The Truth About Cats and Dogs: Study Find Cats Recognize Owners’ Voices But Choose To Ignore Them

cebdxgaThere is a new study out of the University of Japan that explains a lot to people who find cats, including their own, remarkably aloof and uninterested in them. The study suggestions that pet cats are capable of recognizing their owner’s voice but simply choose to ignore them. This, it is suggested, was the result of a long evolutionary history that selected such dismissive traits.

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Waitress In Anti-Gay Check Controversy Denounced As Habitual Liar

receipt27n-6-webWe previously discussed the lesbian waitress in New Jersey, Dayna Morales, 22, who attracted international attention after being denied a tip by a family which allegedly wrote on the check that they did “not agree with your lifestyle.” The family later came forward with evidence suggesting that Morales had lied and that not only did she receive a tip from them but that they supported gay rights. Now, former friends are going public with allegations that Morales is a habitual liar. The irony is that, after the prior posting drew analogies to Stolen Valor cases, Morales is now accused of lying about her service with the U.S. Marine Corp. Morales has remained conspicuously silent despite numerous media appearances during the rise of the story.

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Fitness Advocate Removed From Facebook After A Posting Critical of Plus-Sized Woman In Article Allegedly Labeled “Hate Speech”

269345_563544480343178_994161050_nWith many of us rolling out of bed moaning from the food the consumed on Thanksgiving, I felt a wonderfully depressing fat story was appropriate to get us back into our guilt-ridden regimes. Maria Kang, fitness guru and mother of three, is not exactly the bedside nurse that you would want on such occasions. Kang has been banned from Facebook after she criticized an online article showing plus-size women in lingerie. While this is not a free speech issue involving the government, there is a question of whether Facebook should have taken it upon itself to punish someone for her view of obesity and what she views as an unhealthy lifestyle. More importantly, the controversy raises the issue of the expanding definition of “hate speech.”

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Turkey Torts (2013)

In celebration of Thanksgiving, I give you our annual Turkey Torts of a few potential and actual lawsuits from this holiday. Personal injury and criminal defense attorneys have much to be thankful for in a holiday that often brings family members together in sometimes awkward or hostile or inebriated circumstances. The result is a horn of plenty for litigators. It also may make any tense or dysfunctional moments with family today seem a bit less significant. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

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Obama Administration Gathering Records on Porn Site Usage To Use Against People Viewed As Radical

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We have previously discussed how Barack Obama has become the president that Richard Nixon always wanted to be. From his Administration’s comprehensive attack on privacy and civil liberties, investigation of journalists, to his claim of unilateral authority to kill citizens, Obama has created an Imperial Presidency that could haunt this nation for generations. He has succeeded with the silent acquiescence of many liberals and Democrats who have embraced personality over principle in continuing to support his Administration. Now, a new report documents how the National Security Agency under Obama has been gathering records of online sexual activity and evidence of visits to pornographic websites to be used as part of a proposed plan to harm the reputations of people consider radicals. The obvious comparison to Nixon is only dwarfed by the comparison to J. Edgar Hoover, but again the silence is deafening from the Democrats. In the meantime, the so-called “reforms” of the NSA as expected would preserve the massive data-gathering programs of the agency — as guaranteed by such “reformers” as Dianne Feinstein.

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TSA Spends Roughly $1 Billion On Program That Resulted In One-Half Of One Percent Of Arrests For Identified Passengers

240px-tsa_-_logoWe have been discussing how, while cutting educational, environmental, and scientific programs, Congress continues to spend wildly on defense and national security regardless of documented waste or failures. Even titanic failures do not result in discipline or termination for officials. Given this record, the behavior detection program of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) must be viewed as a relatively success. TSA has spent roughly $900 million over the last 5 years for behavior detection officers to identify high-risk passengers. The result? One-half of one percent of flagged travelers were arrested and the number of terrorists was zero.

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South African Resort Offers High-End Tourists Chance To Live In Make Believe Shanty Town

240px-Soweto_townshipI saw this on Reddit and found it truly breathtaking. A high-priced resort has created a make believe Shanty town so that the upper class can experience the feeling of utter poverty. It is reminiscent of the failed effort of Disney to create an an attraction where people could “feel like slaves” by picking cotton under the eye of white bosses. After a long and intense fight, Disney abandoned the plan. The Shanty Town vacation is available at Emoya Private Game Reserve, Luxury Hotel, Conference Centre and Spa. For the record, the picture at the left is a real Shanty Town.

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Supreme Court Takes Up New Religious Challenge To The Affordable Care Act

240px-HobbyLobbyStowOhioSupreme CourtIn what seems destined to be a blockbuster decision in the making, the Supreme Court has accepted a religious challenge to the Affordable Care Act. The decision could force a reexamination of the Court controversial 2010 ruling in Citizens United in considering whether companies have religious rights to match the speech rights embraced by the Court. The case involves objections from businesses and individuals like David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, who insist that the Act’s required support for contraceptive services violates religious rights. Two cases were accepted: Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (13-354); and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius (13-356). I will be discussing the cases this morning on CNN.

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New York Court Rules That Jury Properly Denied Liability Under The Emergency Rule When Woman Crashed After Her Bikini Top Was Untied

bikini25n-1-webbikini25n-2-webThere is an interesting ruling on the scope of the emergency rule out of New York. Brittany Lahm, 24, was sued by a passenger in her car after it crashed on the way back from the beach — killing Brandon Berman, 19, and injuring others. The appellate court however ruled that the jury could properly conclude that she was faced with an emergency when Berman suddenly untied her bikini top while she was driving — causing her to let go of the wheel to cover up herself. The question turns on whether the act of Berman was truly sudden and unanticipated. It is a novel claim: Berman was acting so badly that Lahm should not have been surprised by his untying of her bikini top.

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New Jersey Couple: Story of Lesbian Waitress Denied Tip Due To Her Lifestyle Is A Hoax

receipt27n-6-webFor days, there has been much outrage on the blogosphere about a couple who refused to give a lesbian waitress a tip because they refused to support her “lifestyle.” Dayna Morales, an ex-Marine and server at Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, N.J., produced a receipt that said “I’m sorry but I cannot tip because I don’t agree with your lifestyle and how you live your life.” People flocked to the restaurant to leave big tips for Morales and she received national acclaim for donating the tips to the Wounded Warrior charity. Now the couple has come forward and claims that it is all a hoax. Worse yet, they say that they have proof.

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Oops, Our Bad: WHO Withdraws Claim That Half of New Cases of HIV Infections In Greece Are Self-Inflicted [Updated]

800px-Lytras_nikiforos_antigone_polynicesA new World Health Organization report contains a truly shocking claim: roughly a half of new HIV infections in Greece are self-inflicted to get the monthly 700 euro payment for those with AIDS. It is the sign of the desperation felt by many in the country to get government benefits after the austerity measures required under European bailout agreements. The report also says that suicides are up 17 percent between 2007 and 2009 and then another 25% in 2010. In 2011, they were up another 40%. Now WHO has withdrawn the claim and says that there is no evidence to support it.

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ACLU Files Lawsuit Against New Mexico Police For Allegedly Spraying Mace On Woman’s Genitals

353px-Seal_of_Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico.svg220px-American_Civil_Liberties_Union_logoThe American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit that, if true, would stand as one of the most grotesque and vicious cases of police abuse in recent memory. Marlene Tapia says that she was arrested and forced to strip naked for a contraband examination. The officers at the Metropolitan Detention Center (Bernalillo County New Mexico) claimed that she had a plastic baggie in her vagina and, according to the lawsuit, forced her to bend over and as punishment sprayed mace inside of her vagina.

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