Isaac Washes Up Nearly 18,000 Dead Swamp Rats On Mississippi Coast -

Isaac Washes Up Nearly 18,000 Dead Swamp Rats On Mississippi Coast - 



Crews in Mississippi are cleaning up thousands of dead swamp rats that washed ashore from Hurricane Isaac.

The Sun Herald reports that an estimated 16,000 to 18,000 nutria — semiaquatic, rat-like rodents — and other dead animals washed up in Hancock County after drowning in Hurricane Isaac’s storm surge.

A federal contractor, U.S. Environmental Services, will dump the bodies in a landfill rated to take household garbage.

Hancock County Supervisor David Yarborough says county crews tried to deal with a similar problem after Hurricane Gustav and many workers got sick.

“We don’t want anybody out here in the stuff,” Yarborough told The Associated Press. “They’re actually starting to swell up and bust. It smells really bad. So, any sightseers, you might want to second guess this one before you come out.”

Read more - 
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/09/05/isaac-washes-up-nearly-18000-dead-swamp-rats-on-mississippi-coast/

Overcrowding At NYC School Forces 8th Graders Into 9:45 AM Lunch... -

Overcrowding At NYC School Forces 8th Graders Into 9:45 AM Lunch... - 



One Queens middle school is facing the problem of having too many students and not enough cafeteria space.

It’s a predicament that has parents up in arms over whether it’s lunch or brunch their children will be eating before 10 a.m. each day.

I.S. 25 in Flushing is one of three schools jammed inside a building on 192nd Street.

The cafeteria there is being slammed by extreme overcrowding, prompting an extraordinary response to the lunch crunch starting when school returns on Thursday.

In a letter to parents, the principal at I.S. 25 wrote eighth grade students will begin their brunch at 9:45 a.m.

“Since they are students who rarely eat breakfast,” the principal wrote, “this will prove to be a good move.”

Beyond the suggestion that eighth graders rarely eat breakfast, the thought of kids being forced to eat a lunch of mozzarella sticks or pasta at 9:50 a.m. is not being well received in the neighborhood.

“That’s absurd I mean they have to do something that’s ridiculous I mean people are eating breakfast at that time,” one parent told CBS 2′s Steve Langford.

Paul Manuele has a son going into eighth grade at I.S. 25 this year and wondered how his child will cope by the time early to mid-afternoon rolls around on an empty stomach.

“That’s a long day and he’s not getting sufficient fuel,” Manuele said.

PTA President Lorraine Kosnar told 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria she plans to give her eighth grader breakfast every day and that he won’t be hungry by 9:45 a.m., but will be by 12:30 p.m. or 1 p.m.

Read more - 
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/09/04/overcrowding-at-queens-school-to-force-8th-graders-into-945-a-m-lunch/

Warning Issued About Stolen, Rejected Tampons... -

Warning Issued About Stolen, Rejected Tampons... - 



Kimberly-Clark Corp. says thieves have stolen and sold some rejected tampons that may pose a health risk if used.

The Dallas-based company said 16,000 cases of the Kotex Natural Balance Security Tampons failed an inspection test and some tested positive for things like increased levels of bacteria, the presence of metallic particles or imperfect raw materials.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. Spokesman Bob Brand the company sent the tainted tampons to a company in Oklahoma to be destroyed, but somewhere along the way thieves stole the cases and sold them to retailers.

Brand said so far, the company hasn’t received any complaints from consumers, but they want to keep it that way.

"We have no idea how the product was shipped or stored once it was stolen, so we're advising people not to use it at all. We consider it all unsafe," Brand said.

Brand said the health risk to women is low, but company officials want women to check their tampon products at home to make sure it isn't a tainted box.

He added Kimberly-Clark Corp. is in the process of working to buy back the tainted cases from retailers.

"We think the prospect is low it may have reached consumers, just out of an abundance of caution we want to make sure that folks are aware of what may be the situation and the check their cartons to make sure they don't have one of the impacted lock codes," Brand said.

The products had been scheduled to be destroyed between October 2011 and June 2012.

Read more - 
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Warning-Issued-About-Stolen-Rejected-Tampons-168515406.html

God’s name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform -

God’s name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform - 


Guess what? God’s name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform.

This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform:

“We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”

Now the words “God-given” have been removed. The paragraph has been restructured to say this:

“We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”

The Brody File has calls into DNC to explain why God’s name has been dropped from the platform. Some critics will suggest that when you have planks in your platform that support abortion rights and gay marriage then it's no wonder that God's name would be dropped as well.

Delegates will vote on the platform on Tuesday.

There is one section on "faith" and here is what it says:

"Faith has always been a central part of the American story, and it has been a driving force of progress and justice throughout our history. We know that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly stronger and richer by faith and the countless acts of justice and mercy it inspires. Faith- based organizations will always be critical allies in meeting the challenges that face our nation and our world – from domestic and global poverty, to climate change and human trafficking. People of faith and religious organizations do amazing work in communities across this country and the world, and we believe in lifting up and valuing that good work, and finding ways to support it where possible. We believe in constitutionally sound, evidence-based partnerships with faith-based and other non-profit organizations to serve those in need and advance our shared interests. There is no conflict between supporting faith-based institutions and respecting our Constitution, and a full commitment to both principles is essential for the continued flourishing of both faith and country."

Read more - 
http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2012/09/04/democrats-drop-god-from-party-platform.aspx

Leaked images show APPLE'S latest Mini tablet for first time... -

Leaked images show APPLE'S latest Mini tablet for first time... - 



Christmas is still four months away - but for Apple fans, it might come as soon as October.
For Apple is believed to be launching an iPad Mini next month, and now fansite Apple.pro claims to have photographed the eight-inch evolution of the iPad.
Apple is notoriously secretive on the run-up to new launches, but leaks from within the industry, including from suppliers and partners, have all but confirmed the device is on its way this Autumn.

The Apple Mini is believed to sport an eight-inch screen, making it a shrunken version of the iPad's ten-inches.
This will allow a higher degree of portability over previous models, and also give Apple the ammunition to compete with Google, which recently brought out a seven-inch range of Nexus tablets.
Apple.Pro also reports this is a 3G-capable model, meaning you can use data on the go.


While Steve Jobs was famously against smaller iPads, the success of the Nexus and Amazon's 'Fire' of budget tablets appears to have convinced Apple there is a market for the slim-line device.
Rumours from Apple suppliers suggest the innards of the Mini will be equivalent to an iPad 2, which analysts suggest will be more than enough to power the shrunken device.
The third iPad had a specification increase but also increased slightly in weight due to the demands of the high-definition Retina display.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2198038/iPad-Mini-Leaked-images-Apples-latest-tablet-time.html

McDonald's opens up vegetarian-only restaurants in India -

McDonald's opens up vegetarian-only restaurants in India - 


Vegetarian McDonald's might sound like an oxymoron, but the burger empire is opening its first meat-free restaurants in two Indian cities.

Spokeswoman Lisa McComb said it's just a natural extension of McDonald's policy to offer culturally appropriate menus. Most of the chain's international restaurants offer local variants on classic dishes.

India boasts major Hindu and Muslim populations, and both religions place restrictions on certain kinds of meat.

"McDonald's respects local cultures and has adopted our menu and dining experience to local preferences. In India, our McDonald's kitchens have always been divided into separate sections for cooking vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, and the restaurants there do not sell beef or pork," said McComb.

"The new restaurants in pilgrimage areas will be vegetarian-only because of the specific area and customer base. This further speaks to McDonald's efforts to cater to local tastes."

The new locations will open in Amritsar and Katra next year. There's no word on whether the company is considering opening veggie restaurants in North America.

Read more - 
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/04/mcdonalds-opens-up-vegetarian-only-restaurants-in-india

PRINCE PHILIP Wears a Kilt ... - Totally Flashes His Dong -

PRINCE PHILIP Wears a Kilt ... - Totally Flashes His Dong - 


Prince Harry seems to have started a trend ... because it appears his grandfather just gave the world a royal wiener flash of his own. 

91-year-old Prince Philip was hangin' out in a kilt during the Gathering for the Highland Games in Scotland this weekend ... when he decided to unleash his one-eyed Loch Ness Monster on the masses. 

Philip was sitting near his wife, Queen Elizabeth, during the event -- the first time P.P. has been seen in public since suffering a bladder infection a few weeks ago. 

God Save the Queen.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/09/04/prince-philip-naked-penis-upskirt-kilt/

Foreigners Avoid Restrictions on U.S. Campaign Donations by Donating Through Trade Associations -

Foreigners Avoid Restrictions on U.S. Campaign Donations by Donating Through Trade Associations - 


The United States, like most countries in the world, bans political campaign donations by non-citizens. Since the Supreme Court case of Citizens United v. FEC, however, foreigners—including even foreign governments—have been able to evade the law by donating to trade associations. Unlike other campaign committees, including labor unions and Super PACs, which must disclose the names of their contributors on a monthly or quarterly basis, trade associations face no such rules, and thus are able to influence elections using corporate and foreign money. As a result, in 2010, trade associations and related issue-advocacy groups outspent Super PACs $141 million to $65 million, according to the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics.

The recent political activities of the American Petroleum Institute (API) are illustrative. API has roughly 400 oil and gas company members, but a small group of executives on its board of directors make all the real decisions, including regarding political campaigns. Among the leading members of the API is Saudi Refining Inc., the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, the giant oil company owned by the government of Saudi Arabia. Aramco’s CEO, Saudi citizen Tofiq Al-Gabsani, sits on API’s board, where he helps make decisions about spending on U.S. elections.

Because he is a foreign national, federal law prohibits Al-Gabsani, who is also a registered lobbyist for the Saudi government, from leading a PAC, but nothing stops him from heading a trade group that makes campaign expenditures just like a PAC. On issues like global warming, the Keystone XL pipeline, drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, government subsidies for oil companies and a host of others, the Saudi government—one of the most regressive and least democratic in the world—is able to influence U.S. elections and U.S. policies, without ever having to acknowledge doing so.

Similarly, the US Chamber of Commerce, like many large trade associations, is international in scope and has many foreign business members. Although the Chamber claims that money received from foreign source is segregated from domestic money, there is no way of knowing if that is true, because there’s no way to audit foreign corporate spending when it occurs through trade associations. “Precisely because there is no disclosure by these groups, there is no way to monitor what they’re doing,” Trevor Potter, a former FEC chairman, told The Nation.

This lack of transparency makes a mockery of Super PAC disclosure rules. “Prior to Citizens United, all federal election money could be traced back to an individual who expended it or contributed to a political committee,” said Karl Sandstrom, a former FEC commissioner now with the law firm Perkins Cole. “Once you enable artificial entities to contribute, money is no longer traceable back to identifiable individuals.” That includes foreign individuals, foreign corporations and foreign governments, all of which are spending millions to influence the 2012 elections.

Read more - 
http://www.allgov.com/news/us-and-the-world/foreigners-avoid-restrictions-on-us-campaign-donations-by-donating-through-trade-associations-120903?news=845194

Mysterious crack in 13,000-gallon fish tank causes Deluge in casino... -

Mysterious crack in 13,000-gallon fish tank causes Deluge in casino... - 


A little crack can cause a mighty mess — and a heap of disappointment.

"The casino's closed today," Lucille Sfalanga told customer after customer Monday outside the Gulfstream Racing and Casino Park.

A mysterious chink in the casino's floor-to-ceiling fish tank caused a deluge around 12:15 a.m. Sunday, forcing the two-story casino to close even while the village's shops, restaurants and racetrack remained open.


On Monday, dehumidifiers and fans were at full blast, removing moisture from soggy carpets on both floors. Engineers were still trying to figure out what caused the leak, said Mike Couch, director of gaming at Gulfstream.

Sfalanga was working in the casino the night the 13,000-gallon saltwater tank cracked.

She remembers around 100 people hanging out on the second floor, drinking or gambling near the 13-foot-high aquarium, the centerpiece of the room.

"All we heard was a big bang and all the water started shooting out the top of the tank," she said from her perch outside the casino. "It sounded like a cannon."

Within two minutes, all but two feet of water had streamed from the tank, Couch said.

The aquarium was home to more than 100 fish, including two small nurse sharks, angelfish, grouper and lionfish.

Soon after the tank flooded the room, casino managers called in the crew that maintains the aquarium to help rescue the fish.

Workers lowered a ladder into the tank, then climbed down and carried the fish to safety.

"The good news is, all the fish survived," Couch said.

The bad news: Customers couldn't spend their Labor Day holiday playing the slots.

The casino makes about $125,000 a day on weekends from its slots and another $15,000 per weekend day on poker, according to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.

Still, Gulfstream Park's revenues are the lowest among the six parimutuels in Broward and Miami-Dade counties with slot machines.

Like most casinos, Gulfstream had Labor Day promotions planned, with scratch-off cards for cash and a "Labor Day Pay Day" giveaway of more cash and free play.

Now, some of the slot machines may need to be replaced, along with the carpeting, TVs, ATMs and redemption machines, Couch said.

"The water worked its way downstairs and essentially rained on the equipment," he said.

Couch estimated the damage may be in the hundreds of thousands, not including lost revenue.

Breathtaking as it is, the aquarium may not be coming back, he said.

"We're not sure of the outcome for the tank," he said. "We need to find out why it cracked open."

Read more - 
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-fish-tank-gulfstream-20120903,0,7892034.story

18 Indications That Europe Has Become An Economic Black Hole -

18 Indications That Europe Has Become An Economic Black Hole - 


Summer vacation is over and things are about to get very interesting in Europe.  Most Americans don’t realize this, but much of Europe shuts down for the entire month of August.  I wish we had something similar in the United States.  But now millions of Europeans are returning from their extended family vacations and the fun is about to begin.  During August economic conditions continued to degenerate in Europe, but I figured that it wouldn’t be until after August that the European debt crisis would take center stage once again.  And as I wrote about last week, if there is going to be a financial panic, it typically happens in the fall.  The stock market has seen quite a nice rally over the summer, and many investors are nervous that we could see a significant “correction” very soon.  The month of September has been the absolute worst month for stock performance over the past 50 years, and it has also been the absolute worst month for stock performance over the past 100 years as well.  Of course that does not guarantee that anything is going to happen this year.  But things in Europe continue to get worse.  Unemployment rates are spiking, manufacturing activity is slowing down, housing prices are crashing and major financial institutions are failing.  What is happening in Europe right now appears to be an even worse version of what happened to the United States back in 2008.
But most Americans aren’t too concerned about what is happening in Europe.
In fact, most Americans don’t believe that a European financial collapse would be much of a problem for us.
Well, just remember what happened back in 2008. When the U.S. financial system started coming apart at the seams it sparked a devastating worldwide recession which was felt in every corner of the globe.
If the European financial system implodes, the consequences could be even worse.
Why?
Europe has a larger population than the United States does.
Europe has a larger economy than the United States does.
Europe has a much, much larger banking system than the United States does.
If Europe experiences a financial collapse, the entire globe will feel the pain.
And considering how weak the U.S. economy already is, it would not take much to push us over the edge.
What is going on in Europe right now is a very, very big deal and people need to pay attention.
The following are 18 indications that Europe has become an economic black hole which is going to suck the life out of the global economy….
#1 The unemployment rate in France is up to 10 percent, and the French media is buzzing about the fact that the number of unemployed French workers has now hit the 3 million mark.
#2 The French government has just announced the nationalization of its second largest mortgage lender.  Additional bailouts are likely on the way.
#3 French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen has announced that it will be cutting more than 10,000 jobs.  But of course major layoff announcements like this are coming out of Europe almost every day now.
#4 Home prices in France are falling rapidly and the recent election of a socialist president has created a bit of a panic in the French housing market….
British people with homes in France were today warned that the property market is in ‘free fall’.
A combination of factors including the election of a tax-and-spend Socialist government means that prices are tumbling.
It means an end to the boom years, when thousands of Britons poured money into rental or retirement investments across the Channel.
#5 A slow-motion bank run is happening in Spain.  The amount of money being pulled out of the Spanish banking system is absolutely unprecedented.  The following is from a recent Zero Hedge article….
The central bank of Spain just released the net capital outflow numbers and they are disastrous. During the month of June alone $70.90 billion left the Spanish banks and in July it was worse at $92.88 billion which is 4.7% of total bank deposits in Spain. For the first seven months of the year the outflow adds up to $368.80 billion or 17.7% of the total bank deposits of Spain and the trajectory of the outflow is increasing dramatically. Reality is reality and Spain is experiencing a full-fledged run on its banks whether anyone in Europe wants to admit it or not.
If this pace keeps up, more than 600 billion dollars will be pulled out of Spanish banks by the end of the year.
Keep in mind that the GDP of Spain for all of 2011 was just 1.49 trillion dollars.
So by the end of this year we could see the equivalent of more than 40 percent of Spanish GDP pulled out of Spanish banks and sent out of the country.
In case you were wondering, yes, that is a nightmare scenario.
#6 The unemployment rate in Spain is over 25 percent.  The youth unemployment rate in Spain is well over 50 percent.  Spain is a tinderbox that could be set ablaze at any moment.
#7 The yield on 10 year Spanish bonds is up to 6.85 percent.  This is an unsustainable level, and if rates don’t come down on Spanish debt soon it is inevitable that Spain will end up just like Greece.
#8 On Monday it was announced that Spanish banking giant Bankia will be getting an emergency “cash injection” of between 4 and 5 billion euros.  Apparently “cash injection” sounds better to the politicians than “a bailout” does.
#9 The housing crash in Spain just continues to get worse.  It is being reported that some homes in Spain are being sold at a 70% discount from where they were at the peak of the market back in 2006.  At this point there areapproximately 2 million unsold homes in Spain.
#10 There are persistent rumors that the government of Spain will soon be forced to officially ask for a bailout from the rest of Europe.  But who is going to bail them out?  Most of the other governments of the eurozone are on the verge of bankruptcy themselves.
#11 Manufacturing activity in Europe has contracted for 13 months in a row.  The following is from a recent Reuters report….
The downturn that began in the smaller periphery members of the 17-nation bloc is now sweeping through Germany and France and the situation remained dire in the region’s third and fourth biggest economies of Italy and Spain.
“Larger nations like France and Germany remain in reverse gear… the (manufacturing) sector is on course to act as a drag on gross domestic product in the third quarter,” said Rob Dobson, senior economist at data collator Markit.
Markit’s final Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell from an earlier flash reading of 45.3 to 45.1, above July’s three-year low of 44.0, but notching its 13th month below the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.
#12 Chinese exports to the EU declined by 16.2 percent in July.  U.S. exports to Europe have been steadily falling as well.
#13 Slovenia and Cyprus are two other eurozone members that are in desperate need of bailout money.  The dominoes just keep falling and nobody seems to be able to come up with a plan to “fix” Europe.
#14 Even the “strong” economies in Europe are being dragged down now.  For example, unemployment in Germany has risen for five months in a row.
#15 According to one recent poll, only about one-fourth of all Germans want Greece to remain a part of the eurozone.  The odds of a breakup of the euro seem to rise with each passing day.
#16 It is now estimated that bad loans make up approximately 20 percent of all domestic loans in the Greek banking system at this point.
#17 The suicide rate in Greece is more than 30 percent higher than it was last year.  People are becoming very desperate in Greece and there is no end in sight to the economic depression that they are going through.
#18 Large U.S. companies have been rapidly getting prepared for a Greek exit from the eurozone.  The following is from a recent New York Times article….
Even as Greece desperately tries to avoid defaulting on its debt, American companies are preparing for what was once unthinkable: that Greece could soon be forced to leave the euro zone.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has looked into filling trucks with cash and sending them over the Greek border so clients can continue to pay local employees and suppliers in the event money is unavailable. Ford has configured its computer systems so they will be able to immediately handle a new Greek currency.
Every time European leaders get together they declare that they have “a plan” that will solve the problems that Europe is experiencing, but as we have seen things in Europe just continue to get worse with no end in sight.
A key date is coming up in the middle of this month.  On September 12th, Germany’s Constitutional Court will determine the fate of the recent fiscal pact and the ESM.  According to UniCredit global chief economist Erik Nielsen, if the court rules against the fiscal pact and the ESM the fallout will be catastrophic….
“If they were to surprise us by striking down Germany’s participation, I would think it’d be an utter bloodbath in markets”
But that is not the only thing that could set off a full-blown panic in the financial markets.
The truth is that Europe is teetering on the edge.
One wrong move and it is going to be 1929 all over again.
As I have maintained all along, the next wave of the economic collapse is rapidly approaching, and this time the epicenter for the crisis is going to be in Europe.
But that does not mean that things are going to be easier for the United States than last time.  We have never even come close to recovering from the last recession.  Most Americans families are just barely getting by.  In fact, 77 percent of them are living paycheck to paycheck at least part of the time.
Right now there are millions of Americans that have lost their jobs and their homes in recent years and that feelforsaken by society.
After this next wave hits us there will be tens of millions of Americans feeling the pain of economic desperation.
The last wave of the economic collapse hurt us.
This next wave is going to absolutely devastate us.
Watch what is happening in Europe very carefully.  What Greece, Spain, Italy and France are experiencing right now is going to hit us soon enough.

Read more - 
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/18-indications-that-europe-has-become-an-economic-black-hole-which-is-going-to-suck-the-life-out-of-the-global-economy