October 14, 2015

Hillary Clinton Won the CNN Debate With a Surprisingly Spectacular Performance

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/10/13/hillary_clinton_won_the_cnn_debate_with_a_surprising_performance.html?wpisrc=burger_bar

Hillary Clinton arrived in Las Vegas as the overwhelming front-runner for the Democratic nomination, and she was destined to leave as the favorite, too. Instead of turning in the safe and solid performance she needed, though, Clinton was closer to spectacular on Tuesday night.


She was confident early and poised throughout. More surprisingly—and perhaps more importantly—she also drew first blood on Bernie Sanders, who was put on the defensive early when CNN moderator Anderson Cooper pressed him to explain the biggest blemish on his otherwise progressive resume: His 2005 vote to shield gun makers and dealers from lawsuits. With Sanders struggling, Cooper turned to Clinton to ask if her rival is “tough enough on guns.” Hillary, who earlier this month cleverly made repealing that same law a centerpiece of her gun reform proposal, didn’t hesitate. “No,” she said, “not at all.” Toward the end of the debate she was even able to put some focus on the historic nature of her candidacy and to take some shots at the GOP, two themes that would certainly be central to any general election campaign.

Bernie had his own strong moments during the debate, but he never quite recovered from his early stumble—particularly in front of a boisterous Democratic crowd that seemed to favor his establishment rival. Hillary’s lesser-known challengers, meanwhile, struggled to keep their sights set squarely on Clinton: Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley went after Sanders, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chaffee took a shot at former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, and Webb spent way too much of his limited speaking time complaining … about his limited speaking time.

October 14, 2015

6 church members arrested after teen dies from blunt force trauma

Six members of the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford, New York, have been arrested after the 19-year-old son of two of the suspects died from blunt force trauma injuries, police announced Tuesday.

Lucas Leonard, 19, was taken by family members in a car to a hospital in nearby Utica on Monday afternoon. The New Hartford Police Department said Leonard was injured during an assault and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators determined that Leonard was beaten at the church, the New Hartford police said. Police were originally called to the hospital and told that Leonard had been shot, but authorities said later a gunshot wound had not been confirmed. A medical examiner is doing an autopsy.

Authorities found several children in the church and called in child protective services.

A second assault victim -- a 17-year-old boy -- also was found, police said. He is at a hospital in serious condition, they said.

Bruce T. Leonard, 65, and Deborah R. Leonard, 59, each were charged Tuesday with one count of first-degree manslaughter, a Class B felony. Four other church members were charged with second-degree assault, also a felony.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/13/us/new-york-church-assault-case/index.html

October 14, 2015

Officer Who Threatened to Put Hole in Driver's Head Resigns

A Massachusetts police detective caught on video threatening to "put a hole" in a motorist's head has resigned.

Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn's office confirmed Tuesday that Detective Stephen LeBert had left the police force. LeBert's attorney says it was a difficult decision for him.

LeBert was off duty and out of uniform on July 26 when he stopped a driver who had made a wrong turn into a rotary and almost collided with another vehicle.

A dashcam video later posted online shows LeBert telling the driver, "I'll put a hole right through your head." It shows him repeatedly using profanities even as the driver tries to apologize.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/officer-threatened-put-hole-drivers-head-resigns-34455902

October 14, 2015

All babies love a bedtime lullaby... even if they're an elephant!

All babies love a bedtime lullaby... even if they're an elephant! Young calf curls up on a woman's lap and drifts off to sleep as she sings to it at Thai nature park

The baby elephant drifts off as the woman strokes its head and sings
The clip was taken at an elephant sanctuary in the Chaing Mai mountains
Elephants are forced to work long hours in the Thai tourism trade


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3270407/An-adorable-baby-elephant-curls-woman-s-lap-drifts-sleep-sings-lullaby-Thailand.html#ixzz3oV67UV42
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October 14, 2015

eat this and win 10% ownership of restaurant and free food for life

The eating champ with a stomach of steel that manages to hold it all without restroom breaks, vomiting or dying will earn 10% ownership of the restaurant, free food for life and a free t-shirt, owner Vic Robey said in a phone interview.

http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Finishing-this-30-pound-chingon-burrito-can-6568397.php

The challenge is so monstrous Major League Eating, the governing body of all professional food-eating competitions, won’t even approve it.

Robey said on Tuesday that only three people have attempted the challenge with the leader finishing just under four pounds. That title belongs to Gersh Kuntzman, a New York Daily News reporter.

“By minute 22, I knew my dreams of owning a restaurant were over. At 40 minutes, I hoped that my dreams of merely surviving hadn’t similarly expired,” the writer turned eating warrior wrote. “And as the clock struck one hour, I knew I had failed my country, my would-be future business partners, and, worse, all the guys back at the office who had bet the ‘over’ in the five pound over-under. My final tally: 3 7/8 pounds.”

http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Finishing-this-30-pound-chingon-burrito-can-6568397.php

October 13, 2015

The bird that's more valuable than ivory

It wouldn't be wise to go head to head with a helmeted hornbill. They weigh 3kg and have their own built-in battering ram - a solid lump of keratin (a fibrous protein) extends along the top of the bill and on to the skull. This "casque" can account for as much as 11% of a bird's weight.

In all other species of hornbill - there are more than 60 in Africa and Asia - the casque is hollow, but the helmeted hornbill's is solid. The males use it in head-to-head combat and both sexes use it as a weighted tool to dig out insects from rotting trees.







The casque, for which hunters are willing to risk arrest and imprisonment, is sometimes referred to as "ivory". It's a beautiful material to carve, smooth and silky to the touch, with a golden-yellow hue, coloured by secretions from the preen gland - most birds use their heads to rub protective oils from this gland over their feathers, legs and feet.

For hundreds of years it was highly desired by Chinese craftsmen who made artefacts for the rich and powerful, and by Japanese netsuke carvers who made intricate figures for the cords on men's kimonos. Many of these objects made their way to Victorian cabinets in the UK when netsuke collecting became fashionable in the 19th Century.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34504217

October 13, 2015

Man hit by 16-pound pine cone in S.F. park files $5 million suit

pics of pinecones from the same type tree before people say the lawsuit is frivolous





http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Man-hit-by-16-pound-pine-cone-in-S-F-park-files-6567225.php


A tourist visiting the Bay Area for Fleet Week last year was doing nothing more than reading and napping under a tree in a federal waterfront park in San Francisco when a 16-pound pine cone fell on him and crushed his skull, his lawyer said Monday.

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“This guy has an irreversible brain injury and he’s only in his mid-50s,” said Scott Johnson, a San Francisco attorney representing Mace in the lawsuit. “He’s had two surgeries already and he is going to need a third.”

Mace went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at the Fort Mason Center on Oct. 12, 2014, to find a spot to watch the Blue Angels air show. He found himself what he thought was a peaceful place to read and rest in the northeast corner of the park under a stand of coniferous Araucaria bidwillii trees, more commonly known as bunya pines or false monkey puzzle trees, according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 4 in San Francisco federal court.

Mace was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from internal bleeding. Five days later, another surgery was required to further relieve pressure building inside his skull, the lawsuit reads.

He suffered “traumatic brain injury, with severe and likely irreversible cognitive deficits,” according to court papers.

The suit alleges that there were no warning signs posted and no fences or netting to prevent people from hanging out under the trees, violating numerous park policies requiring the removal of exotic species that create safety hazards and mandating the installation of warning signs “necessary for visitor safety.”

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sign put up after incident

October 12, 2015

UN to investigate plight of US Native Americans for first time

UN to investigate plight of US Native Americans for first time
The UN human rights inquiry will focus on the living conditions of the 2.7 million Native Americans living in the US


The UN is to conduct an investigation into the plight of US Native Americans, the first such mission in its history.

The human rights inquiry led by James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on indigenous peoples, is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Many of the country's estimated 2.7 million Native Americans live in federally recognised tribal areas which are plagued with unemployment, alcoholism, high suicide rates, incest and other social problems.

The UN mission is potentially contentious, with some US conservatives likely to object to international interference in domestic matters. Since being appointed as rapporteur in 2008, Anaya has focused on natives of Central and South America.

A UN statement said: "This will be the first mission to the US by an independent expert designated by the UN human rights council to report on the rights of the indigenous peoples."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/22/un-investigate-us-native-americans

October 11, 2015

175 lb stolen dog found wandering down road

?uuid=V9StEG7PEeWzHNgNYrU-KA
Virginia animal control officer found a stolen $10,000 South African Mastiff on Friday morning in Richmond.

The 2-year-old dog, Adoons, had been missing since Monday from his Hanover County home. Authorities said an animal control officer found the show dog wandering the southside of Richmond, about 20 miles away from his pen.

Adoons — who is light brown in color and weighs about 175 pounds — was found uninjured and in good health, said Sgt. Matt Ratchford, a spokesman for the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. Ratchford said investigators do not know how the pup ended up in the city.

Adoons, who was discovered about 8 a.m. Friday, was reunited shortly after with his owner, Terry Allen.

“The dog is super friendly, lovable and sweet — he was wagging his little tail, he was so happy,” said Christie Chipps Peters, the city’s animal control director, of the reunion. “All of the stories that we have, it’s so great that we have one that ends so well.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/missing-dog-a-10000-missing-dog-really/2015/10/09/7b90008a-6e91-11e5-aa5b-f78a98956699_story.html

October 11, 2015

This Sweet Photo of a Cat With Dairy Cows Captures a Heartbreaking Truth About Humans

Dairy cows have the added indignity of being artificially inseminated, experiencing pregnancy and anticipating motherhood over and over again, only to have their calves taken away after birth. There is nothing farm-like about it. It is a gruesome expression of the human dominance that is destroying this planet.

Most cats, by comparison, enjoy a different type of existence, overall. They are a one of a kind species, in that they are the only domestic animal that humans have not found a way to enslave. We keep them in our homes for companionship, mainly, and if we’re lucky, they’ll keep the mice away. Cats were worshiped as gods back in ancient Egypt, and it seems as though they still hold on to a bit of that nobility. Today most cats, even house pets, manage to enjoy some level of independence in their lives. How ironic then, that the independent cat in this photo is choosing to spend its day giving love to cows!

Studies have shown cows to be highly intelligent creatures with excellent problem-solving abilities, complex social structures and a deeply emotional connection to the world around them. Cows have excellent memories and reach out for the love of their human handlers. They too were considered sacred among the ancients. While the Hindu people once found them divine because of their docile dispositions and willingness to share milk, they are now being exploited for those very same qualities.

This photo of the sweet cat offering the cows some love shows us that that these two very different species are not that different when it comes to the need to be loved. The sad reality, however, is that the cat will possibly live out her life experiencing the love and respect of human beings and the dairy cows will be used as nothing more than a commodity.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/the-sad-reality-behind-this-sweet-photo-of-a-cat-with-dairy-cows/