July 11, 2012

Full statement from the family of Joe Paterno (about the Freeh Report)

<snip>
As the people who worked closely with Joe know, he was tough, aggressive, opinionated and demanding. He was also highly principled, uncompromisingly ethical, dedicated to his job at Penn State and committed to excellence.
<snip>
The hiring of the Freeh Group is the single most important action the Board of Trustees has taken. Joe supported this decision with the hope that it would result in a thorough, balanced and thoughtful assessment of the Sandusky tragedy. Unfortunately, recent events have raised questions about the fairness and confidentiality of the investigative process.
<snip>
Joe Paterno did not cover up for Jerry Sandusky. Joe Paterno did not know that Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile. Joe Paterno did not act in any way to prevent a proper investigation of Jerry Sandusky. To claim otherwise is a distortion of the truth.
<snip>
Read more here if you can stand it: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/07/10/3257491/full-statement-from-the-family.html#storylink=cpy

And I'm the Queen of England.

This is preemptive damage control. You can't control an earthquake though.

July 11, 2012

Penn State's Hidden Victims

Mental health experts call it “triggering”—when an event, a sound, an image on television, or even a smell takes a victim back to the moment of their sexual abuse. For those who have survived such a childhood, the next wave of the Jerry Sandusky scandal is about to hit like a tsunami.
<snip>
The release of the highly anticipated report is sure to haunt Sandusky’s alleged victims, many of whom testified against him at the trial in which he was recently convicted. It may even spur legal action against Penn State and Spanier (who recently resigned), attorneys have suggested, if the report appears to prove that abuse could have been prevented.

But even for those not directly tied to the case, the enormity of the Sandusky saga has been felt. For the most fragile of childhood sexual abuse survivors—those who are new to treatment or have never sought professional help—the spectacle of the Sandusky case may act as a trigger, dredging up memories of their own painful past. According to professionals who work with such patients, a trigger can leave victims with panic attacks, depressed, or, in the worst cases, suicidal.

Curtis St. John, former president of the support group MaleSurvivor expects traffic to the organization’s Web site to spike this week as victims (they prefer to be called survivors) seek balance after the barrage of news coverage following the release of the Freeh report. “We’ve already been getting a flood into the site,” St. John told The Daily Beast. In November 2011, after Sandusky was arrested, traffic increased 66 percent, according to St. John. “It went up another 50 to 55 percent in May and June as the trial got underway,” he said. He attributes the increase to “those who found us and realized, ‘I am not alone.’”
<snip>
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/11/penn-state-s-hidden-victims.html

I'm glad this is publicized and hopefully will draw attention to a big problem. Too many people still remain in denial.

However, this does cause a great deal of pain for many people. It is an instantaneous reaction that is horrifying and discombobulating. The shadow of abuse never goes away. Even if someone has years of not thinking about the abuse, it can blindside them.

The Freeh Report will be released Thursday at 9am. It will be released simultaneously to many outlets. It will be online.

In addition, there is a federal investigation being lead by the judge who handled the case where some judges got cash for sending kids to juvie. I don't think he will be very forgiving.

The Paterno family is in complete damage control mode. They issued a statement saying he did not know about the abuse nor did he enable Sandusky. Happy Valley will remain cocooned in a mystical realm of denial where JoePa is forever a saint.

Karma is a bitch. They will find out the hard way.

July 11, 2012

"Seven Minutes Of Terror" - Landing a Rover on Mars

The video is called “Seven Minutes of Terror,” and describes, with the suspense and cinematography of a movie preview, what will happen next month when a one-ton spacecraft launched in November smacks into Mars.

“We’ve got literally seven minutes to get from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars, going from 13,000 miles an hour to zero,” Tom Rivellini, a NASA engineer, tells the camera with a grim face and deadpan delivery. “If any one thing doesn’t work just right, it’s game over.”
<snip>
More: http://tinyurl.com/6pls24b

Good lawd! How does it ever make it to the surface?

July 11, 2012

E.B.White responds to the ASPCA when he was accused of harboring an unlicensed dog:

In 1951, E. B. White — the novelist responsible for, most notably, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little — was accused by the ASPCA of not paying his dog tax and, as a result, "harboring" an unlicensed dog. He responded by way of the following delightful letter.

(Source: Letters of a Nation; Image: E. B. White with his dachshund, Minnie, via Mister Crew.)

12 April 1951

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
York Avenue and East 92nd Street
New York, 28, NY

Dear Sirs:

I have your letter, undated, saying that I am harboring an unlicensed dog in violation of the law. If by "harboring" you mean getting up two or three times every night to pull Minnie's blanket up over her, I am harboring a dog all right. The blanket keeps slipping off. I suppose you are wondering by now why I don't get her a sweater instead. That's a joke on you. She has a knitted sweater, but she doesn't like to wear it for sleeping; her legs are so short they work out of a sweater and her toenails get caught in the mesh, and this disturbs her rest. If Minnie doesn't get her rest, she feels it right away. I do myself, and of course with this night duty of mine, the way the blanket slips and all, I haven't had any real rest in years. Minnie is twelve.

In spite of what your inspector reported, she has a license. She is licensed in the State of Maine as an unspayed bitch, or what is more commonly called an "unspaded" bitch. She wears her metal license tag but I must say I don't particularly care for it, as it is in the shape of a hydrant, which seems to me a feeble gag, besides being pointless in the case of a female. It is hard to believe that any state in the Union would circulate a gag like that and make people pay money for it, but Maine is always thinking of something. Maine puts up roadside crosses along the highways to mark the spots where people have lost their lives in motor accidents, so the highways are beginning to take on the appearance of a cemetery, and motoring in Maine has become a solemn experience, when one thinks mostly about death. I was driving along a road near Kittery the other day thinking about death and all of a sudden I heard the spring peepers. That changed me right away and I suddenly thought about life. It was the nicest feeling.

You asked about Minnie's name, sex, breed, and phone number. She doesn't answer the phone. She is a dachshund and can't reach it, but she wouldn't answer it even if she could, as she has no interest in outside calls. I did have a dachshund once, a male, who was interested in the telephone, and who got a great many calls, but Fred was an exceptional dog (his name was Fred) and I can't think of anything offhand that he wasn't interested in. The telephone was only one of a thousand things. He loved life — that is, he loved life if by "life" you mean "trouble," and of course the phone is almost synonymous with trouble. Minnie loves life, too, but her idea of life is a warm bed, preferably with an electric pad, and a friend in bed with her, and plenty of shut-eye, night and days. She's almost twelve. I guess I've already mentioned that. I got her from Dr. Clarence Little in 1939. He was using dachshunds in his cancer-research experiments (that was before Winchell was running the thing) and he had a couple of extra puppies, so I wheedled Minnie out of him. She later had puppies by her own father, at Dr. Little's request. What do you think about that for a scandal? I know what Fred thought about it. He was some put out.

Sincerely yours,

E. B. White
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/02/she-doesnt-answer-phone.html

Love the whimsy!

July 10, 2012

Would you opt for this ocular cancer test?

A Life-Death Predictor Adds to a Cancer’s Strain<snip>
<snip>
But Ms. Caton had a new option, something that became possible only in this new genetic age. She could have a genetic test of her tumor that could reveal her prognosis with uncanny precision. The test identifies one of two gene patterns in eye melanomas. Almost everyone in Class 1 — roughly half of patients — is cured when the tumor is removed. As for those in Class 2, 70 to 80 percent will die within five years. Their cancers will re-emerge as growths in the liver. For them, there is no cure and no way to slow the disease.

No test has ever been so accurate in predicting cancer outcomes, researchers said.

The data from studies of the test are “unbelievably impressive,” said Dr. Michael Birrer, an ovarian cancer specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “I would die to have something like that in ovarian cancer.” Comment- Irony abounds.

While for now the ocular melanoma test is in a class by itself, cancer researchers say it is a taste of what may be coming as they continue to investigate the genes of cancer cells. Similar tests, not always as definitive but nonetheless able to give prognostic information, are under development or starting to be used for other cancers, like cancers of the blood.
<snip>
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/health/genetic-test-changes-game-in-cancer-prognosis.html?_r=2

Hmmmmmm........

July 10, 2012

Alligator bites off swimming teen's arm in Fla.

MOORE HAVEN, Fla. (AP) -- A Florida teenager has lost his right arm below the elbow to an attacking alligator.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino told Fort Myers television station WBBH ( http://bit.ly/NljdlO ) the teen's arm was still inside the 11-foot alligator when it was hunted down and killed Monday evening.

The television station reports 17-year-old Kaleb Langdale was rushed to a Fort Myers hospital but the arm couldn't be reattached.

Langdale was swimming in the Caloosahatchee (kal-oos-ah-HAT'-chee) River near Moore Haven when the attack occurred.,Matt Baker says the gator swam straight at Langdale. It bit the teen's arm and pulled him under water.

Another friend, Gary Beck says Langdale popped out of the water, screaming "my arm is gone."
Officials say it's alligator mating season and attacks are not uncommon.

Information from: WBBH-TV, http://www.nbc-2.com/

Mother Nature can be a real b****.

July 10, 2012

#OVERHEARDATROMNEYFUNDRAISER

#OVERHEARDATROMNEYFUNDRAISER

(20) Twitter / Search - #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser:

Alex-jon Earl ‏@alexjon: "Benson, check the twitters and make sure they aren't mocking us via hashtag." #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Jeremy Schulman ‏@jeremyschulman: "What do you mean you're out of Romney-for-President monocles?" #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Jeremy Schulman ‏@jeremyschulman: "Ugh... another four months of pretending to care about social issues" #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Path2Enlightenment ‏@Path2Enlighten: #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser "And now my employees expect healthcare?! The nerve! -Darling, please pass the Russian Beluga Sturgeon Caviar."

Rayner ‏@grayner: #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser "So she says 'I'm one month away from retirement, please don't fire me, blah, blah, blah'"

Ann T Bush ‏@AnnTBush: "Excuse me young man, you can park my car, but remember, it costs more than you'll make in your lifetime." #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Peg ‏@BowedOak: I'm building a for-profit Juvie center, as soon as Mitt pushes the vouchers through, it'll be full. #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Scott Wooledge ‏@Clarknt67: "You know you just gave your empty glass to Sen. Rubio?" #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

John Thomas ‏@JCTRambler: #overheardatRomneyFundraiser "Of course I'm not racist, all my factories are in Asia, for Pete's sake!"

Scott Wooledge ‏@Clarknt67: "I'll have my money call your money." #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Jean McKay Corner ‏@bwcjmc: We need to make the case to the lower income people the REAL VICTIMS are the the rich! #overheardatRomneyfundraiser

SpreadTheWord ‏@word_34: #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser "I can't relate with common people for Pete's sake, I'm running for President"

Jeremy Schulman ‏@jeremyschulman: "And the funniest part was when they wrote me a giant TARP check!" #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

janet smith ‏@gohogsgirl: #overheardatRomneyfundraiser "well, little billy had some trouble with DUIs this year, but we got those fixed & got into Yale"

Oliver Willis ‏@owillis: "he's got the personality of a piece of cardboard, but jeb wouldn't run, so whaddya gonna do?" #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Oliver Willis ‏@owillis: "i cant come clean about my offshore accounts, im running for president for pete's sake" #overheardatRomneyfundraiser

Gabe Ortíz ‏@TUSK81: "Funny story. My dad was shutting down this plant in Wisconsin..." #OverheardAtRomneyFundraiser

Moti Rieber ‏@rebmoti: "I inherited my money by my own bootstraps." #overheardatromneyfundraiser

Oliver Willis ‏@owillis: "my portfolio's done great under obama, i just don't like actually paying taxes." #overheardatRomneyfundraiser


And I'll bet most, if not all, were actually said.

July 9, 2012

This is how you become a world class kayaker in a nanosecond:

Photo Captures Kayaker’s Close Encounter with Great White Shark

Walter Szulc Jr., in kayak at left, looks back at the dorsal fin of an approaching shark at Nauset Beach in Orleans, Mass. in Cape Cod on Saturday, July 7, 2012. An unidentified man in the foreground looks towards them. No injuries were reported. The previous week, a 12- to 15-foot great white shark was seen off Chatham in the first confirmed shark sighting of the season according to a state researcher. Two more sightings were reported Tuesday, July 2, 2012. The same waters are filled with seals, which draw the sharks because they are a favorite food of the animal.

A kayaker’s first time out nearly became his last after a close encounter with a Great White shark.

Walter Szulc, Jr. was among the last to notice that beachgoers at Nauset beach in Orleans, Mass. were fleeing the ocean Saturday after a 12- to 14-foot Great White was spotted in the surf, WHDH-TV reported.

He told the station that before arriving at the beach he had teased his daughter about her fear of sharks. But in a scene reminiscent of the movie “Jaws,” witnesses said they saw the shark’s dorsal fin trailing Szulc by about 10 feet, according to reports.

Szulc told WHDH-TV that he had no idea that people were screaming “shark.” “So I looked behind me and that's when I saw the shark, it was pretty much right there, I got a glimpse of it. It was a good size and it had a fin sticking out, so I just turned and paddled,” Szulc told the TV station.
<snip>
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/weird/Photo-Captures-Kayakers-Close-Encounter-with-Great-White-Shark-161780885.html

Gonna need a faster kayak.

July 9, 2012

The greatest betting story ever:

Oxfam celebrates £100,000 windfall after dead donor's bet that Roger Federer would win seven Wimbledon titles finally pays out

*Nick Newlife placed £1,520 wager on Federer in 2003
*He bet the Swiss star would win Wimbledon seven times by 2019
*Oxfam land £100,000 win after 66-1 wager came in

A tennis fan who predicted Roger Federer's record-equaling Wimbledon triumph almost a decade ago has helped win Oxfam £100,000.
Nick Newlife placed an adventurous £1,520 wager in 2003 on the Swiss maestro to win Wimbledon seven times by 2019, at odds of 66-1.


Mr Newlife, who died three years ago, bequeathed the betting slip to the charity in his will, with Oxfam bosses watching in delight as the bold gamble yesterday won them the six-figure sum.
After Mr Newlife passed away in 2009 aged 69, Oxfam narrowly missed out on the prize money when Federer crashed out at SW19 last year.
<snip>
A neighbor at the time Gavin Cowan, 56, said: 'Mr Newlife came to me and got me to help him install a computer - he said he wanted to place a series of long-term bets.
http://dailygists360.blogspot.com/2012/07/oxfam-celebrates-100000-windfall-after.html

Wonder what other things he bet on?

July 8, 2012

If Mittens picks Condi as his VP, their slogan can be

Rice-A-Romney