be fixed will undoubtedly turn out in record numbers during the November elections.

Link

Hamburger Helper not needed for this cycle

This unique three-wheeler was created by burger collector Harry Sperl.

It’s called “Hamburger Harley” and is outlandish enough to turn heads in SoHo or Venice Beach and most anywhere in between.

Besides this one-of-a-kind creation the owner has more than 1,000 pieces of hamburger paraphernalia in his collection.

The fork is made to look like catsup bottles. Hamburgers, fries and cokes rest on a tray just above the headlight.

Fuzzy math from the Congressional Budget Office

An article at the link below claims the CBO jobs report was pre-ordained to show the stimulus succeeded.

The article says that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has produced a new report estimating that the $862 billion stimulus has thus far saved or created 1.5 million jobs.

However the CBO’s calculations are not based on actually observing the economy’s recent performance. Rather, they used an economic model that was programmed to assume that stimulus spending automatically creates jobs — thus guaranteeing their result.

This study, designed to ‘prove’ a pre-determined outcome, is a reminder of an old adage I found to be true during my years as an auditor -- “figures don’t lie but liars figure.”

Link

How the Brits viewed our healthcare summit

The British press warned of boredom at the healthcare summit.

A London Times headline read: Try to stay awake: the President has a healthcare Bill to pass.

From the Times report:

Warning: watching American politicians argue about healthcare can be seriously damaging to your health. Symptoms may include migraines, extreme fatigue and sudden violent urges. In the event of exposure to competing statistics — regarding "donut holes", "HMO deductibles", "reconciliation devices" or suchlike — seek immediate medical help.

Link here for more of the Times report of the healthcare summit.

How boring was it?

Power Line report: early comments looked good for Republicans

A report on Power Line (see link below) gave some quotes from CNN’s Gergen, Borger and Blitzer (shown here in part).

CNN’s David Gergen:

The folks in the White House must be kicking themselves right now.

They thought that coming out of Baltimore when the President went in and was mesmerizing and commanding in front of House Republicans that he could do that again here today. That would change public opinion about their health care bill and they can go on to victory. Just the opposite has happened.

CNN's Gloria Borger:

The Republicans have been very effective today. They really did come to play. They were very smart ... and I think did a very good job.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer:

It looks like the Republicans certainly showed up ready to play.

The Hill's A.B. Stoddard:

I think we need to start out by acknowledging Republicans brought their 'A Team.'

I thought today the Democrats were pretty much on their knees.

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Comments from the Katzenjammer Kids on MSNBC will be different. The bottom rated cable channel shows of Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow will probably say that the Democrats came in second and the Republicans came in next to last.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Republicans really do have a good case. They kept presenting good fresh ideas from knowledgeable people including Congressmen who are medical doctors.

The Democrats had to rely on Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden who, as Power Line says, were “not fresh, attractive, or especially bright.”

Link here for the full Power Line report.

Snowstorms are hard on everyone

Mission impossible?

Government medicine horrors in England

As the healthcare debate continues in Washington, it’s time to look at just a few of the horrors found under government healthcare in England as reported in the London Daily Mail (first link below) and the London Times (second link below).

These reports from England show that patients are routinely neglected at a National Health Service hospital where hundreds died in squalor.

As John Hinderaker of Power Line so simply and aptly put it (see third link below):

Attitudes under socialism generally leave a lot to be desired.

The report, which follows reviews by the Care Quality Commission and the Department of Health, said that unimaginable suffering had been caused.

Unimaginable suffering--that pretty much sums up government-controlled medicine.

That's our future, though, if the Democrats get their way. They care only about their own power, not about the quality of your medical care.

All government workers and members of labor unions will be exempt from the national healthcare proposed by the Democrats.

Everyone else, except the very rich who can pay for healthcare out of their own pockets, will be subject to government run healthcare (socialized medicine).

We will surely see these horrors here in American after a few years under ObamaCare.

Socialized medicine didn’t take long to evolve into the horrific state that the average Britain faces today.

Link here, here and here.

Duesseldorf carnival clown

This clown was part of the traditional carnival parade in Duesseldorf, western Germany. The street spectacles at the carnival centers of Duesseldorf, Mainz and Cologne, watched by hundreds of thousands of people, are the highlights in Germany's carnival season on Rose Monday.

Newfoundland Premier came to US for heart surgery

Danny Williams (pictured), the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador left Canadian socialized medicine behind to have heart surgery in the United States.

Mr. Williams' decision to leave Canada for the surgery has raised eyebrows over his apparent shunning of Canada's health-care system.

An unapologetic Danny Williams says he was aware his trip to the United States for heart surgery earlier this month would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout over the controversial decision.

In defense of forsaking Canada’s socialized medicine, Williams said it was, “my heart, my choice and my health.”

Many wealthy Canadians shun socialized medicine in Canada for medical procedures in the United States.

Premier Williams chose Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.

Link

The only GOP ObamaCare backer losing campaign contributions

From a report at the link below:

The only Republican lawmaker to back ObamaCare has seen his fundraising drop by nearly 40 percent since his vote, and he is quickly burning through a dwindling bank account after resorting to a costly national fundraising operation.

Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao (upper photo), the unlikely congressman from New Orleans, is facing the perils of bipartisanship unlike any other lawmaker in Washington — trying to please a heavily Democratic constituency while relying on core conservatives for money to fuel his campaign.

Probably the only reason Cao was elected in New Orleans, a Democrat stronghold, is because he was elected to replace corrupt William Jefferson (lower photo) who was found guilty on 11 of 16 corruption charges in August of 2009.

Cao may have been elected on the “rebound” after the William Jefferson trial was still fresh in the minds New Orleans voters. It is expected that Cao will have a very difficult time with his re-election bid. A vote against ObamaCare would spell doom for his chances at re-election.

The report says that Republican leaders in Congress have continued supporting Cao with money from their campaign committees despite his health care position. However, the conservative donors he's courting around the country may not be so forgiving and his campaign cash is dwindling.

Link

Giant ants invade the outside of a building in Bogota

Sculptures of large ants by Colombian artist Rafael Gomezbarros “climb” the side of a building in Bogota, Columbia.

Gomezbarrios said his ant sculptures symbolize the people displaced by armed conflict in Colombia.

Former GM CEO hired back for $3,000 hour!

From an article on CNN Money.com:

After resigning as president and CEO of General Motors in December, Fritz Henderson (upper photo) might have gone into hiding or decided to sit out the harsh Michigan winter on a Florida beach.

Instead, here he is popping up again, this time as a consultant to GM on international operations at the very fancy fee of $59,090 a month for 20 hours of work a month. That works out to almost $3,000 an hour for a CEO who was ousted after just eight months on the job.

With Henderson back, even if it is a part-time (20 hours a month) engagement, GM is probably better off making use of his talents.

The report even suggests that GM could also make use of the talents of Rick Wagoner (lower photo) who is another GM ex-CEO. Once fired by one of Obama’s czar’s, the article says:

Perhaps somebody at GM will think up something that will make use of Wagoner's executive talents -- like figuring out a way for the automaker to take advantage of Toyota's recent troubles.

Link.

Toyota president apologizes for growing too big too fast

Toyota's president says the company compromised quality by growing too quickly in the United States.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda will appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday.

Toyota's president will tell Congress that the automaker grew too quickly in recent years, at times pursuing sales volume over safety and quality.

In a prepared statement he said the company plans to establish a quality center in the U.S. and hire an executive focused on product safety.

Too little, too late? Is Toyota finally planning to lock the barn after all the horses ran off?

Link

City says her $1,600 water bill is correct

A woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota usually has a water bill of $70 to $80 per month.

Erica Kocur said her last bill was for $1,600. The city believes the bill is accurate even though it's 20 times the woman's usual bill.

The city said she must have a running toilet or dripping faucet.

But KSTP-TV said the bill is charging for almost 200,000 gallons of water. That's three times the volume of her entire home.

A shower would have to run nonstop for almost two months to use that much water.

Dripping faucet indeed!

Link

Magic Marker and Band-Aid robber disguises

This zits-faced man robbed a video store with a bandage over his nose. Does he have an injury or does he have a lot to learn about disguises?

This pair robbed apartments but were soon apprehended. Their Magic Marker disguises don’t look very magic.

Proof that intelligence is not a prerequisite for becoming a criminal.

Fred Flintstone solves Toyota accelerator problem

Yaba-daba-doo!

Dutch hackers clone Elvis ePassport

The United States, Canada, the European Union and other developed countries have been introducing electronically reinforced passports in which a radio-frequency ID (RFID) chip is implanted in the ePassport's cover.

The chip duplicates much of the information printed in the passport such as photo, name, address, place of birth and a fingerprint. Scanners read the chip when the traveler crosses a border.

Sound secure and safe?

Think again.

A group of Dutch hackers has shown the vulnerability of the new "ePassports" by making, and then using, one for Elvis Presley.

Even worse, they tell you exactly how to do it.

Hackers and computer-security experts have repeatedly shown that the passport RFID chips are easy to read and "clone," even through a wire mesh the U.S. added to ePassports a couple of years ago.

Now the Dutch group's taken it a step further by not just cloning, but creating an entirely new fake ePassport for a very famous dead man.

More here.

350 people sick aboard Celebrity Mercury cruise ship in Caribbean

Celebrity Cruise spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said Tuesday that 326 of the more than 1,800 passengers on the Celebrity Mercury (pictured) began complaining Sunday of upset stomachs, vomiting and diarrhea. Martinez also said 27 of the nearly 850 crew members also reported symptoms.


The ship left Charleston, South Carolina on February 15.

The crew is conducting "enhanced cleaning" to prevent the spread of the illness.

An extra doctor and two nurses came aboard in St. Kitts in the British Virgin Islands and will sail to Charleston, arriving Friday.

Link

Furry entry at Winter London Fashion Week

A model walks the catwalk during the Autumn/Winter London Fashion Week catwalk show last week.

Climate scientists backtrack on sea level claims

A report at the link below says climate scientists have withdrawn journal claims of rising sea levels.

A study claimed in 2009 that sea levels would rise by up to 82cm (32 inches) by the end of century – but the report's author now says true estimate is still unknown.

Scientists have been forced to withdraw a study on projected sea level rise due to global warming after finding mistakes that undermined the findings.

More here.

Iced bike

Ice covers a bicycle near Stockholm, Sweden. And right in the middle of global warming at that!

Tiger Woods caddy will silence hecklers

Tiger Woods' caddie Steve Williams said he won't tolerate any heckling from the public galleries when Tiger Woods returns to golf.


The photo shows Williams protecting a sobbing Woods. When Woods gets back on the golf circuit, he may have a lot more to cry about as he faces many highly critical fans.

New Zealander Williams, 46, who has been carrying Woods' golf bag in tournaments since 1999, has a gruff reputation for not tolerating heckling or loutish behavior in the public galleries when Woods is in action.

Golf tournament galleries will probably not treat Woods with wholesale rudeness as golf galleries are usually very well behaved. However, there will certainly be a lot of jeering when Tiger returns to the pro golf tour.

It may be more jeering than caddie Williams will be able to control.

Link

Report: Toyota boasted of saving millions on recall

An Associated Press report says documents show that Toyota officials claimed they saved the company $100 million by successfully negotiating with the government on a limited recall of floor mats in some Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

Toyota, in an internal presentation in July 2009 at its Washington office, said it saved $100 million or more by negotiating an "equipment recall" of floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007.

The savings are listed under the title, "Wins for Toyota — Safety Group." The document cites millions of dollars in other savings by delaying safety regulations, avoiding defect investigations and slowing down other industry requirements.

The world's largest automaker has been criticized for putting profits before safety by responding too slowly to complaints of sudden acceleration in its vehicles.

More here.

Is coconut water the latest health craze?

As proof that coconut water may become the latest health drink craze, Coca Cola Inc. and PepsiCo recently entered the market.

In September, Coca Cola Inc. bought a minority stake in the Hermosa Beach, California based coconut water company Zico (pronounced “Zee Koh”).

In August, PepsiCo bought Amacoco, the largest coconut water company in Brazil.

Coconut water looks like a lightly cloudy liquid with a slightly sweet and nutty taste.

It has been purported to be an anti-aging tonic. There have been many other claims as to the benefits of coconut water including the relief of constipation, lower blood pressure, and relief of vision problems, bladder and kidney disorders.

Isn’t that what labels said on elixers hawked by “snake oil” salesmen one hundred years ago?

The article at the link below claims the benefits have proven to be so effective that the Food and Drug Administration has allowed coconut water to carry the statement that it may “reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke”.

The original market for coconut water was to people with lost electrolytes due to vigorous exercise such as football players, construction workers, etc.

If that’s all you want coconut water for, it will be a lot cheaper to buy a ‘sports drink’ such as Gatorade.

The cost of a 12 pack of Zico’s coconut water costs $24 compared to a 12 pack of Gatorade at less than half that amount.

As for the other claims such as relief of constipation, high blood pressure, vision problems, bladder and kidney disorders, we are like the doubting kid in that old TV commercial: we’re ‘skeptible.’

Link

Tiger Woods apologizes. Was it enough?

Golf giant Tiger Woods appeared as a sorry little man reading a 13-minute note saying he was sorry.

He finally showed his face to a waiting world Friday and apologized again for cheating on his wife, without revealing the scope of his infidelity or when he will return to golf.

He offered no new details of what happened or what's next, except that he was leaving Saturday for more therapy.

Woods' wife, Elin, did not attend his first public appearance since he crashed his car into a tree outside their home three months ago, setting off shocking allegations of rampant extramarital affairs.

He entered the room alone. When he finished, he stopped for a long embrace with his mother, Kultida, who said she whispered in his ear, "I'm so proud of you. Never think you stand alone. Mom will always be there for you, and I love you."

Regaining trust and support from everyone else might not be so easy.

Woods already has lost two corporate endorsements — Accenture and AT&T — and he has gone from being perhaps the most famous athlete in the world to a punch line in night clubs and on talk shows.

Much more here.

Owner destroys home to avoid foreclosure

Terry Hoskins home in Moscow, Ohio was scheduled for Foreclosure so, to prevent the bank from taking it, the man bulldozed the property.

The frustrated owner said his actions were intended to send a message to banks.




The problems began more than a decade ago, when IRS tax liens on business properties, were filed on his home.

Hoskins never missed a mortgage payment, and he was never late on a payment on his home.

As the foreclosure proceedings were getting to the final stages, that's when he bulldozed the building down.

After spending millions on attorneys Hoskins said he just had enough and two weeks ago bulldozed the home, 25 miles southeast of Cincinnati.

When asked if he would level his store, Hoskins said he would do "what it takes."

Messages were left for the bank and its attorney, and with the southern Ohio office of the IRS.

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Unique upside-down house in Poland

This uʍop-ǝpısdn house was created by Polish businessman and philanthropist, Daniel Czapiewski.


This unique house is located in the tiny village of Szymbark, Poland. It was built to be a tourist attraction and was also meant to be a statement about the overturn of Communism.

Mr. Czapiewski’s company usually takes three weeks to construct a house, but this one took 114 days. The workers could only work in the house for a couple of hours at a time because they became disoriented by the strange angles of the walls.

Many tourists who visit complain of mild seasickness and dizziness after just a few minutes of being in the structure.

Diabetes drug Avandia linked to heart attacks

The diabetes drug Avandia is linked with tens of thousands of heart attacks, and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline knew of the risks for years but worked to keep them from the public, according to a Senate committee report released Saturday.

The report said the federal agency that regulates food, tobacco and medications overlooked or overrode safety concerns found by its staff.

More here.