US Government Considering Using Super-Scanners

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Apparently these new scanners are able to instantly discover everything there is to know about you - from 164 feet away - without your knowledge, and it does it all in real time! These are new laser-based molecular scanners, called Picosecond Programmable Lasers, that our government is considering placing in our airports to replace the TSA's current methods of body-frisking and -scanning.

Here is the full story at Gizmodo, and here is the product's website.

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The Trayvon Martin Case

-- has nothing to do with race.

The sooner all you black protesters realize this - the better.

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And why is it that it doesn't make national news when tons of people are upset about a white person's seemingly wrongful death? It's because we don't feel it is necessary to collectively come together and publicly RIOT every time a white person is wronged. It is always an issue with race for them whenever one of their own is wronged - in this country.

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A lot of people are pissed off at the way Kelly Thomas was murdered. But do you see mobs of white people protesting, and causing civil unrest because a handful of police officers beat him to a pulp? No. What you see there is an organized effort to investigate a group of officers who went overboard in their attempts to subdue a non-violent person, resulting in his death.

If you oppose the actions of the officers involved in the Kelly Thomas case, but are also blinded by reverse-racism in support of Trayvon Martin, then maybe you need to rethink exactly what you stand for. Go take some time and think about what it means to protect your own human life. Go take a moment to realize that George Zimmerman didn't want to pull the trigger any more than Kelly Thomas wanted to plead for his life for 15 minutes, while cops beat him to death.

Banks to Start Charging Fees To Use Your Debit Card

...as a debit card

Bank of America will start charging debit-card users $5 a month to pay for purchases. The move comes as the cards increasingly replace cash and as banks look for ways to offset the loss of revenue from a new rule that will limit how much they can collect from merchants.
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Paying to use a debit card was unheard of before this year and is still a novel concept for many consumers. But several banks have recently introduced or started testing debit card fees. That's in addition to the spate of other unwelcome changes checking account customers have seen in the past year. Bank of America will begin charging the fee early next year.

Bank of America's announcement carries added weight because it is the largest U.S. bank by deposits.

The fee will apply to basic accounts, which are marketed toward those with modest balances, and will be in addition to any existing monthly service fees. For example, one such account charges a $12 monthly fee unless customers meet certain conditions, such as maintaining a minimum average balance of $1,500.

Customers will only be charged the fee if they use their debit cards for purchases in any given month, said Anne Pace, a Bank of America spokeswoman. Those who only use their cards at ATMs won't have to pay.

The debit card fee is just the latest twist in the rapidly evolving market for checking accounts.

A study by Bankrate.com this week found that just 45 percent of checking accounts are now free with no strings attached, down from 65 percent last year and 76 percent in 2009. Customers can still get free checking in most cases, but only if they meet certain conditions, such as setting up direct deposit.

The study also found that the total.. Continue to the rest of the article..

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Sense of Smell - Lacking

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Ten Intriguing Storylines Now That Football Is Back

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First of all, take 3 seconds, and in the name of NFL Football, : Click Here!

Now that the lockout is over and training camps are set to begin, we can officially talk about some of the questions that all fans are asking. Here’s a look at some of the top storylines heading into the 2011 NFL season:

Will the Packers suffer a Super Bowl hangover?
The Packers are built to have an extended run as title contenders. The team has one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league. Their surplus of talent allowed them to overcome losing 15 players to injured reserve on their way toward winning Super Bowl XLV. The return of those players is one of the reasons the Packers are poised to make another run.

The spate of injuries allowed several young players - James Starks, Sam Shields and Desmond Bishop - to get on the field, and their surprising emergence only fortifies the Packers' roster. The team will benefit from the return of Jermichael Finley, Morgan Burnett, Ryan Grant, and Nick Barnett. If Mike McCarthy can keep his team motivated to handle the challenges of taking everyone's best shot, then there is no reason the Packers shouldn't repeat as world champions. -- Bucky Brooks


Are the Jets contenders or poseurs?
The Jets are legitimate contenders under Rex Ryan. They have advanced to the AFC title game in each of his first two seasons. Led by a hard-hitting defense that matches Ryan's swagger and bravado, the Jets bludgeon opponents with an intensity and toughness that forces them to wilt under pressure. They took a step back statistically, but their dominance returned in big games, especially in the playoffs.

Offensively, the Jets also have the pieces in place. Their running game has ranked among the best in the league, and they have a potent passing game led by an emerging big-game performer in Mark Sanchez. He has shown flashes of being clutch in the postseason, and that will eventually translate into championship success. Ryan is full of bravado and bluster and has assembled a team that has the ability to back up his bodacious claims. -- Bucky Brooks

Ready to be an icon and entertain?
Invoking the name Cam Newton gets a reaction, often strong. I've yet to talk with anyone who is neutral about the Panthers rookie QB and top-overall pick. So how will he do as a rookie?

All rookie QBs in this lockout-affected offseason will struggle. Without minicamps and OTAs and the ability to get coached on a daily basis, it would seem that it's folly to expect any rookie QB (and that includes Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert, and Andy Dalton) to have the type of debut experienced by the likes of Matt Ryan, Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez, Matthew Stafford, and Josh Freeman. But I do remember that Vince Young had a stellar debut, and he did it using his arm and his legs. Expect Newton to try to follow a similar blueprint, and look for any successes that he has to occur in the second half of the season. -- Charles Davis

Romo: Super Bowl or bust?
Several teams could do worse than Tony Romo at quarterback. Like the Cowboys.

Jon Kitna stepped in admirably after Romo’s collarbone injury, but Romo is the guy - at least in the immediate future - to get Dallas to the Super Bowl. But the grace period is over. His stats are better than adequate. Now it’s time to take the big step. Romo has all the toys he needs, and the line is being re-tooled. The defense that crumpled last season remains a question, but new coordinator Rob Ryan could provide some answers.

Romo’s leadership has come into question, which isn't good on a team that needs a leader. DeMarcus Ware said Romo has stepped up as more of a leader this offseason. We’ll see if that carries over. This might not be a do-or-die season for Romo, but time is running out. -- Steve Wyche

Click here to continue to the rest of the article..

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Bob Daisley vs. The Osbournes

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Bob Daisley is an Australian musician, bassist, and lyricist who has performed in genres of rock, blues, rhythm and blues, hard rock, and metal. He was a long time member of the band Uriah Heep, but is arguably most famous for his contributions to and collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne and his first five solo albums. As the bass player, lyricist, and songwriter of the band that was supposed to be called Blizzard of Ozz, he was certainly instrumental in the creations of two of the best hard rock albums of all time, Ozzy's Blizzard of Ozz, and Diary of a Madman, yet for whatever reason was denied tons of royalties from these creations - as was drummer Lee Kerslake.







From Daisley's website: Over the years, many people have written in to the website to ask Bob Daisley about his work with Ozzy and the legal action taken against the Osbournes. Bob has kindly agreed to answer some of the most frequently asked questions and a few of my own. It's worth noting that not only does Bob have an amazing memory, he's kept a detailed diary since 1976, these continue to prove useful. The answers in the following interview are an accurate account of what really happened and go some way to setting the record straight until Bob's autobiography reveals the whole story.

Click here to go read the interview.. This is a terrific read that will surely alter your opinion of Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne in some fashion!

Here are a few of the questions and topics:

• Who were the original band members and in what order were they recruited?

• Who managed the band from day one and when did Sharon get involved?

• Why did you go back to work with Ozzy time and time again?

• Given Don Arden's [Sharon's father] statement that Ozzy's "command of the English language is minimal," and Ozzy's own admission that he can't play an instrument, how is it that Ozzy is the only person credited for songwriting on 'Bark At The Moon'?

Enjoy!!

New Marilyn Monroe Statue Erected in Chicago

That pose, that dress, the blonde hair, the luscious lips ...



A 26-foot tall statue of Marilyn Monroe towering above tourists in the middle of Chicago was unveiled on Friday to much applause.

Desperate to keep her identity a secret until Friday, workers who put the statue in place on Thursday had to put a rather unsightly cloth bag over the poor girl's head, albeit it one in red, white and blue.

The statue, by artist Seward Johnson, replicates the actress's famous subway scene in 1955 film The Seven Year Itch and was unveiled on Chicago's Pioneer Court.

In the scene Monroe stands over a subway grate as a breeze from a train passing below blows her skirt over her panties.

It was shot in New York but as the Windy City, Chicago seems like the second best location for such an art work.

While their wives and girlfriends were not there, the men from a wedding party took scores of photos from all different angles..

The stainless steel and aluminium sculpture, which weighs a whopping 34,000lbs, has raised more than a few eyebrows.

Not least because visitors to the plaza are at once confronted with Monroe's pert bottom in gleaming white panties and her perfect pins bedecked in white, open-toe kitten heels.

Watch the statue midway through construction:


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Could JFK's Assassination Have Been An "Accident"?

Brendan Kiley, a writer for The Stranger Dot Com, poses the question after reading Andy Kerr's "A Journey Amongst The Good And The Great". Its prologue begins like this:

One day we got a letter from Lee Harvey Oswald. The name meant nothing to us then. The letter was long and handwritten and was mailed from Russia where Oswald was living with his wife, Marina. It was addressed to "The Honorable John Connally," who was then the secretary of the navy in the Kennedy administration.

Read the whole (short) article..

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Kobe: Our Failure A Wasted Year

Kobe Bryant is never much for sentimentality, and he's not going to change any time soon.

So when he reflected Wednesday on the Lakers' underachieving 2010-2011 season, which included being swept in a Western Conference semifinal series, Bryant didn't mince words on his disappointment.

"It was a wasted year of my life," he said in his exit interview.

Among the other highlights:

• He said he believes that the Lakers can win a title next year with the same roster

• He said he plans to work on his game during the summer, focusing on leg strength and injury prevention. He added that he doesn't want to get surgery on his right index finger, even if there is an NBA lockout, because the rehab would take too long.

Click here to listen to Kobe's exit interview..

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Too bad - So Sad..













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Can Dogs See Colors?

by Stanley Coren, Ph.D., F.R.S.C. in Canine Corner at Psychology Today Dot Com



Probably one of the most frequently asked questions about dog's vision is whether dogs see colors. The simple answer-namely that dogs are colorblind-has been misinterpreted by people as meaning that dogs see no color, but only shades of gray. This is wrong. Dogs do see colors, but the colors that they see are neither as rich nor as many as those seen by humans.

The eyes of both people and dogs contain special light catching cells called cones that respond to color. Dogs have fewer cones than humans which suggests that their color vision won't be as rich or intense as ours. However, the trick to seeing color is not just having cones, but having several different types of cones, each tuned to different wavelengths of light. Human beings have three different kinds of cones and the combined activity of these gives humans their full range of color vision.

The most common types of human colorblindness come about because the person is missing one of the three kinds of cones. With only two cones, the individual can still see colors, but many fewer than someone with normal color vision. This is the situation with dogs who also have only two kinds of cones.

Jay Neitz at the University of California, Santa Barbara, tested the color vision of dogs. For many test trials, dogs were shown... Click here to continue on to the rest of the article..

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10 Ways To Guard Against ID Theft

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1. Thieves don't need your credit card number in order to steal it.
Conversely, they don't need your credit card in order to steal your identity. Identity thieves are crafty; sometimes all they need is one piece of information about you and they can easily gain access to the rest. As a result, says Heather Wells, recovery manager at ID Experts, an identity protection company,

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today it's crucial to lock up important documents at home. "Secure birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports, in a safe deposit box or in a safe hidden at home," she says. "And that includes credit cards when not in use."

2. The nonfinancial personal information you reveal online is often enough for a thief.
Beware of seemingly innocent personal facts that a thief could use to steal your identity. For example, never list your full birth date on Facebook or any other social-networking website. And don't list your home address or telephone number on any website you use for personal or business reasons, including job-search sites.



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3. Be careful with your snail mail.
"Follow your billing cycles closely," says Lucy Duni, the vice president of consumer education at TrueCredit. "If a credit card or other bill hasn't arrived, it may mean that an identity thief has gotten hold of your account and changed your billing address." Al Marcella, professor at Webster University's School of Business and Technology in St. Louis, and an expert on identity theft, suggests when you order new checks, you
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pick them up at the bank instead of shipping them to your home. "Stolen checks can be altered and cashed by fraudsters," says Duni. And never place outgoing mail in your post office box or door slot for a carrier to pick up. Anyone can grab it and get your credit card numbers and other financial information. Take it to the post office yourself.

Continue to the rest of the list..

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10 Toughest Things To Get Rid Of

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It’s hard to know what to do with cans of leftover paint or electronics that have seen better days. You know you shouldn’t throw them in the trash, but they’re not typically recycled at the curb. So how exactly do you get rid of them?

Luckily, if you’re armed with the right info, it can be easier than you think to dispose of these things. It’s worth any extra effort because many of the items on this list contain toxic chemicals that can contaminate the environment or cause other damage if not carefully disposed of.

The laws for disposing of household waste vary depending on where you live, but here are some general guidelines and resources:

1. Batteries
Recycling rechargeable batteries is fairly easy. It’s a good thing because throwing out lead-acid batteries is illegal in 41 states, according to Trey Granger at Earth911. Home Depot, Staples, Radio Shack, Best Buy, and many other retailers take them back free of charge.

There are fewer options for single-use batteries, but look for bins at your local library. Otherwise, your best bet is a nearby household hazardous waste (HHW) drop-off site.

2. Electronics
Every retailer that takes back rechargeable batteries also accepts mobile phones, as do most wireless providers. For computers, cameras, televisions, and others it's worthwhile do a little homework because some stores charge fees depending on item and brand. Check out Best Buy, Staples, and Office Depot to see what's the best fit.

Some places, like Radio Shack, have trade-in programs where you can receive store credit for your old gadgets. You can also turn your old electronics into cash thanks to a growing number of websites designed to help you easily sell them.

3. Paint
This is among the harder items to dispose of, but it's still totally doable. Some ideas to try first: Do your best to make sure it gets used. Give it to a friend. Use it for primer. Donate it to a charity, such as Habitat for Humanity or a school theater group. If you can't reuse it, then search to see if you can recycle it.

If you just can't reuse it, you might need to throw dried paint in the trash if it's not

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against the law in your community. Remove the lid from a latex paint can and let it dry out until it's completely hard. Take any oil-based paints directly to your household hazardous waste center.

4. CFLs
Fluorescent bulbs contain tiny amounts of mercury that can leach out if broken, so it’s important to properly recycle them. Luckily, these energy-sipping light bulbs are relatively easy to get rid of. Just drop old bulbs off at any Home Depot or Ikea for free recycling, or search for other nearby solutions.

If you have absolutely no other options and must throw them in the trash, then the Environmental Protection Agency suggests sealing CFLs in two plastic bags before disposing.

Continue to the rest of the list..

Doesn't The Government Have Better Things To Do?

Roger Clemens indicted on perjury charges, and others.

A federal grand jury indicted Roger Clemens on Thursday on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

An indictment was returned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson of the District at a brief hearing shortly after 1:30 p.m. The indictment charges Clemens with one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements and two counts of
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perjury in connection with his February 2008 testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

If convicted, he faces 15 to 21 months in prison.

25 Chill Pills To Control Costly Stress

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Stress is a killer -- literally. It also leads to wanton spending, unanticipated medical expenses and income loss.

In the worst case scenario, high stress can lead to suicide. The annual indirect cost for each attempted suicide is $31,616 and each completed suicide is $446,314. The emotional cost to family, friends and the community is incalculable.

None of us want to end up in debt because of stress, particularly stress that can be managed. Some problems simply can't be avoided (Are you listening BP?): Others we can control.

I'm one of those people who used to stress out over simple things, like laundry. It's taken me YEARS and lots of money to develop tricks for controlling this mania. I'd like to share 25 tips learned along my merry therapeutic path. Hopefully, they'll save you money without spending your money.

1. Avoid Human Stress Magnets
Limit exposure to those who create stress in your life, particularly if they refuse to change. You might even consider ending the relationship entirely. That can create more stress during the process, but the result can be surprisingly blissful.

2. Control Your Environment
Is this you? You're driving home, listening to the evening news when someone spouts an unbelievable inanity. You clutch the steering wheel and scream! (Okay. Maybe that's not you, but it's sure me.) That's why I now listen to music or books on CD during drive times.

If it's the traffic that makes you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market drives you up the wall, delegate the job to someone else, shop during slower hours or do the bulk of your shopping at farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture groups or bodegas/neighborhood stores.

3. Flip the Switch on Hot Buttons
Discussions of religion, politics and the economy make some people see red. If certain hot buttons just drive you 'round the bend, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop introducing the topic or excuse yourself when they start in again. With enough practice, you might even be able to laugh off their foolish viewpoints.

4. Just Say No
We all have limits, but not all of us insist others recognize them. Refuse to accept excessive responsibilities, whether in your professional or personal life. You may be pleasantly surprised at the reaction you'll receive. Then again, you may not. But you won't know until you try; and you deserve to try.

5. Create a To-Don't List
Identify the "shoulds" and "musts" on your to-do list and eliminate or drop the non-necessities to the bottom. Shoot the "shoulds" to the top of the list if they ever become "musts," (if that makes sense).

Continue to the rest of the list..

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The Ultimate Irony

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Now She Shops Alone

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