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Paul Venezia bamboozled me into buying a MacBook Pro back in January, and I've been using it semi-daily ever since. And yeah, overall, I've been pretty happy. Of course, the only reason I was willing to buy one at all was because Parallels made it so easy to run Windows. But while my initial usage ratio was 85% Parallels, 15% OS X, over the past six months, that's changed dramatically to 45% Parallels, 55% OS X. Yup, the Orchard does slowly assimilate you. But not everyone that uses a Mac is suddenly streaming sunshine. Scour the Web looking for unhappy...

Islamabad (AsiaNews) – For last three months religious minorities in Pakistan have been receiving death threats from Islamic fundamentalists “if they fail to convert to Islam”. The warning was reported by Minorities Concern of Pakistan, a human rights vigil group. According to a statement from the group the threats to minorities (especially in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab) “began in May last but the most recent episode dates to August 25th: Christians of Shantinagr, a Christian village in south Punjab, invited to convert or face death.” The letter reads: “We have already sent you letter some times back...

Source: University of Washington Date: August 30, 2007 ZIP Codes And Property Values Predict Obesity Rates Science Daily — Neighborhood property values predict local obesity rates better than education or incomes, according to a study from the University of Washington being published online recently by the journal Social Science and Medicine. For each additional $100,000 in the median price of homes, UW researchers found, obesity rates in a given ZIP code dropped by 2 percent. The study, based on analyses of responses to a telephone survey conducted in King County by the local health department and the federal Centers for...

How much money has Uncle Sam spent on New Orleans and the Gulf region since Hurricane Katrina ripped the place apart?...I’ll give you the answer because you’ll never guess it. The grand total is $127 billion (including tax relief)...

The moonbats, or one moonbat and her toddler son, tried unsuccessfully to occupy our corner this week. She lasted about ten minutes before retreating to the traitors' corner. We were busy putting up together the banners on top of the hill when a toddler approached us. I was puzzled but said "Hi" to him and looked around for a parent. She was on the sidewalk holding a sign. Looking closer I recognized the blue & white 60s era "War is not the Answer" sign, peace dove included. I told her "their" corner is on the other side but she was...

Source: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Date: August 30, 2007 Cocaine Use Related To Level Of Education Achieved Science Daily — The decreased use of cocaine in the United States over the last 20 years mostly occurred among the highly educated, while cocaine use among non-high school graduates remained constant, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study authors suspect that the inverse relationship between cocaine use and education is related to access to health warnings and resources. They also concluded that the emerging disparity highlights the need...

See the video!This is a definite strike against this candidate for me. This is one position Huckabee should definitely reconsider.

Source: University Of South Hampton Date: August 30, 2007 Next Ice Age Delayed By Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Science Daily — Future ice ages may be delayed by up to half a million years by our burning of fossil fuels. That is the implication of recent work by Dr Toby Tyrrell of the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. Future ice ages may be delayed by up to half a million years by our burning of fossil fuels. (Credit: Canadian Ice Service) Arguably, this work demonstrates the most far-reaching disruption of...

Bridgeport, CT (LifeNews.com) -- The employee of an abortion facility in Connecticut is headed to prison for three years for sexually abusing girls at a modeling agency he owned. Michael Britt, who worked as a janitor at an abortion center, is the subject of another case involving sexual abuse and abortion. Britt was convicted of sexually assaulting three teenagers from Norwalk who went to his modeling agency. During the sentencing hearing, Britt told Superior Court Judge Richard Comerford Jr. he only had "praises and forgiveness" for the young women he abused. Britt tried to get a reduced sentence, according to...

The class-action suit charges that the companies violated California law by failing to inform iPhone purchasers that it costs $100 to replace the phone's battery. Apple and AT&T have once again been sued for alleged iPhone flaws. On Wednesday, attorneys for plaintiffs Zoltan Steiner and Ynez Steiner filed a class action complaint against Apple and AT&T in federal court in Oakland, Calif. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraud, and violations of California law. It charges the two companies with failing to inform iPhone purchasers that fees totaling more than $100 are required to replace iPhone batteries and to maintain...

OKYO -- Claims that China's military development is a threat are "totally groundless," Beijing's defense chief said in Tokyo on Thursday while assuring his Japanese hosts that China is becoming more open about its defense spending. Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan's assertions came as the two countries agreed on reciprocal port calls by navy ships, with a Chinese warship to visit Japan as early as November for the first time since World War II, Japanese defense officials said.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Abortion is frequently considered a woman's issue and one where men should have little no role in the decision and likely have little or no ill-effects afterwards. However, one man who regularly counsels men who have been involved in an abortion says that claim is unfounded. Kevin Burke is the associate director of Rachel's Vineyard Ministries, a group that reaches out to those adversely affected by an abortion to provide them hope and healing.In an interview with Zenit, Burke says men suffer from a myriad of problems following a partner's abortion -- especially one in which...

WASHINGTON - An independent assessment concluding that Iraq has made little political progress in recent months despite an influx of U.S. troops drew fierce pushback from the White House on Thursday and provided fresh ammunition for Democrats who want to bring troops home. The political wrangling came days before the report was to be officially released...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, August 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pro-family advocates may soon have a chance to see where Republican candidates stand on American values in September's upcoming "Values Voter Presidential Debate." The debate is scheduled for Monday, September 17th at 7:30 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Seven out of nine Republican candidates have indicated they plan to participate in the event, however their names have not yet been released to the general public. Questions will be fielded to participating candidates from among 40 pro-family leaders include such notables as Phyllis Schlafly, President...

An illegal immigrant wanted in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 17-year-old Port Washington boy has been arrested in Ohio, the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department reported today. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Eddie Carbajal-Lile in Brown County, Ohio, after identifying him through a fingerprint check. Carbajal-Lile was using an alias at the time. Carbajal-Lile was transferred later Thursday to the Boone County Jail in Kentucky, according to a Sheboygan Sheriff's press release. A dispatcher at the Brown County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department said Carbajal-Lile was arrested late Wednesday or early Thursday and spent the night at the county jail....

Fred Thompson has announced his announcement date, a sentence that only makes sense in the Byzantine world of American campaign finance law. He will officially declare himself a Presidential candidate on September 6th, a move that will allow him to publicly argue for his election based on specific policy proposals, raise cash, and attend debates: Republican Fred Thompson, whose entry into the presidential race has been long anticipated, will officially launch his candidacy Sept. 6 in a webcast on his campaign site, followed by a five-day tour of early primary states, the Associated Press has learned. A tour of Iowa,...

As Clarice noted on this the previous post, this isn’t the first incident where Sergeant Karsnia’s name came up surrounding another questionable arrest. This blogger details his run in with the sergeant and his men after trying to ride his bicycle off airport property after arriving on a flight. Read it yourself. From his own discription he - the subject - sounds like an ass who just should have complied with the officer and walked his bike. Nevertheless, it’s the supervisors duty to insures a high profile venue avoids these incidents as much as possible and as such a little...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Todd Marinovich, the former Los Angeles Raiders quarterback whose career ended in a mire of drug abuse, is facing a possible prison term after a weekend arrest in Orange County. Marinovich, 38, remained jailed Wednesday on no-bail warrants for probation violation pending a Sept. 6 pretrial hearing. Police said he was skateboarding in a prohibited area near the Newport Pier boardwalk shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday and ran away when officers tried to stop him. He was found hiding in a carport about six blocks away. Marinovich had a guitar case, and inside officers found...

When Eastern Europe broke free in 1989, we all realized just how little thought had been given to the transition from socialism to capitalism. Mises had told us the collapse was coming, and we should have been prepared. As America comes to resemble a command economy, we need a transition plan here too. Yuri Maltsev proposed a "One-Year Plan" for the U.S.S.R. We're not in that bad a shape (yet), so we could do it in 30 days. DAY ONE: The federal income tax is abolished and April 15th is declared a national holiday. The 40% reduction in federal revenues...

A C-130 aircraft carrying an Alabama senator and congressman was fired on this evening as it was flying from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan. The airplane was carrying Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, and two other senators. Three rockets were shot at the plane and were "near misses," Shelby said in a telephone interview. He said the pilot took evasive maneuvers to avoid the rockets. The plane landed safely in Amman at about 4 p.m. central.