There was a huge amount of scuttlebutt that did the rounds of us press types when seemingly out of nowhere, a benefit concert to secure more money in the search for missing Haleigh Cummings was announced. Early reports had it that all proceeds would be going to the Haleighbug Foundation. I guess what confused me […]

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One of the major causes of death in the world is malaria, but the World Health Organization estimates that 20 percent of the one million deaths from malaria are dying because the medicines that they are taking are substandard or outright counterfeits. If you include fake antibiotics and fake drugs used to treat tuberculosis, the […]

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Mysteries come in many forms. Sometimes they are straight forward and easy to figure out as the author hits all the expected points one by one. Like dominoes, each plot or storyline point is hit in turn and they fall in a story by the numbers precision. Other times, not at all because the author […]

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Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — A member of the Russian parliament has criticized Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski for his comments during a visit this week to Washington, but the Polish foreign ministry has disputed the accuracy of Russian news reports quoting Sikorski’s statement. The point of dispute is whether Sikorski has publicly asked for U.S. troops […]

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A lot of discussion is being made about the attack on Fort Hood, where a psychiatrist went amok and decided to kill his fellow soldiers.
Here in the Philippines, we sometimes see a quiet guy suddenly go “amok” and machete his relatives or superiors. Usually people can’t understand it, but actually everyone figures he had finally […]

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I greatly enjoy stand-up comedy.  I usually go see a live comedy show from a nationally known comic artist every couple of months or so.  I don’t go to many open mikes, although some of my friends have been pressuring me to start performing at them.  Suffice it to say that comedy is a pretty […]

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Regular readers of my column should recognize the name of Uber-Doofus Dr. Stephen Graves. I eviscerated his clumsy attack on payday lenders months ago. Now, he is back for an encore along with two asylum escapees from GWU in a brand new working paper: “Does Fringe Banking Exacerbate Neighborhood Crime Rates? Social Disorganization and […]

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Years ago (like 20) a friend was graduating from college and moving away and a bunch of friends were throwing a party for this person. Collectively they asked me if I’d write a small speech as a version of “This is your life”. Stymied as to why they would ask […]

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In science, there are all sorts of gossip that tweak the infallibility of scientists.
For example, the discovery of the “big bang” was postponed until they cleaned the antennae of Pigeon poop, and found it was the sky, not the poop, causing the hum of  the big bang.
And Penicillin may have been discovered because of carelessness […]

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This just in from TJ Hart - Jan Barrett
The brother of Misty Croslin, the last person to see a missing Satsuma girl alive, is once again behind the bars of the Putnam County jail.
Hank Thomas “Tommy” Croslin Jr. was booked in to the Putnam County jail Thursday morning at 11:40 and charged with misdemeanor […]

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As a long time Al Stewart fan I could not wait to listen to this CD. When it arrived, the hundred other projects that I am working on immediately got put on hold. In seconds I had the package torn open and the CD on the player.
Uncorked will no doubt be a huge hit with […]

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Period dramas are the types of movie that you do if you are Keira Knightly or if you want to be taken seriously as a candidate for a movie award.  Some of them are genuinely good, but the vast majority of them are just an excuse for people to dress up in poncey outfits and […]

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As I was watching the local news last evening, I happened to see a segment on the issue of zero tolerance on there. Basically, local school districts were giving their policies and procedures as to how they handle this problem within their schools. The parents were complaining that zero tolerance was too strict and needed […]

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I’m not much into magic or magical anything.  That eliminates most fantasy writing, a lot of video games and a host of other things.  The one exception I do make is the novels and novellas of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the father of Magical Realism.  Also, I like the Force and the mystical power that guides […]

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I was not surprised when Fox first said that they would be making several sequels to the original movie in this series.  It was a truly delightful movie and they have done a great job of keeping each new movie exciting.  They do this through making each individual story compelling and by introducing new characters […]

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If a scary movie is all about making you jump, that’s just stupid.  Anything can make you jump, so that doesn’t take intelligence or anything else other than an understanding of timing.  I went to a haunted house last week for Halloween, a huge one that took up an entire warehouse building along with numerous […]

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Its been said before, company networks are like candy bars, hard on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.
The Manhattan DA busted a 27 year old IT employee of Bank of New York Mellon for stealing the identities of 150 coworkers over an 8 year period, (he started […]

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How does one respond to an unpopular tyranny who is threatening to start a war? Do you try to encourage them to reform, with soft words and promises to help if they turn to cooperation? Or do you be blunt and articulate the idea that unjust government must reform, because freedom lives in the hearts […]

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What do Children Owe Toxic Parents?
Post
A lot of feedback about stopping bullying by toxic parents focused on what children owe those abusive parents.  After all, even though they harassed, abused and tormented their children, those parents still fed, clothed and housed them.
Many of those parents now claim that a debt is owed them.  No matter […]

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Monday I reported on another missing child case from Florida. 7 month old, Shannon Dedrick. She is white and is 2 ft tall and weighs only about 11 lbs. Some says she has blonde hair, others say it is brown but she has blues eyes.
Shannon disappeared from her home in Chipley Florida on October 31, […]

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Lily and Cane wake up in each others arms and they don’t want breakfast. All Lily wants this morning is more of what she got from him last night.
Chloe confesses to Chance about Billy’s kiss and she tells him that she blew him off. She says he knows she is serious so she wants to […]

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An 8 year old little girl from Missouri has been reported missing according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Rebecca Marie Allen was last seen at her home in Washburn around 10:30 am on Saturday. Authorities think she may be with her biological mother, Teresa Lynn Allen, 39 who also uses the name Teresa L. […]

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It Was a Monopoly Game Run Amok
“Pink Slips and Parting Gifts” by Deb Hosey White is a work of fiction.  It says so on both the front and back cover of the book.  But if it is a work of fiction, why does the story seem so familiar?  Perhaps it is because there is no […]

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the “Informed P2P User Act”, a law that supposedly makes it safer to use peer-to-peer, or P2P file-sharing software, an effort which is like banning mosquitoes from sucking blood. Just ain’t happening. The responsibility is that of the IT administrator who locks down the […]

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Two governorships have fallen to Republicans, if the headlines have it right.
Yet most of the pundits are saying this is not a sign of disenchantment with the Congress and the President, but only local politics.
I’m not sure I agree. I think it is a sign that the “ordinary” folks are worried, and that they trust […]

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Every Company CEO in India needs to ask this question to himself. “Are We ITA 2008 Compliant?”. Every Director of a Company and also every IAS officer in charge of an e-governance project should also ask this question to himself.
If he does not know the answer, it is time to explore what is the Compliance […]

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Toxic parents can make your life miserable, especially if you’re still trying to win their approval or if you think you must see them during the holidays.
Most people can call it quits with bullying lovers, end false friendships and divorce abusive spouses.  But stopping bullying by toxic parents seems more difficult.  And it’s even harder […]

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Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — Due to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s decision to prolong her stay in the Middle East, her scheduled meeting in Washington with visiting Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has been cancelled. The announcement of the cancellation was made Tuesday by the State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.

Tomorrow, of course, she has a meeting […]

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Who among us has not had their faith challenged? What are we to tell the person who, for whatever reason, has lost faith in God? Teacher of the Year: The Mystery and Legacy of Edwin Barlow examines how a young boy destined for the clergy became a soldier in WWII. After killing numerous […]

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Sunday morning I wrote an article about a 4 year old boy missing that was later found in a next door neighbor’s clothes dryer. A 14 year old that lives in the home where he was found was arrested for the killing of little Alex Christopher Mercado.
There weren’t many details on this case other than […]

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