Daily news sites

Mexico wanted the U.S. to have all American gun owners register their weapons all along the bordertowns and turn over the list to Mexican feds in order to help trace weapons entering their country and used in homicides.

Sorry for the radio silence everybody. Yesterday, as I tried to make a lovely snow day breakfast, I had a run in with a pesky knife and ended up with stitches in my hand.


The buggers are right where my thumb muscle moves to make my hand...useful. And let me tell you in case you have forgotten this from Jr. High science, our opposable thumbs are one of the greatest gifts evolution gave us. Life without it is slow and frustrating. So typing is not my friend these days. Bare with me and know I'll be back in fighting shape soon.

But I can't drop a lame bomb like that and leave you empty handed (pun intended). So head over to Resembl where I'm sharing my favorite black and white handbags for the new year. Empty handed, hand bags, I just can't help myself.


I really love a good handbag and I've got some great choices to drool over. Check it out here.

Do you have an obsession with bags like I do? Ever had stitches? Ever heard a doctor say "We've got a bleeder!"? Sadly, I have. (Extra points if you can name the movie that line is also from.)

The head of the New York Republican Party called Tuesday for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to apologize for saying last week that "extreme conservatives" are not welcome in New York.
State GOP Chairman Ed Cox noted that the comments came in advance of Martin Luther King Day.


"I call upon Governor Cuomo to apologize to New York's good conservatives and Catholics for his statement that they 'have no place in the State of New York' and to all New Yorkers for poisoning New York's politics with divisive rhetoric at a time when New York needs to be united to address its continuing economic problems," Cox said.
But Cuomo's office pushed back against the rising criticism, suggesting his original remarks had been taken out of context.

During a radio interview last week, Cuomo discussed the divide among Republicans.
"Who are they?" he said. "Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that's who they are and they're the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that's not who New Yorkers are."

The comments caught fire in the media, as conservatives took umbrage at his remarks.
But in a letter published by New York's Times Union, Cuomo counsel Mylan Denerstein accused the New York Post, which earlier drew attention to Cuomo's interview, of twisting his words.

Denerstein said that to claim Cuomo was saying conservatives have no place in New York "is unfair, false and the exact opposite of what his tenure as Attorney General and his state administration has been all about.

"The Governor has never demonized the opposition to his gun law nor stance on protecting choice nor marriage equality. The Governor is a gun owner and a Catholic. His faith is very important to him and he respects the Second Amendment," he wrote. "The Governor was making the point that he makes often: New York is a politically moderate state and an extremist agenda is not politically viable statewide. New York has a long history of electing Democrats and Republicans statewide who are moderate rather than on the extreme ends of the political spectrum. That is an inarguable fact."

The U.S. House of Representatives approved $39 billion for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security budget that includes $16 billion for ICE enforcement.

The following chart shows home equity divided by wages and salaries. I have added an exponential decay trend line in red that uses the data points in red.


Click to enlarge.



Time Magazine: Person of the Year (2009)

Congrats to Ben Bernanke for mopping up after the speculative volcano erupted! Price stability! Maximum employment! The Dual Mandate Man had it all!

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Christopher A. Hall

Guaynabo municipal police arrested four teenagers for a carjacking that began with a chase and ended in a shootout with police. Another teen fled the scene.

Miguel Mejia-Ramos, Daniela Mejia, Deisy Garcia and Yaslin Mejia

When it comes to prints I don't hesitate to pair two of them in one outfit. Probably it sounds bold but it doesn't look that powerful. In this case I added a bright color that complements the stripe and leopard prints and now I can see a little bit of contrast, exactly the way I like it.
Both of the printed items are on my list of favorite/ timeless pieces from Lulu's.com and I think that both of them are - must- have- items- to own.
Is it too much for you two prints and a bold color, all in one outfit?




                                                                                     Coat: vintage/ options Here and Here
                                                                                     Striped top: Lani California c/o Lulu's.com Here
                                                                                     Jeans: Hurley/ similar style Here, Here and Here 
                                                                                     Bag: Costume National
                                                                                     Shoes: Report Signature c/o Lulu's.com Here
                                                                                     Sunglasses: Ray Ban/ Here

Grave Creek Mound - Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant)


Click to enlarge.

Coincidence?

Grave Creek Mound

At 62 feet (19 m) high and 240 feet (73 m) in diameter, the Grave Creek Mound in the Ohio River Valley in West Virginia is one of the largest conical-type burial mounds in the United States.

This post inspired by That 80s Show at Dollar Death $piral.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Kansas City Star reports Jeremy John Way was more than a science teacher to hundreds of Johnson County students.

He was a mentor and role model, a man whose influence went beyond the classroom to inspire them in many aspects of their young lives, his supporters say.

But that career of good work could not undo the “horrific life-changing mistake” that landed Way in a Johnson County courtroom Tuesday morning.

And it did not dissuade a judge from sentencing Way to four years and seven months in prison for having sexual contact with two 14-year-olds after he answered adult ads the teens had placed online.

Way, 43, an award-winning science teacher and Science Olympiad coach at St. James Academy in Lenexa, pleaded guilty in November to two counts of criminal sodomy involving the boys.

In each case, the boys initially claimed to be 18. And although Way knew they were younger after meeting them, he was unaware of their actual age, according to court documents.

While emphasizing that he was not minimizing Way’s actions or the harm he caused, his attorney, Paul Morrison, asked the judge to consider a lesser sentence of three years in prison.

Way already has lost the career that he loved and will have to register for life as a sex offender once released from prison, he said.

More here

ABC Newsreports a former middle school teacher who admitted having sex with a 15-year-old student has learned her sentence, and the young victim's parents feel like it's not enough. She got a light sentence, they say, because she's a woman.

Kathryn Murray will serve a year in custody at the Harris County Jail. After that, she will be on probation for another year. The victim's family calls that sentence light.

Murray smiled at her family as she walked out of the courtroom and into custody after sentencing. Just moments before, the victim's mother fought back tears in court.
"He's a child. Doesn't matter if people say he was 17 or 16. That's what the law says," the victim's mother said.

The boy's mother says he has tried to kill himself at least three times since Murray was arrested.

Prosecutors say Murray was 29 in February 2012 when she had sex with the teen, whom she was teaching at Memorial Middle School. Authorities say she had sex with him at least twice in her classroom and once in a hotel.

Court documents indicate she told the boy she "was in love with him."

"Being a teacher is somebody that we have to trust. We did trust Kathryn Murray," the victim's mother said. "I'm really hoping she won't ever come back near our son."
Court records say the relationship was only discovered because Murray told another teaching about kissing the student. She was fired after she was charged. She remained out on bond for a time prior to her guilty plea. During that time, she was rearrested after authorities discovered the boy with her at the home where she was staying.

More here

Russia - The Los Angeles cyber security company IntelCrawler reported that it trace the cyber BlackPos/Haptoxa (Potatoe) malware attack of the Minneapolis based Target customer credit and debit card data breach to Russian hacker Rinat Shabayev, 23, aka, "Ree4," of Saratov and his alleged technical assistant Sergey Tarasov, 17, of Novosibirsk.
Shabayev told Life News in Russia that he created the malware BlackPos and that other friends (hackers) added code features to it. At least, 40 versions of the malware were sold to cybercriminals in Europe and other countries.
Tarasov has denied his involvement and has sought legal advise after his mother got sick when a news report named him as an accomplice to the Target data breach, according to a Russian newspaper.
Shabayev admitted that he was aware of his malware that was originally created to test security systems could be used by cybercriminals to gain access to retail stores systems. 
The BlackPos malware might be also linked to the recent attack of the Neiman Marcus attack, according to IntelCrawler.

River in Queens have been matched by DNA to Avonte Oquendo, the teen who went missing more than three months ago, the NYPD confirmed Tuesday.
The body parts were found Thursday night in College Point, just southwest of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, about 9 miles by waterway from where Avonte was last seen on Oct. 4.


The disappearance of the autistic and mute teen launched a search that spanned the city and extended even into the suburbs for weeks. He walked out of his school in Long Island City, near the East River, and was never seen again.

Authorities said a human arm was found by a resident Thursday night, and then more body parts by officers who responded.
Searchers also located a pair of size 5 1/2 Air Jordan sneakers and a pair of jeans matching what Avonte was wearing the day he disappeared. A pair of underwear that was found did not match the size or brand he was wearing, sources said.
The flow of the East River, which is actually a tidal strait and not a river, changes direction with the tide, so it could have flowed from nearby Avonte's school to the place where the parts were found.

Family lawyer Daniel Perecman said the child was last seen on surveillance video in a park right along the water. But, he said, the teen is afraid of water and "doesn't like it." The family doesn't believe he would have voluntarily crossed a shoreline barrier.
Perecman has a press conference scheduled for later today.

I heard this phrase from a guest on CNBC today. Perhaps it is time for a refresher course on the meaning of the word cheap.

The Free Dictionary: Cheap


Let's attempt to compare the cost of energy to the cost of everything to find out how relatively low in cost energy actually is. The following chart shows the annual average of the consumer price index for energy divided by the consumer price index for all items.


Click to enlarge.

Did I somehow manage to transport myself to a Pulp Fiction alternate universe? It's sure starting to feel that way lately.

Say "cheap energy" one more time! I dare you!

See Also:
The Pulp Fiction of Rising Interest Rates

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart