Thanksgiving Day: Nov. 24, 2011
“In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims, early settlers of Plymouth Colony, held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest, an event many regard as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. Historians have also recorded ceremonies of thanks among other groups of European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Virginia in 1619. The legacy of thanks and the feast have survived the centuries, as the event became a national holiday in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt clarified that Thanksgiving should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month to encourage earlier holiday shopping, never on the occasional fifth Thursday.”
Turkeys raised in the United States during 2011 is 248 million, up 2 percent from the number raised during 2010. The turkeys produced in 2010 together weighed 7.11 billion pounds and were valued at $4.37 billion. – Provided by USDA
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Top 15 Opening Lines of Books.
Amish sect leader Samuel Mullet and six followers arrested for alleged beard-cutting attacks.
New sexual abuse allegations against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky brought by family members.
James Murdoch resigns from boards of several News International newspapers; coroner concludes News of the World whistleblower Sean Hoare died of natural causes; missing girl Madeleine McCann’s parents speak before High Court inquiry into press standards.
Knebworth – If you drive around southern Britain, out of Knebworth in North Hertfordshire towards Stevenage, you will encounter a mysterious collection of small hills or barrows.
The barrows are all around the same size and run in a straight line. But why are they there? The hills are designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument protected by the Department of Environment. Which broadly means – damage, desecrate, disrespect or build on them at your peril. When you first encounter the hills you can be forgiven for dismissing them at first glance as refuse hills which are now covered over in grass. It is with some sustenance that I can say this is not the case.
MORE.
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Facebook is starting to lose its touch
Facebook is steamrolling forward. It now boasts 800 million active users. The company is reportedly preparting for an initial public offering. It’s laying plans to sell a Facebook phone, strengthening its presence on the mobile web. But Facebook’s plans may be hampered by a new backlash against the company’s efforts to get its users to share more of their lives online.
In September, Facebook announced at its annual f8 developers conference that it was upgrading its Open Graph technology. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Open Graph in 2010 to let web sites and apps share information about users with Facebook. The revamped Open Graph takes sharing to a new level, allowing apps that automatically share what articles users are reading or what music they’re listening to.
Zuckerberg said the new feature would allow “frictionless experiences” and “real-time serendipity.” At the time, only a few observers found them to be scary. “They are seeking out information to report about you,” wrote developer and blogger Dave Winer. But suddenly, a critical mass of critics are speaking up about the changes, how they affect users and publishers alike.
Facebook has had its share of controversies in the past. In 2007, it introduced Beacon, an early version of Open Graph that automatically opted all users into its sharing features. In time, Facebook learned to allow users to opt in. But more importantly, its site changed how its users thought about privacy online. Today, it’s a given that the web is evolving into a social landscape where sharing personal information online is increasingly common. You either learn to share, or you stay off Facebook.
MORE.
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The Gibbet
A gibbet is a wooden structure resembling a gallows, from which the bodies of executed criminals were formerly hung for public view. Most popular in the 17th century, the gibbet was generally reserved for the worst offenders—traitors, murderers, highwaymen, pirates—and was intended to discourage others from committing similar crimes. The practice was formally abolished in England in 1834 but may have remained in use elsewhere into the 20th century. What infamous pirate was gibbeted? More…
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Concerning the “assasination” attempt at the Black House:
TPaine said…
I would agree with the poster who suggested that this was a ‘false flag’ event. This guy was a moron who didn’t have the brains to wipe his ass, yet he got close enough to the White House with an AK-47 to put many rounds into the structure. Ak’s aren’t exactly quiet little guns, and someone who fires 5-10 rounds from one within striking distance of the White House will be noticed.
The White House is guarded by snipers and other SS staff. You can bet that Obama is very well-protected, as he is a very high target. There is probably shot-tracing hardware installed all over the place, so if the guy fired one round, they’d know where it came from and how far away it was before the 2nd round was sent downrange. And as the government is spending billions on security, the technology would have caught this guy before he set off round 3.
Then he gets away and travels halfway across the nation before he is finally caught? I’m not believing one iota of this scam. Fast & Furious is failing majestically, and so we need a new gun freak incident to raise the alarm. “Crazy guy sprays White House with dangerous assault rifle!” Neat, eh?
For the full post and comments, go here to Sipsey Street Irregulars.
Originally posted 2011-11-24 10:15:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter