We have all seen the TV ad’s sponsored by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) explaining in loving and simple family terms that there is no difference between natural Cane Sugar and the Franken sugar derived from putting corn through an entirely chemical and un-natural process to produce High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Health and nutrition experts, […]

Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an interesting and very enjoyable collection of previously published stories featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each story occurs during the Civil War and before the time of the first US Grant Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name. The stories portray Grant as a detective bringing his skills to bear […]

World War I is getting some attention in the entertainment industry lately, with the high class hit “Downton Abbey” and now the Stephen Spielburg film “War Horse”.
The plot is simple: think of Lassie comes home (the 1943 version) of a beloved animal separated from his master and trying to survive. Except in this one it […]

It was 77 years ago this month that one of the most notorious mobs of the 30’s met their end. Unlike many gangsters they really did not have a ‘home turf’, home became wherever they happened to be.
Life began to unravel for the group in 1936, and opting for personal safety the gang split up. […]

On New Year’s Eve, Jessica Munday watched helplessly as her close friends, Matt and Melanie Capobianco were forced to hand over their adopted little girl, Veronica, to her birth father. Now Munday and Stephanie Brinkley (a Charleston adoption attorney) are on a mission to “save Veronica.”

I get a gazzillion offers for great stuff in my email. If I jumped into some of the offers I would be a billionaire several times over, and my personal measurements would embarrass an Elephant! Because of a love of my wife, small rented house, and a dwindling bank account, I tend to ignore these […]

I am so mad right now and perhaps I shouldn’t be writing this while I am fuming but I needed to do so. Yesterday, in Miramar Beach, Florida, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 27 year old woman, Katherine Donovan, for child neglect.
According to the report a unknown citizen spotted a 4 year old […]

Use to be during the Christmas season in modern America, if the individual wanted a little buzz during the holidays, they would slip a bit of something into their eggnog.  Now, all you have to do to feel that surge of agitated surliness is to turn on the news or read about those turning themselves […]

There are few people that would disagree with legislation that limits their ability to use the internet. Maybe the best known rendition of this is The Great Firewall Of China. Needless to say access to this site from China was curtailed several years ago.
It also would appear that Myanmar (Burma for us old folks), and […]

According to the Portsmouth, New Hampshire police an arrest warrant has been issued for 25 year old Miranda Rifenburgh after she abandoned her three children on January 14, 2012. She is being charged with three counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Minor. The Division of Children Youth and Families have been notified.
The report says […]

In a significant development in Bangalore, a quasi judicial authority has issued an order that has legal sanctity in which he has interpreted that under one important section of the Information Technology Act the term “Person” used in the Act applies only to a “natural person” and not a “body corporate”.
This decision has created a […]

Here in the Philippines, thanks to Wikileaks, we know that not only American money is behind our “Reproductive Health Bill”, but that the American State Department is pressuring our president to pass the bill.
Heaven knows that the Philippines does need access to cheaper Birth control, but it’s not as if it’s not available: they sell […]

 This is a guest article by author John Cherry. He is the author of two books, Better Than Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Solo Music Career 1970-2010 he can be found at Betterthanlennon.com - Simon
The second CD of the James McCartney “Complete EP Collection” is titled “Close at Hand,” and it is as impressive as […]

I like Sam Moffie, you just never know where he is going to head next. Every book is completely different.  A brand new literary luncheon. Well I have great news, the world is about to get a brand new word feast from Sam Moffie.
Sam contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I might […]

Well actually quite a lot. One is old and reasonably rich, the other is young, brainless, and likely penniless.
But who paid the bigger price for being found guilty? Newt fessed up $300,000 yet Casey has managed to even avoid the $25 a month for probation. So who is the smarter one?
Casey was accused of murder; […]

It was with fun that I read the latest article on this subject from Infoworld. At one time or another everyone working for a large company has found themselves as the victim. It does not matter if you are IT geek, Corporate user, or just poor customer. The stories are always fun, yet also troublesome.
My […]

This week the team of Mannie Barling and Simon Barrett revisited the Casey Anthony story. At issue was not the criminal case but the ‘cottage industry’ of civil cases that have sprung up subsequent to her criminal trial.
While at face value they all appear to have moralistic merit, that does not imply that there is […]

The academic article below offers some interesting facts but the perspective appears to be a Leftist one so I thought I might offer a different perspective. I add some comments at the foot of the article
Psychological research has found that religious people feel great about themselves, with a tendency toward higher social self-esteem […]

Below is an academic journal article which claims that “racists” have low IQs. I append some comments at the foot of it
Bright Minds and Dark Attitudes
Lower Cognitive Ability Predicts Greater Prejudice Through Right-Wing Ideology and Low Intergroup Contact
Gordon Hodson et al.
Abstract
Despite their important implications for interpersonal behaviors and relations, cognitive abilities have been largely […]

An Amber Alert was issued yesterday for 11 year old Taylor Vo, from San Jose California. Reports say that 42 year old Tri Truong Le broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home looking for her and since he could find her at home he took her daughter at gunpoint forcing her to go with him.
Yesterday afternoon authorities […]

I have no clue as to how many CD’s and DVD’s I have. Buts it’s a lot, most are crap, and sit in huge piles in dark corners. I do have a list of favorites, but rarely do I have the time to visit with them. In fact my ‘favorites’ pile has been dwindling. […]

The San Jose Police Department issued an Amber Alert for an 11 year old girl that was apparently abducted by 42 year old Tri Le, her mother’s ex-boyfriend. According to the police Le broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home on Taffy Court San Jose, California.
The police say Le assaulted a family member then he fired off […]

It takes millions of years for a star to implode. It takes mere seconds for a politician to achieve the same result. We saw that with Herman (Munster) Cain, his run for the White House crashed faster than a failed Soviet rocket launch. Today Rick (no one votes for me) Perry also withdrew from winning […]

For many Americans, civil and criminal cases seem 180 degrees apart.  But, the reality is that they are kissing cousins and tools to whipsaw parties when it suits lawyers, prosecutors and other special interest groups looking for free publicity, seeking to build a resume to run for public office and other third parties using the […]

This is a guest article by author John Cherry. He is the author of two books, Better Than Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Solo Music Career 1970-2010 he can be found at Betterthanlennon.com - Simon
I had heard the music from James McCartney’s first release, an EP titled “Available Light.” This CD has all of the […]

Your Facebook account gets hacked! The attack came from China, and it begs a few questions. The population of China is guestimated to be a staggering 1,338,299,500, that makes it even bigger than Texas! I suspect that with all the Wings and Wongs needing to claim Facebook real estate that it is pretty darn tough […]

A law has been enacted by the DC city council that not only must most forms rodentine vermin be captured for rerelease, but that they must also be relocated as family units.These creatures are not a pod of whales, a herd of elephants, or a troop of gorillas.Given that they will even eat their young […]

(London, UK) Autism Sunday celebrates 10 Years (2002 - 2012) on Sunday the 12th of February this year. Autism Sunday is the brainchild of British autism campaigners Ivan and Charika Corea - what started as a small acorn of an idea in their front room has turned into a massive global event, celebrated in many […]

This week on the program we decided to tackle the crime of arson. It is a very wide ranging crime, and depending on the situation can come with very severe consequences including the Death Penalty.
Earlier in the week Mannie and I had a planning session for the program and we decided that this would […]

During the latter half of the past decade, a heated battle has been fought around the world to determine which payment method will take center stage in the coming years. Many believe mobile payment will leapfrog what is known as EMV, which stands for Euro MC/Visa, or chip and PIN credit card technology, and that […]