Wino

I tend to think it may be an assault. If the hospital reports injuries consistent with an assault, then I tend to believe the doctors. I would not think falling out of bed would usually produce injuries serious enough to send an inmate to the hospital.

Your home is your castle and you should be able to run around naked if you want. If you are hanging around the window trying to shock anyone passing by, then you are a little creepy and need help. On the other hand, if have a crazy neighbor and she catches an occasion glimpse of you walking by the window, then that is another matter.

I think there are upfront fees. The article said, "First Premier lowers fees to just that limit -- $75 in the first year for a credit line of $300" Upfront fees, low credit limit and 79.9% interest? How ridiculous

Quote: "First of all, I said MEXICAN menudo. Secondly, by your own Wikipedia quote you said ""extra red chili peppers for a spicier taste." Diana Kennedy, one of the foremost Anglo authorities on traditional Mexican cuisine, saves the chilies to be used as a topping, affording the diner to make the menudo as hot or as mild as you like it. How many times have you cooked or even tasted menudo? I would venture to say "none". " Yes indeed you initially said Mexican menudo, but then you made the broad statement, “If you leave out the tripe, it wouldn’t be memudo." I simply pointed out a case where that is not so. Seems you are a little testy today, maybe too much Christmas cheer? No I have never made menudo. In my youth, I traveled extensively in Mexico and tasted many different dishes. So what? Does that really mean you are an expert and I should not comment?

Did Bernie Madoff fall out of bed or was he assaulted? What do you think? One report said “a North Carolina station quoted unnamed sources as saying that Madoff had been treated at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. for injuries that were consistent with an assault.†The same article said, “Lawyer Ira Sorkin told the Associated Press that Madoff has "had some dizzy spells and some high blood pressure." “The station now claims that the injuries actually came from him falling out of bed.†http://www.myfoxny.c...ff-Not-Attacked

Seems there are nuts all over the world. Shoe throwers at Bush, tomato throwers at Palin, statue throwers at Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and now a lady jumps the barricades and knocks down the pope while on his way to say midnight mass. What is happening in the world?

I say if you don't want to see this guy naked, then don't look. It is stupid to arrest this guy in his own home. FAIRFAX, Va. – A 29-year-old Virginia man has been convicted of indecent exposure after two women said they saw him naked through the windows and doors of his home. Erick Williamson argued in court Friday that he should be free to go au naturel inside his home. But a judge agreed with prosecutors who argued Williamson's actions showed he intended to make himself seen. Police said he made a point of making himself visible to a 7-year-old boy and his mother as they walked to school along a path outside Williamson's home in October. Williamson received only a suspended jail sentence and no fine, but still intends to appeal. Williamson's arrest received national attention and spurred debate about whether someone should be subject to arrest for exposure from inside his own home. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091218/ap_on_fe_st/us_in_home_indecent_exposure

This is highway robbery. How could anyone agree to these terms? NEW YORK (AP) -- It's no mistake. This credit card's interest rate is 79.9 percent. The bloated APR is how First Premier Bank, a subprime credit card issuer, is skirting new regulations intended to curb abusive practices in the industry. It's a strategy other subprime card issuers could start adopting to get around the new rules. Typically, the First Premier card comes with a minimum of $256 in fees in the first year for a credit line of $250. Starting in February, however, a new law will cap such fees at 25 percent of a card's credit line. In a recent mailing for a preapproved card, First Premier lowers fees to just that limit -- $75 in the first year for a credit line of $300. But the new law doesn't set a cap on interest rates. Hence the 79.9 APR, up from the previous 9.9 percent. "It's the highest on the market. It's the highest we've ever seen," said Anuj Shahani, an analyst with Synovate, a research firm that tracks credit card mailings. The terms are eyebrow raising, but First Premier targets people with bad credit who likely can't get approved for cards elsewhere. It's a group that tends to lean heavily on credit too, meaning they'll likely incur the steep financing charges. So for a $300 balance, a cardholder would pay about $20 a month in interest. First Premier said the 79.9 APR offer is a test and that it's too early to tell whether it will be continued, according to an e-mailed statement. To comply with the new law, the bank said it will no longer offer the card that has $256 in first-year fees as of Feb. 21, 2010. However, customers will still be able to use their existing cards. The bank said "no final decisions" have been made regarding any rate changes for those cards. First Premier noted that it needed to "price our product based on the risk associated with this market." The bank declined to specify how many people were offered the 79.9 APR card. According to First Premier's Web site, the credit cards are serviced by its sister organization Premier Bankcard. The company, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., says Premier Bankcard is the 10th largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa cards in the country, with more than 3.5 million customers. In a mailing sent to prospective customers in October with the revamped terms, First Premier writes "...you might have less-than-perfect credit and we're OK with that." The letter notes that an online application or phone call is still required, but guarantees a 60-second status confirmation. The letter also states there are no hidden fees that aren't disclosed in the attached form. That's where the 79.9 percent interest rate and $75 annual fee are listed. There's also $29 penalty if you pay late or go over your $300 credit limit. Even if First Premier doesn't stick with the 79.9 APR, it will likely hike rates considerably from the current 9.9 percent to offset the lower fees, said Shahani of Synovate. The revamped terms may not be the only changes; First Premier also appears to be moving away from the riskiest borrowers. The bank typically mails offers to subprime households, meaning those with credit scores below 700. In the third quarter, however, 84 percent of its offers were sent to subprime households, down from 91 percent the same period last year, according to Synovate. First Premier could be cleaning up its credit card portfolio since the new regulations will limit its ability to raise interest rates. That could mean First Premier won't issue cards as liberally to those with bad credit. As harsh as First Premier's terms seem, that could be a blow to those who rely on the card, said Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of CardHub.com. "Even when the cost of credit is astronomical, for people in true emergencies, it's much better than not having access to credit," said Papadimitriou. Until Feb. 21, First Premier is still offering its even-higher-fee card online. So the price for credit the bank charges is at least $256 in first-year fees. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Credit-cards-newest-trick-799-apf-3359014390.html?x=0&.v=4

Quote: "If you leave out the tripe, it wouldn't be menudo." According to Wikipedia, there is a Filipino menudo stew-like dish. "Filipino menudo will usually contain tripe though common variants will include chickpeas, red peppers and raisins." Quote: "Menudo is not supposed to be fiery hot" Again, according to Wikipedia, "Usually, lime, chopped onions, and chopped cilantro are added and some also add crushed oregano and extra crushed red chili peppers for a spicier taste." I guess adding crush red chili pepper doesn't make it hot?

Phuket's transport system is a mess. I remember when I was there 15 years ago, transportation was crazy and expensive in comparasion to transportion in other parts of Thailand. I decided to rent a motorbike and see the island on my own terms.

If I am reading the following article right, the government is thinking of increasing the excise tax on beer and spirits in order to offset Afta’s new zero import tax rate on imported alcoholic beverages. This done in order to protect the consumers’ health? What a bunch of baloney! Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij yesterday declined to comment on the planned excise hike. However, official sources say the excise ceiling on beer, for instance, is expected to rise from Bt100 to Bt460 per litre based on alcohol content, while that of distilled white spirits and whisky will rise from Bt120 to Bt400. PREVENTING DUMPING The planned hike should help prevent cheaper foreign-made alcoholic drinks being dumped in the Thai market once liberalisation is in place. "Alcoholic beverages damage consumers' health, so it's necessary to use the excise tax as a measure |to manage consumption. Compe-tition in the alcohol industry should also be curbed because fiercer competition as a result of market liberalisation will lead to more consumption. "In addition, the government should enforce a law banning the advertisement of these products to prevent further damage to public health," said a ministry official, who asked not to be named. Under the Afta scheme, Thailand and other Asean countries will be opening up their domestic markets to boost trade within the 10-country grouping. From January 1, several types of products - including alcohol - will benefit from the zero import tax rate, allowing an influx of cheaper beer and liquor from within the region. At present, Thailand is the largest market for alcoholic beverages in Asean, followed by the Philippines and Vietnam. Sources say Chinese beverage firms with production facilities inside Asean are expected to flood the Thai market with cheap beer and liquor. In addition, some European firms are already using production facilities within Asean to supply low-cost products to the Thai market. If the excise tax ceiling does not get adjusted before Afta is enforced, Thai producers will be hit hard by the dumping of foreign products. Beside beer, competition in the distilled white spirits and whisky market segments is also expected to be fierce due to the reduction of import duty. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/12/24/business/business_30119060.php

Mr. Angel's neice is saddened by the name change in the famous waterfall in Venrzuela. Here is what she had to say. ARCATA, Calif. – The niece of adventurer Jimmie Angel says she is saddened that Venezuela President Hugo Chavez wants to go back to using the indigenous name for the world's tallest waterfall. The waterfall, known as Angel Falls, was named after the American pilot who saw the natural wonder from his plane in 1933. But Chavez said Sunday he wants the falls to be called by its Pemon Indian name: Kerepakupai-Meru. Karen Angel, Angel's niece who runs the Arcata-based Jimmie Angel Historical Project, says the name should remain because he was the one who made the falls known to the world. "Jimmie Angel loved Venezuela and its people. He flew missions of mercy for the indigenous Pemon of the Kamarata Valley," she said in an e-mail. "My position has always been that Jimmie Angel made the waterfall known to the world, and thus he 'discovered' it in that context." The waterfall, one of the country's most popular tourist attractions, is 3,212 feet (979 meters) high. Chavez said Angel may have been the first to eye the waterfall from the air. "But how many millions of indigenous eyes saw it, and prayed to it," Chavez said. Karen Angel says the Pemon who live next to the site don't even use the name Chavez has selected. She says current research works use the Angel Falls name or another indigenous name, Churun-Vena. "(Chavez) should want people from the 'outside' to come to see the waterfall," she wrote. "Tourism to the waterfall is the Pemon's primary source of money." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20091222/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_venezuela_angel_falls

This is not a recipe but may be useful knowledge for healthy eating. I take a baby aspirin to thin my blood, but this tomato seed extract sounds like a better option. By Justine Van Der Leun Could millions of people trade in their daily dose of aspirin for tomato extract? On Monday, the European Commission, the European Union’s legal body, confirmed that the extract, patented as Fruitflow, contributes to healthy blood flow, and allowed manufacturers to use such claims in advertising. This is the first time such a health claim has been authorized by the Commission. The allowance follows rigorous clinical trials out of Britain that suggest that foods and drinks fortified with Fruitflow have the same blood-thinning benefits as aspirin -- minus the harmful side effects, like gastric distress. In 1999, while studying the particulars of the Mediterranean diet, Professor Asim Dutta-Roy, then at Aberdeen, Scotland’s Rowett Institute, found that a natural ingredient in the gel around tomato seeds promoted heart health, according to The Daily Mail. Dutta-Roy’s research showed that the tomato ingredient helped smooth platelets and prevent blood clots. Blood clots form when platelets, usually smooth, produce tiny threads called fibrin, which is due to inflammation, according to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. They then adhere to one another, forming clots that block arteries leading to the heart. These clots can cause stroke or heart attack. Those at risk for such illness -- including men over 50, people with heart disease or a history of heart attacks, or those in poor health from smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, stress or high cholesterol levels -- often take aspirin for its blood-thinning effects. Aspirin therapy can also reduce the severity of a heart attack. However, aspirin increases the occurrence of gastric ulcers, abdominal bleeding and bleeding in the brain during a stroke. Fruitflow, a ripe tomato extract that comes in syrup form, has not been shown to have any such negative effects. “To date, no side effects have been demonstrated during the development of Fruitflow,†Dutta-Roy told The Daily Mail. Instead, 10 studies -- two of which were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- reported that three grams of Fruitflow were effective just three hours after consumption, making platelets smoother while leaving the rest of the blood able to clot normally in the case of injury. Regular tomato juice is subjected to multiple processing methods that degrade the gel ingredient, rendering it far less effective than its concentrated form. Plain tomatoes are also less effective because the body must slowly digest all parts of the fruit. Fruitflow is now used in Sirco Fruit Juice, a brand only available in Britain. Its manufacturers hope to introduce the colorless, tasteless, fat- and protein-free syrup to other foods like yogurt and margarine, and to sell it in tablet and capsule forms. http://www.aolhealth.com/healthy-living/longevity/fruitflow-tomato-seeds-blood-thinner?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl6|link7|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2Fhealthy-living%2Flongevity%2Ffruitflow-tomato-seeds-blood-thinner

Call me odd, but cow stomach and calves feet are not on my uhhmmm-uhhmmm good list.

I did not realize menudo was a hangover cure. I am sure the fiery hot soup will clear the head. For me, they could leave out the tripe. When you talk of menudo, I always think of the Puerto Rican boy band that started the career of Ricky Martin.

How would you like to sIt next to this person on a plane?

Here is a picture of the billboard.

Dozens of needles are seen in this undated X-ray handout taken of a two-year-old boy in Salvador. A Brazilian toddler is making a good recovery after surgery to remove the first of 31 sewing needles pushed into his body by his stepfather in a cruel act that has enraged locals. reuters

This is an interesting article explaining the term “natural causes.†I remember when boy band member Stephen Gately died at 33, there was a discussion about whether people die of natural causes at 33 years of age. This gives us a better explanation of "natural causes." By Brian Palmer Actress Brittany Murphy, famous for her roles in Clueless and 8 Mile, died Sunday of sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 32. The L.A. County Assistant Chief Coroner has stated that the death "appears to be natural." What does it mean to die of natural causes? For a coroner, any death caused by disease or old age is natural. When someone dies a violent or suspicious death, medical examiners try to determine both a "cause" and a "manner." The cause refers to the biological condition that killed the victim—in Murphy's case, sudden cardiac arrest. The manner describes all the other circumstances that led up to that particular cause. Most states recognize five different manners: homicide, suicide, accident, natural, and undetermined. If a manner of death is deemed to be "natural," then the victim is thought to have died of an internal disease process or normal deterioration of the body. Outside forces, like chemicals or human intervention, had only a minimal influence. (There are some gray areas: Death by infectious disease is typically categorized as being natural, even though the killer microbes come from outside the body.) In general, it's much easier to determine the cause of death than the manner. To say that Murphy died of sudden cardiac arrest means only that her heart stopped beating unexpectedly, a fact that might be explained by any of the five manner classifications. Her death might have resulted from "natural" conditions like an enlarged heart, thickened ventrical walls, disruptions in the heart's electrical signals, or clogged arteries—not unknown among 32-year-olds, especially if they have diabetes. Or it might have followed from the ingestion of drugs (like cocaine) or poisons—making it a homicide, a suicide, or an accident. (A massive blow to the chest can stop the heart, too, but that would have left obvious signs.) Drug deaths can be tough to categorize, because circumstantial evidence is required to separate accidental overdoses from suicides. When all the tests are back from the lab, the medical examiner or the coroner—typically an elected official without medical training who consults the medical examiner—prepares the death certificate with the cause, manner, and a brief description. There is some variation in the forms. John Lennon's death certificate, for example, contains a series of causes to indicate the cascading physical effects of his gunshot wound. Even when the facts are clear, medical examiners sometimes disagree on the manner. If a patient is killed by a clot that breaks off during a procedure to clear up his clogged arteries, medical examiners can call it an accident (the medical error) or natural (the underlying disease). A man who has a heart attack while shoveling snow dies a natural death, but if the heart attack happens during a fistfight, his death is usually a homicide. Death from an allergic reaction to a bee sting can be called natural or accidental. While acute alcohol intoxication from a night of binge drinking is always classified as an accident or suicide, the death of a lifelong alcoholic from cirrhosis of the liver is usually classified as natural. (If Murphy's heart was weakened as a result of an eating disorder, as has been rumored, the medical examiner may analogize this to an alcoholic's impaired liver.) 　 These classifications are medical, and they sometimes diverge from legal usage. For example, if a victim were killed by a drunk driver, the medical examiner would typically classify the death as an accident, but prosecutors may consider it a homicide. The opposite result is also possible. In cases such as a killing in self-defense, the medical examiner might deem a death a homicide, but the prosecutor would not file charges. http://www.slate.com/id/2239356?yahoo=y 　

Although the little monkeys are cute, they can be very aggressive. I remember going to the monkey forest near Ubud in Bali. I little girl was bitten by a monkey when several of them swarmed her for food. I remembered picking up a stick for protection and was approached by a very mean looking creature. I think he was ready for a fight. I did an exit, stage right. I was glad to get out of there.

That is probably true, although they may also be given food and shelter as well as help with alcohol addiction problems.

I thought this one was funny. The confession line was very long and the priest needed to use the bathroom badly. He called in one of the alter boys and asked him to fill-in for a minute. The priest gave him a list of sins & penance. Just match them up. The first women confessed to giving the neighbor a blowjob and anal sex. These weren't on the list, so the alter boy asked another alter boy, "What does the father give for anal sex and a blowjob?" "He usually gives me a bag of chips and a soda." Q. What do you give a pedophile priest who has everything? A. A bigger parish.

We don't believe what the government has to say, yet many look to the government to solve their woes.

I guess you cannot blame Chavez for renaming the world's tallest waterfall. What's your opinion? CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that the world's tallest waterfall has been called Angel Falls too long and should revert to its original indigenous name instead of commemorating the U.S. pilot who spotted it in 1933. He called for renaming the Venezuelan falls Kerepakupai-Meru, saying during his weekly television program that Indians had a name for the majestic waterfall long before adventurer Jimmie Angel flew over it. How can Venezuelans could accept the idea that "the highest waterfall in the world was discovered by a man who came from the United States in a plane?" Chavez asked. "We should change that name, right? With all respect to that man who came, who saw it." He initially said the name should be Churun-Meru, but then corrected himself after receiving a note from his daughter Maria pointing out that the Pemon Indian name of the waterfall is Kerepakupai-Meru. "That's the name ... the name of the Indians," Chavez said. The waterfall, which is among Venezuela's most famous tourist destinations, is the world's tallest at 3,212 feet (979 meters), with an uninterrupted drop of 2,648 feet (807 meters). It plunges from one of the tabletop mountains, Auyan-Tepui, in the rugged, forested landscape of Canaima National Park in southern Venezuela. Angel's quest to find a cloud-shrouded, flat-topped mountain where he had previously discovered gold led him to become the first outsider to spot the waterfall in 1933. The Missouri-born pilot died at age 57 in a 1956 plane crash in Panama. "One could say he was the first one to see it from a plane," Chavez said. "But how many millions of indigenous eyes saw it, and prayed to it?" Chavez has renamed various places and institutions during his nearly 11 years in office, including successfully pushing to change the country's name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, after South American independence hero Simon Bolivar. "No one should refer to Angel Falls anymore," Chavez said, adding that at least his supporters shouldn't — even if his opponents prefer to keep using that moniker. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091221/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_angel_falls

Here is an article about Monkey Island. Has anyone visited it or heard about it? I am not sure why they would also call it Duck Island? MONKEY MAGIC Duck Island, also known as Monkey Island, is an experience not to be missed by tourists and residents alike and can only be accessed by boat, many of which operate from all the beaches of Pattaya. When planning a trip, be sure to take along a substantial amount of fruit of all varieties to ensure an amusing and memorable day whilst also feeding the numerous monkeys which inhabit the Island I was lucky enough to have been invited to visit the island by none other than a very happy and friendly local Thai after having said I’d never heard of the place and had not seen it advertised anywhere - not to say it isn’t. The arrival at the Island, which took approximately twenty minutes, was amazing. What looked like a quiet uninhabited place came alive as trees rustled and swayed with the descent of numerous monkeys making their way down to the beach Many of them being shy, stayed at the water’s edge, waiting for any fruit that was thrown from the boat to float in to them. Others however, swam out to the boat to guarantee themselves a meal. Never have I seen such bravado from creatures so small, some climbing aboard to snatch the fruit from our hands and cramming as much as possible into their mouths until their cheeks swelled like balloons and if not kept and eye on, snatching the whole bag…..(keep hold of all personal effects as if left unguarded will be lost). The sweetest sight of all were the tiny babies who clung to their mothers and spent half the time submerged under water whilst Mum fed herself. Just one of the many wonders of Thailand… An outing not be missed! http://www.pattayadailynews.com/showfeature