The Flying Horse

[flyinghorse]

8-)Today here in the middle of New York state the temp is 17ºF and today's high is supposed to be 23ºF with 50% chance of snow. Cold winter brings another cold June?

???Today in history:
1540: England's King Henry VIII married his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves (lasted about 6 months and ended in divorce).
1759: George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis were married.
1838: Samuel Morse and Alfred VAil gave the first successful public demonstration of their telegraph.
1912: New Mexico became the 47th state.
1941: Pres. Roosevelt, gave his Four Freedoms speech in his State of the Union --freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship God, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
1950: Great Britain recognized the Communist government of China.
2005: Attorney General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, under scorching criticism at his confirmation hearing, condemned torture as an interrogation tactic and promised to prosecute abusers to terror suspects. <Yeh, right>
2005: Edgar Ray Killen, ex-KKK leader, was arrested for the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi 41 years before. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Unusually heavy snows slammed Britain forcing 100s of stranded motorists to be rescued, disrupted trains and the shut down of schools and airports. It is the longest cold snap suffered by the Brits in 30 years. The need for rescue workers in southern England became so great that the coast guard workers turned from the sea to the land. The problem is that British winters are usually mild and cities and towns are generally ill-equipped to deal with the heavy snowfall. Welcome to the world of climate change. But don't expect much sympathy from us--we're coping with our own cold snap.

[/img]A suicide bomber blew up an explosive-packed car at a North Caucasus police station in Makhachkala, Dagestan in Russia, killing 6 officers and wounding at least 16. Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya are mainly Muslim republics in the North Caucasus and have suffered nearly daily attacks targeting police and other officials in an increasing civil war between Kremlin-supported administrations and Islamic militants. Unfortunately, the police are not innocent here. Their abuses of the population through abductions, torture and killings have helped to swell the ranks of the militants. What a sorry mess!! And the stupidity of those in charge--you only reap what you sow.

A Sea Shepherd Conservation Society boat had its bow sheared off and was taking on water after being struck by a Japanese whaler off Antarctica. The boat's 6-member crew were safely transferred to another Society boat. Sea Shepherd sends boats to the Antarctic waters each summer to try and stop the Japanese whaling fleet's "scientific whaling program"--a front for commercial fishing say conservationists and many countries. Japan's whaling fleet won't release details of its composition, the number of whales it hopes to take and the number of crew members it has. Personally, I'm on the side of Sea Shepherd. Whales are endangered and for a time there was a moratorium on commercial whaling, but the Japanese broke this in recent years. And if they were really doing "research" there would be no reason to conceal the details of their "expeditions."

Thought for Today:
"Very few men are wise by their own counsel, or learned by their own teaching. For he that was only taught by himself, had a fool to his master." --Ben Jonson, English playwright and poet (1572-1637)

[flyinghorse]

Here in central New York it's lightly snowing with a temp of 21ºF with a steadier snow supposed to develop later and the temp dropping to a low of 12ºF. Chance of snow is 90% with 2-4 inches expected and NNW winds of 10-15 mph.

8-)Today in history:
1815: US forces under Gen. Andrew Jackson defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812's final engagement.
1918: Pres. Wilson outlined his "Fourteen Points" for lasting peace.
1918: Mississippi became the first state to ratify the 18th Amendment establishing Prohibition.
1935: Elvis "The King" Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss.
1964: Pres. Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" in his State of the Union speech before Congress.
1973: the Paris peace talks between the US and North Vietnam resumed.

As of Jan 1st, more than 1 million low-income seniors, who were previously disqualified due to too many assets or income, become eligible for more generous prescription drug benefits under the "extra help" program. Income limits are $16,245 for singles and $21,855 for married couples. Assets such as stocks, bonds and bank accounts must be limited to $12,510 for singles and $25,010 for couples. The value of homes and cars are excluded. Under the old law, you had to include life insurance policies and money received regularly from relatives and friends to help pay expenses. It's hard to believe that these people weren't eligible before but at least they can now get help. It's about time.

Portugal's parliament has passed a gay rights marriage bill. It is the sixth European nation to do, following the equally predominantly Catholic nation of Spain. The conservative Pres. Anibal Caraco Silva is unlikely to veto the Socialist government's bill and the first gay marriages could begin in April (a month before Pope Benedict XVI's official visit). Gay marriage is presently legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Spain. If Catholic Spain and Portugal can find it acceptable, why can't we?

Pres. Obama has ordered more air security and intelligence sharing in a declassified summary of a 2-week review. He has ordered US intelligence agencies to do a better job of recognizing threats and sharing information. The president announced several changes that include new terror watch guidelines, better distribution of intelligence reports with stronger analysis of these reports, international partnerships and an interagency effort to develop next-generation airport screening technologies. Also hundreds more law enforcement officers are being trained as federal air marshals. I am appalled at the sloppy work done by the agencies we count on for protection. I thought the whole idea of a Homeland Security--Patriot Act was to force our various intel gathering agencies to cooperate with each other and act more efficiently. But it seems that nothing has changed. We have been forced to give up some of our freedom in the name of security and now learn it is all a farce.

Sports:
After a scare Alabama beat Texas 37-24 for the BCS championship of NCAA football. Bear Bryant's hound's-tooth hat may be just a faded memory but Alabama football is alive and well thanks to a defense that would have made Bear simile. I'm just sorry that Colt McCoy, the Texas quarterback, was injured so early in the game. I think his presence would have made a difference to how the game was played. Alabama might have still won, but the game would have been infinitely better.

Today is Bubble Bath Day


Thought for Today:
"The devil is easy to indentify. He appears when you're terribly tired and makes a very reasonable request which you know you shouldn't grant."
--Fiorello LaGuardia, mayor of New York City (1882-1947).

[flyinghorse]

Here in central New York it's cloudy with temp 13ºF but ir
feels like 7ºF . There's an 80% chance for snow showers dropping 1-2 inches of the white stuff coupled with a temperature range of 14ºF to 8ºF . I'm really getting tired of this cold and I can't imagine what Midwest America is feeling!!

8-)Today in history:
1788: Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the UN Constitution.
1861: Mississippi seceded from the Union.
1964: anti-US rioting broke out in the Panama Canal Zone, resulting in the deaths of 21 Panamanians and several US soldiers.
1968: the Surveyor 7 space probe made a soft landing on the moon, marking the end of the American series of unmanned explorations.
1972: reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, speaking by telephone to reporters, said a purported biography of him by Clifford Irving was a fake.
1995: the trail of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and 11 others accused of conspiracy to wage holy war against the US began. (All were convicted of seditious conspiracy, expect 2 who had reached plea agreements).
2005: Mahmoud Abbas, the #2 man in the Palestinian hierarchy under Arafat, was elected president by a landslide.
2005: Sudan's vice president, Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, and the country's main rebel leader, John Garang, signed a comprehensive peace agreement ending an 8-year process to stop the civil war in the south.

We are not the only country suffering intense cold and snow. Europe is also. In Germany 100s of flights were cancelled as fresh snow blew in from the south, while Britain shivered through its longest cold snap in 30 years. Northeastern Germany was especially hard hit as wind whipped the show into yard-high drifts along the Baltic coast, making roads impossible. Several villages on the island of Ruegen were completely cut off. In Britain, cold winds came from the north and temps tumbled to -14 degrees Celsius (7ºF) in Scotland and Northern England, disrupting traffic. Heavy snow forced cancellation of all flights at Dublin Airport and at Heathrow Airport, British Airways alone cancelled around 50 flights. Local authorities across England are running out of salt and sand.

Togo's national soccer team has been devastated by a shooting attack on its bus that killed at least three and left at least eight gravely injured. The team has withdrawn from the African Cup of Nations in Cabinda, Angola. The bus was about 6 miles inside the border of Congo and Angola when the attack began. The attackers fled back into Congo. Angola's government blamed the region's main separatist group, the FLEC, who took responsibility for the attack. How terrible and cowardly, attacking an undefended sports team from another country. I sometimes wonder how these people can possibly justify such attacks on unarmed people who have no part of whatever the attackers are fighting for. No matter what the cause, the ends never justify the means. Whatever happened to that ancient Greek practice of all war stopping during the Olympic games? We could use some of that attitude today.

British police arrested three airline passengers on a Dubai-bound Emirates airliner at London's Heathrow airport on suspicion of making a bomb threat. The men, ages 58, 48 and 36, were taken into custody for making verbal threats against the crew. However, searches found no actual threat indicating that the incident may have been an ill-judged prank. "Ill-judged prank?" In this day and age? Just after a major incident on a US flight? I'm glad that nothing was found to back up whatever the men said, but I feel that these people should be quickly punished--for stupidity if nothing else!!

Happy Dance Day



Thought for Today:
"Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark."
--Agnes de Mille, American choreographer (1905-93)

[flyinghorse]

Here in central New York it's fair and 8ºF but feels like -3ºF and more snow flurries later today. At least our high will be in the 20s!! For us that's normal but poor Florida. I was watching a newscast this a.m. of the strawberry, tomato and salad ingredient farmers trying to save their crops.

???Today in history:
1776: Tom Paine anonymously published his pamphlet, Common Sense.
1860: the Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Mass., collapsed and trapped 100s and during rescue efforts a fire broke--up to 145, mostly female workers from Scotland and Ireland, died.
1861: Florida seceded from the Union.
1870: John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.
1946: the first General Assembly of the UN convened in London.
1967: Massachusetts Republican Edward W. Brooke, the first black elected to the US Senate by popular vote, took his seat.
2000: America Online announced it was buying Time Warner for $162 billion (the disastrous merger ended in Dec 2009).

Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, says he is ready to negotiate with al-Qaeda fighters who lay down their weapons and renounce violence. However, he and his security forces are ready to stand up to those who refuse to abjure violence. "Dialogue is the best way...even with al-Qaeda, if they set aside their weapons and return to reason," he said in an interview with Abu Dhabi TV. "We are ready to reach understanding with anyone who renounces violence and terrorism." I think it's unlikely that he has many takers, but I can't blame him for trying.

China has overtaken Germany as the world's top exporter in another sign of China's rise as a global economic force. Although China's status is mainly symbolic, it reflects the ability of its resilient, low-cost manufacturers to keep selling about despite the global economic slump. But as Germany points out, their country supplies the factory equipment used by top Chinese manufacturers. It's beginning to look like this may become the Chinese century like historians say the 1900s were America's. Tine, let them cope with the world's problems and we'll confine ourselves to our own.

Another Sign of the Times: Cash-strapped Hawaii cannot afford to hold a congressional election to replace a congressman stepping down to run for governor. This would leave 600,000 urban Honolulu residents without representation in Washington. The state election office has only $5,000 left for the rest of the year, far short of the $1 million needed for a special election. But I bet they'll collect the taxes without the representation anyway!!

:)Make All Your Dreams Come True Day





Thought for Today:
"History must speak for itself. A historian is content it he has been able to shed more light."
--William L. Shirer, American journalist and author (1904-93)

[usamommajoy]

Hello Peg and hello TUXY

Wow...this place seems deserted! Only seems to be you posting regular around here Peg.

Well, I just stopped in to see if anyone around but all so quiet.

Guess I will go on my way then and finish up household chores.

Hope you are doing wonderfully.

Have a good night.

[flyinghorse]

Here in central New York it's partly cloudy with a temp of 19ºF that feels like 10ºF and more snow flurries later today. Our high will climb all the way to 26ºF. I wonder what it would feel like at 32ºF--warm and balmy?

???Today in history:
1861: Alabama seceded from the Union.
1908: Pres. Roosevelt proclaimed the Gran Canyon National Monument (it became a national park in 1919).
1913: the first sedan-type automobile, a Hudson, went on display at the 13th National Automobile Show in New York City.
1935: aviator Amelia Earhart began her final leg of her journey to become the first woman to fly solo across the Pacific--18 hours from Honolulu to Oakland, Calif.
1942: Japan declared war on the Netherlands and invaded the Dutch East Indies.
1964: US Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first report that said smoking may be hazardous to your health.
1977: France released Abu Daoud, a PLO official behind the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, setting off an international furor.
2000: the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that state employees cannot go into federal court to sue over age discrimination, curbing federal government power over the states.

For some reason, Republican senators are sticking their noses into the Sen. Reid's racist comments to-do. They are accusing the Democrats of applying a double standard and should be demanding the Sen. Reid step down as majority leader. In the first place, his statement was fairly mild. Privately, he described Barak Obama as a "light-skinned" African American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." The main controversy is the use of the word "Negro." Secondly, the president has accepted his apology. If the two men involved have mended the bridge, that is all that is required. To call for him to relinquish his position as majority leader (which is a party decision) is a bit much.

China is at it again. Chinese manufacturers were barred from using lead in children's jewelry so they substituted the more dangerous heavy metal cadmium, a known carcinogen, in their sparkling charms and pendants. The worst piece analyzed in a lab contained 91% cadmium by weight with other pieces testing at 89%, 86% and 84%. The tests also showed that the pieces easily shed the heavy metal, thus increasing the level of exposure for children. Like lead, it can hinder brain development in children.

The first federal trial of the constitutionality of outlawing same-sex marriage begins today in California, as two gay couples challenge Proposition 8 approved by voters in 2008. Whatever the outcome, it is likely to be appealed to the US Supreme Court and become a landmark case in the issue of gay rights. I personally believe that gay couples should have the same rights as heterosexual ones. If two people want to make a legal commitment to each other, they should be allowed to do so. Originally, the marriage laws were based on the need to ensure children. Propagation of the species is no longer a problem.

Congrats to Ford. Its Ford Fusion Hybrid midsize sedan won the 2010 North American Car of the Year and its Ford Transit Connect truck of the year at the Detroit auto show. The awards are given by 49 auto journalist who test cars throughout the year.

Today is International Thank You Day





Thought for Today:
"The essence of taste is suitability. Divest the word of its prim and priggish implications, and see how it expresses the mysterious demand of the eye and mind for symmetry, harmony and order."
--Edith Wharton, American author (1862-1937)

[flyinghorse]

Here in central New York it's back to light snow with temp of
21ºF that feels like 12ºF, which is the forecasted high for today. I thought we were supposed to be "warming up?"

???Today in history:
1773: the first public museum in America was organized in Charleston, South Carolina.
1915: the US House of Representatives rejected 204-174, a constitutional amendment that gave women the right to vote.
1932: Hattie W. Caraway was the first woman elected to the US Senate after serving out her late husband's term (Thaddeus Caraway).
1949: the US Supreme Court ruled that state law schools could not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race.
1959: Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records in Detroit, Michigan.
2000: Britain, forced to act by a European court ruling, lifted its ban on gays in the military.

Is Everything We Use Today a Carcinogen? The latest culprit is a coal tar sealant used on pavements, parking lots and driveways to protect them against cracking and water damage while giving them a nice dark sheen. It is now showing up in alarming levels as dust in homes. This has raised concern about potential health effects of long time exposure. It seems that every couple of months something else is accused of being dangerous to our health. If it isn't the antibiotics given to animals contributing to drug-resistant killer diseases, now it's our driveways. What's next?

The Federal Reserve earned $45 billion last year from its unconventional efforts to prop up our economy. This is the highest earnings in its 96-year history, which funds itself from its own operations and gives its profit to the Treasury. This money is not only good news for the Federal budget, but a sign that the Fed has been successful in protecting taxpayers as it intervenes in the economy. However, there remains a risk of losses if it sells some of its investments or loses money on its stakes in bailed-out firms. Hopefully this won't happen and it will earn some more money for the budget. Imagine--a government agency that is profitable.

Shades of the 60s: A Texas school boards has ordered a 4-year-old boy to braid his long hair, but the parents of the suspended child object, saying it will cause his scalp to bleed. However, they are willing to put in in a ponytail. Didn't we fight this battle back in the 1960s? And didn't long hair win? Suspending a 4 y/o from school because of long hair? With all the things that schools have to face, ruling on what length of hair a 4 year old should have seems incredulous.

The New Jersey legislature has passed a medical marijuana bill to allow chronically ill patients access to 2 ounces a month. It becomes the 14th state to pass such a bill. And since the state's Democratic governor supports the bill, he probably will sign it before leaving office next week. Good for you New Jersey. I just wish the other 36 states would follow your example quickly.

Today is Rubber Band Veteran Day





Thought for Today:
"Love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the humblest imaginable."
--Mohandas K. Gandhi, Indian spiritual leader (1869-1948).

[flyinghorse]

I'm so tired of coping with my leg. There are times when I almost wish it was gone, but then I think about the difficulty I would have in getting around. But between the deteriorating nerves, they intense itching and now anopen and bleeding sore, I just so sick of the hold thing. My health is slowing getting worse and nothing that I do helps. I take my medicine faithfully every day, but .....
I'm getting tired of life and wouldn't mind at all if I dropped dead tomorrow. I'm tired.

[flyinghorse]

Here in central New York it's cloudy and 23ºF but feels like 16ºF. One nice thing, there's only a 30% chance of further snow, which suits me just fine.

???Today in history:
1794: Pres. Washington approved a measure that added 2 stars and 2 stripes to the flag after Vermont and Kentucky were admitted to the union.
1898: "J'accuse," Emile Zola's famous defense of Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, was published.
1945: Soviet forces began a successful offensive against Germany in Eastern Europe.
1966: Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member when he was named by Pres. Johnson the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
1982: an Air Florida 727 crashed into Washington D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge after takeoff during a snowstorm and fell into the Potomac River, killing 78 people.
1990: L. Douglas Wilder became the first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond, Virginia.

Is there any other story today except the Haitian earthquake? Around 5 p.m. last evening a 7.0 magnitude quake whose epicenter was only 6 miles below the capital of Port-au-Prince, has leveled the city. It has also suffered up to 30 aftershocks from 5.9 magnitude on down. Only with daylight this morning have they been able to begin to assess the damage with the expectation of 1000s of casualties.

This is the worst quake in more than 200 years, crushing hundreds of structures, from humble shacks to the nation's major hospital and to the National Palace (above) and the UN peacekeeping headquarters (the head of the UN mission and his deputy are among those unaccounted for). "It would appear that everyone who was in the building, including my friend Hedi Annabi, the UN Secretary General's special envoy, and everyone with him and around him, are dead," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said. It appears that four Brazilian soldiers were killed and five injured while Jordan said three of its peacekeepers were killed and 21 inured. A Chinese newspaper said eight Chinese peacekeepers were known dead and 10 missing (officials say this is not confirmed).

Most of Haiti's 9 million people are very poor and, after year's of political instability, it has no real construction standards or infrastructure. They are requesting the US provide a hospital ship, heavy equipment (in order to move the rubble) as well and rescue units. There are no emergency medical units or fire departments and only a meagre law enforcement agency.

I have no words to express the sorrow I feel for this country. Just a couple of years ago they suffered 3 hurricanes in a row. It is a mountainous country and they have stripped them of forests for heating so that rain causes massive mud slides and flooding onto the bared slopes and into the valleys. This is a country where all their luck is bad and they would be better off with no luck at all.

Thought for Today:
"The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well."
--Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, English author (1717-97)

[flyinghorse]

Here in central New York it's back to fair with temp of 21ºF that feels like 12ºF but the high is supposed to get to 35ºF. I hope that they have it right (or is that an oxymoron when referring to the weatherperson).

???Today in history:
1639: the first constitution of Connecticut, the Fundamental Orders, was adopted.
1784: the US ratified the treaty with England to end the Revolutionary War.
1858: Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and his wife, Empress Eugenie, escaped an assassination attempt by Felice Orsini, an Italian revolutionary.
1900: Puccini's opera, Tosca, had its world premiere in Rome.
1943: Pres. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and French Gen. de Gaulle opened a wartime conference in Casablanca.
1952: NBC's Today show premiered with Dave Garroway as host.
1953: Josip Broz Tito was elected president of Yugoslavia by its Parliament.
1963: George Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama with a pledge of "segregation forever."
1970: Diana Ross and the Supremes performed their last concert together at the Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas.
2000: a UN tribunal sentenced five Bosnian Croat militiamen to up to 25 years in prison for a 1993 murder rampage that killed every Muslim in a Bosnian village.
2005: Army Spc. Charles Graner, Jr., ringleader of a band of rogue Abu Ghraib prison guards, was convicted at Fort Hood, TX of abusing Iraqi detainees and later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
2005: a European space probe sent back the first detailed pictures of the frozen surface of Saturn's moon, Titan.

:(Haitian earthquake update--survivors struggle while awaiting aid. With pickup trucks becoming ambulances and doors stretchers, Haitians desperately tried to save the injured as desperately needed aid from all over the world began arriving. Planes carrying teams from China, France and Spain flew into their disabled airport with searchers and tons of food, medicine and other supplies. Search and rescue squads from Iceland and Fairfax County, Virginia arrived, while Cuba and Doctors Without Borders made use of staff already in the country. The US and other nations pledged assistance for the hemisphere's poorest nation that the Red Cross estimated estimated that 1/3 of the population could need emergency relief.

Survivors set up camps in the streets with piles of salvaged goods scavenged from the rubble. Doctors Without Borders worked at makeshift tent triage centers set up in the streets, as well as at two hospitals that had withstood the quake.

Pres. Obama promised an all-out rescue and humanitarian effort that would included the military and civilian emergency teams. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson would arrive of the coast Thursday and also the USS Bataan with a 2,000-member Marine unit. A US military assessment team was the first to arrive, to determine Haiti's needs.

>:(Already the scam artists are at work, trying to cash in on this tragedy. Be careful if you want to donate money to help in the relief efforts. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/ will give you a list of charitable organizations and phone nos. that you can donate to safely.

;DToday is Assembly Line Workers Day


Thought for Today:
"If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly find fault with, you will not do much."
--Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (pseud. Lewis Carroll), English mathematician and author (1832-98)

[flyinghorse]

8-)good morning my friends from Tuxy and me and happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Here in central New York it's now cloudy with temp of 39ºF (feeling like 36ºF). I think it's safe to say that we are having a January thaw and boy does it feel good.

???Today in history:
1559: Queen Elizabeth I of England was crowned in Westminster Abbey.
1777: the people of New Connecticut declared their independence (the tiny republic became the state of Vermont).
1844: the University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.
1929: American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
1943: work was completed on the Pentagon to become the headquarters of the US Department of War (now Defense).
1947: the mutilated remains of 22 year-old Elizabeth Short, the "Black Dahlia," were found in a vacant Los Angeles, Calif. lot (still unsolved).
1967: the Green Bay Packers (NFL) defeated the Kansas City Chiefs (AFL) 35-10 in the first World Championship Game, later known as Super Bowl 1.
1973: Pres. Nixon announced the suspension of all US offensive action in North Vietnam, citing progress in the peace negotiations.
2009: US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger ditched his Airbus 320 in the Hudson River after a flock of birds disabled both engines, all 155 people aboard survived.

Aid groups struggle to get food and water to the Haitian earthquake victims. They warn that they may need more security as the victims grown more desperate and impatient. UN peacekeepers patrolling the capital said the crowds are getting angrier and the Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to prevent looting. The problem is the inaccessibility of the roads into the city. The supplies are piling up at the port and airport but there is currently no way to transport it into the city. Engineers from the UN have begun clearing some main roads with law-and-order duties taken on by its 3,000 troops and police.

The Red Cross estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in the quake with hundreds of bodies stacked outside the city morgue and lining the streets. Limbs of the dead protruded from the rubble as workers attended to the grim task of using bulldozers to transport load of bodies. With temps in the 80s to 90s, this will rapidly become a major problem as the bodies begin to decay. They are digging mass graves and dumping the bodies into them with no attempt at identification, so there will be many who will disappear with no knowledge of where they may be.

There are other things happening in the world. The Obama administration is considering holding a trial in Washington, DC of Riduan "Hambali" Isamuddin, a Gitmo detainee suspected of planning the bombing of a Bali nightclub that killed 202 people. It would bring one of the world's most notorious terrorism suspects to just steps from the US Capitol. So if NYC gets to hold a terrorist trial, why not our nation's capital? I approve of using our judicial system to try these individuals in open court before the world. We have nothing to hide.

:oPres. Obama and congressional Democrats are within days (if not hours) of striking deals on the historic health care legislation after key labor unions won concessions on the insurance plan tax and pledged their support. There are still dozens of issues to be finalized in the reconciliation of the two bills, but the logjam has been broken. The aim was to reach agreement by Friday and send the bill to the Congressional Budget Office to evaluate, necessary before it can be voted on. Maybe after a long and contentious progress, we will finally get it done. Then future Congresses can tweak it.

Today is Basketball Day also.


Thought for Today:
"A man can't ride your back unless it's bent."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader (1929-68)

[flyinghorse]

8-)Here in central New York it's back to cloudy with a temp of 33ºF that feels like 29ºF. The high today is only 36ºF so the thaw is weakening.

???Today in history:
1547: Ivan IV the Terrible was crowned czar.
1920: Prohibition began in the US as the 18th Amendment went into effect.
1935: fugitive gangster Fred Barker and his mother, Kate "Ma" Barker, were killed in a shootout with the FBI.
1944: Gen. Eisenhower took command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London.
1969: two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.

:)The Obama administration is allowing Haitians illegally in this country to stay temporarily because of their country's catastrophic earthquake. Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano granted the temporary protected status after halting deportations of Haitians already in detention. It allows them to stay and work for 18 months. Temporary protected status is granted when foreigners cannot return safely to their country because of natural disaster, armed conflict, etc. This seems only right. It would be inhumane to send people back into that horror that is now their country.

US texting by cellphone users has raised $11 million for Haitian relief in an unprecedented mobile response to a natural disaster. They can donate $10 to nonprofit organizations like the American Red Cross and the donation is charged to the user's cellphone bill. A word of caution--Haitian hip-hop musician, Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund is being investigated. It seems the money raised by the foundation in the past has gone to finance his business interests. I would hate to think that he would try to profit on his country's misery, but he wouldn't be the first to do so. I would advice everyone to stick to contributing to the well known charities like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Save the Children, etc.

Johnson & Johnson has issued a massive recall of its over-the-counter drugs that includes some batches of regular and extra-strength Tylenol, children's Tylenol, eight-hour Tylenol, Tylenol arthritis, Tylenol PM, children's Motrin, Motrin IB, Benadryl Rolaids, Simply Sleep, and St. Joseph's aspirin. Consumers should check the full list at www.mcneilproductrecall.com to identify the recalled batches. The smell is caused by small amounts of a chemical used in the treatment of wooden pallets traced to a facility in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. The FDA said the company knew of the problem in early 2008 but made only a limited investigation. The FDA sent Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare Products a warning letter for violating manufacturing standards and failing to report and investigate the problem in a timely way. Here we go again. At least the FDA has acted and forced the recall or who knows how much longer the problem would have continued--forever?

The Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker and its director-producer Kathryn Bigelow took the top honors of Best Picture and Best Director at the Critics' Choice Awards. Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and James Cameron's Avatarwon the most awards. Jeff Bridges won the best actor prize for his portrayal of hard-drinking country singer Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, whose theme, "The Weary Kind," won best song. Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) tied for best actress. Winners are chosen by the Broadcast Film Critics Association comprising 200 TV, radio and online film critics.

Today is National Nothing Day


Thought for Today:
"Goodwill is the only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy."
--Marshall Field, American department store founder (1834-1906)

[flyinghorse]

[usamommajoy]

Good thing your pc will not accept Smiley Central, it did nothing but add tons of spyware to my system that took hubby hours to get rid of!

Smiley Central may look cute, but very nasty program. SPYWARE! Keep away from it. It not only adds spyware it slowed my computer down substantially.

[usamommajoy]

Hope you have a wonderful evening Peg
I know I shall sleep good tonight. Long work day, swim in pool in the rain, soak in jacuzzi...no kiddies running wild had the place to ourselves....NICE!

"See" you again sometime next time I have post time.