84 YEARS AGO TODAY

Dec 16 1920

In Kansu, China, an 8.6 earthquake kills 180,000 people, mostly from building collapses. But 20,000 froze later because they were unwilling to reoccupy housing during the winter.

The Kansu region had been earthquake-free for 280 years before this disastrous quake struck. A great deal of the damage was due largely to poor soil conditions throughout the province with intense shock waves causing violent undulations of surface clay and several landslips. An area 280 miles by 95 miles (450km by 150km) was severely affected by landscape deformation. Ten cities suffered widespread destruction and heavy casualties.

In 1932, another 70,000 were killed by an earthquake in the same region.

http://www.pdc.org/earthquake_history.php

 On 25 October,2003, two earthquakes measuring 6.1 and 5.8 on the Richter Scale hit Zhangye Prefecture in Kansu Province. The earthquakes were followed by 400 aftershocks. Over 137,000 people in 175 villages were affected by the quakes, which left ten people dead.

http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/e7fcd3eb253b4cefc1256dd6004a6aa3?OpenDocument

Newsbrief: Jimson Weed Now Illegal in Oklahoma 12/10/04 

For the past month, Jimson weed has been illegal in Oklahoma.The weirdly psychoactive member of the datura family (datura stramonium), known folklorically for making sheep crazy, is now considered a "synthetic controlled substance," with punishments of up to a year in jail for possession to up to life in prison for distribution.

The law defines a "synthetic controlled substance" as "a substance, whether synthetic or naturally occurring, that is not a controlled dangerous substance, but which produces a like or similar physiological or psychological effect on the human central nervous system that currently has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and has a potential for abuse."

The law is the direct result of an incident last year at Mustang High School, where 10 students became ill after ingesting the weed. Mustang schools superintendent Karl Springer approached lawmakers to pass the law after police informed him they had no law with which to charge the students.

Read the Oklahoma law, HB 2166, at http://www2.lsb.state.ok.us/2003-04HB/hb2166_enr.rtf online. Find out more about Jimson weed at the Vaults of Erowid, http://www.erowid.org/plants/datura/datura.shtml online.

"Before [Burns] was killed, I thought we were here to kill the bad ones and save the good ones.... Now I think: 'Is he the one who shot Kyle?' It's a revenge thing. Every time I see an Iraqi, I could be face-to-face with the guy who killed my best friend."

- Lance Corporal Matt McClellan, serving in Iraq with Charlie Company of the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance battalion.

Source AlterNet

Yvonneda Edmonson, 26, was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday. Prosecutors say she did nothing, while Jon Robertson physically and sexually abused the girl over a period of five months.

During the sentencing, Judge Kenneth Callahan said Edmonson never showed a hint of real remorse.

Man unfazed by Tasers, pepper spray, canine
By CLIFF HIGHTOWER chightower@hernandotoday.com
Published: Dec 6, 2004

BROOKSVILLE - After Rudolph Jessie Hicks Jr. was arrested, he reportedly told authorities he might have smoked the drug PCP beforehand, but was unsure.

Deputy Gary Taylor drove his Taser into Hicks' left buttocks and stunned him for five seconds.Hicks ripped the probes out.

Taylor fired a full can of pepper spray into Hicks' eyes and Deputy Jason Tippin fired a Taser shot into Hicks' back. Neither affected Hicks and he ripped the wires out from the second Taser shot. Hicks ran north on Peach Street. Deputies caught up to Hicks and Taylor fired another Taser into Hicks' back. He kept running. Deputies fired a third and fourth time.

When he reached Hale Oaks Apartments, deputies unleashed a K-9 dog on him. The dog bit down on Hicks' right calf, but the dog loosened for half a second and Hicks ran once again.

Several Taser probes were removed from his body at Brooksville Regional Hospital.

Oops!

By David Shuster

 On October 6, less than a month before the election, President Bush went to Des Moines, Iowa and introduced us to Mike and Sharla Hintz, a couple that the President said benefited from the administration's tax policies.   Because of the child tax credit, Mike and Sharla Hintz received an extra $1,600 in their tax refund... and with other tax cuts, the President said they saved enough money to buy a more efficient stove, make some home improvements, and go on a vacation to Minnesota.  Mr. Bush joked, "Next year, maybe they'll want to come to Texas."  Mike Hintz, a First Assembly of God youth pastor, said he supports Mr. Bush's values.  Hintz specifically mentioned the "war with our culture that's going on."

Hintz seemed like a perfect example for the Bush campaign.  Here was a youth pastor, a family man, a father of four...  who could talk taxes while condemning the hollywood cultural trash.  Perhaps Mr. Hintz was referring to mass entertainment's obsession with sex... or the impact such morals have had on teenagers and children? 

Speaking of morals, we've now learned that at the time of the Bush campaign event, Mike Hintz had been conducting an affair with a 17-year-girl who was a member of the church youth group.  Iowa television station KCCI is now reporting that Hintz was fired at the end of October and has now been "charged with the sexual exploitation of a child."

From the atrios blog via SimonTemplar

xX_Flee_Fornication_Xx

Currently Playing Extravagant Worship: The Songs of Darlene Zschech By Darlene Zschech see related You know those days where your just so happy taht JESUS loves you and he dyed for your sins that no thing else matters? Thats why ppl that don't beleve in Jesus are so unhappy all the time, i think. Its no surprize that theyre allways having fornication and taking drugs and killing themselfs, because they dont know Jesus. I think it wood be good if we sent them all to Vacaton Bible School. We have VBS at our church everyear and lots of kids lern about Jesus. We coud do it all yearlong and evryone would know Jesus! Well some ppl just want to serve Satin but stil we can be one natoin under God and get rid of so much fornication and dizease. Ppl would be lots happyer. All the Cristians need to work togethr to get people to be Christian insted of giving up. Jesus is coming agen soon! The majroity of ppl in this county are Chsitian after all and our presidant is to. That means we get to make the rules for everyon to lern about Jesus! From xX_Flee_Fornication_Xx

There Is An Alternative

In prison you spend the majority of time in an 8 x 10 cell. At work you spend most of your time in a 6 x 8 cubicle.

You get time off for good behaviour whereas at work you get rewarded by being given more work

In prison you get three meals a day and at work you only get a break for 1 meal which you have to pay for

In prison a guard locks and unlocks doors for you. At work you carry a security card round with you and you have to unlock and open all the doors yourself.

In prison you get to watch TV and play games but at work you would get fired for doing this.

At work you have to share a toilet with everyone else but in prison you get your own.

Family and friends can visit you in prison but at work they frown on you even speaking to them.

All your expenses are paid for you in prison, you don't have to work or pay taxes whilst at work they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for the prisoners.

In prison you spend most of your time looking through bars from the inside wanting to get out whilst at work you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.

From Fongster8

"We want more school houses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more constant work and less crime; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of  the opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful and childhood more happy and bright.  These in brief are the primary demands made by the Trade Unions in the name of labor.  These are the demands made by labor upon modern society and in their consideration is involved the fate of civilization."      -Sam Gompers (Vol. 3: Address, Aug. 28, 1893)

From banannagoats

Doctors in southern India have removed 90 metal objects including keys, screwdrivers, spanners and nails from a man's stomach

22-year-old Nagaraju is reportedly out of danger after surgery.

The coal miner's son was first admitted to the hospital with symptoms of schizophrenia and was later moved to a surgical ward when he complained of pain in the stomach and began to vomit.