Here is a man who is passionate, whether you agree with him or not.
I couldn’t help but feel Keith Olbermann’s emotions last night when he gave this speech on his show about Proposition 8. It was deeply passionate for him, and quite moving. His emotions, while held in check, are nearly bursting at the seams.
“This is about the human heart.”
It was one of those days. My dad had outpatient surgery in the morning, and after all went well, I came home to relax and rest, but that wasn’t in the cards. It wasn’t long after I arrived home, I smelled gas after returning from the chilly outdoors to let the dogs out. For the doggies, I am thankful.
I decided to relax, and clean my nose out with another dose of fresh air and upon returning to the indoors, there was no mistaking the strong scent. Nonetheless I repeated the exercise one more time–leaving me no doubt there was a leak in my house. I definitely smelled gas in two locations.
My heart started to pound and I got nervous because this was the strongest leak I have ever smelled, and of course, I wasn’t able to find the gas company’s number in the phone book. I then called 411 and they connected me to the electric service in my town. Hello?!
Stressed out and getting more tense by the moment, I hung up and called my mom and asked her to locate the number for me so I could tend to my dogs and start to air out the house.
The gas man arrived within 30 minutes and I was shocked to hear that we had three leaks in the house! Two were on the water heater which sits in an enclosed area. The gas guy said we were at risk for an explosion as the room was small and enclosed and it doesn’t take long for the gas to build up. The third leak was by the fireplace in another room, and no matter what he did, his meter kept going off. He told me that he soaped it and didn’t see any “fizz” so it likely wasn’t leaking, but upon checking it later this evening with my omni-potent nose, there is no doubt it is still leaking. I suspect it is a small leak, but a leak we need to tend to regardless and soon.
I am thankful for my nose tonight, and a bit more grateful for all that surrounds me.
There is news circulating in the Netherlands (thanks to Louana from The Loulogue for telling me) that Peter de Vries, the famous reporter who brought us the confession of Joran van der Sloot earlier this year, has been secretly following Joran van der Sloot again.
This time, however, he found Joran in Thailand, and he is claiming that Joran is involved in trafficking Thai women back to the Netherlands:
[NIS News Bulletin, article] This Sunday (9 November), De Vries will show in his TV programme…that Van der Sloot offers women for sale in the Thai capital Bangkok for the Dutch prostitution market. On hidden camera he explains how he supplies girls for 10,000 euros each, who work for 300 dollars a month in Dutch brothels.
Joran supposedly is telling the girls they will work at dancers, but the truth is they will be sold as prostitutes.
De Telegraaf, for which De Vries is a columnist, disclosed Friday that the film that will be broadcast on Sunday shows Van der Sloot doing business in a hotel room, in the presence of two Thai prostitutes, with what he thinks is a Dutch sex industry entrepreneur who was in reality working for De Vries. The reporter, with a star reputation, said in the newspaper that the film provides evidence of preparations for human trafficking.
Maybe the Thai government will step in and take action this time and hold Joran accountable for his actions.
You can read my original opinion of Joran van der Sloot here, or you can click on a label to read all my posts on the topic.
A teen from Staten Island (NY), Ali Kamara, is reporting that he was beaten by four white guys with a baseball bat on election night. The men, says the 17-year-old, said “Obama” before attacking him, but gave him no other warning of impending danger. You can see a video of Kamara talking about the incident here.
Steve Huff, from True Crime Report, posted about the story today and it got my attention. Huff links to a story that made news just before the election–the story of Ashley Todd. Todd cried foul before the election saying that she was robbed/beaten because of a McCain/Palin sticker on her car. She said the perpetrators carved the letter “B” on her cheek (though it was oddly carved backwards). Naturally, it is not a surprise that Todd later confessed that the story was a lie. With that, Huff cautions it pays to be skeptical of stories like this. I agree with Huff.
Then I went to look at the video of Kamara. It is possible someone could be attacked for a a variety of reasons so it should not be ruled out, but one needs to give it a good look before simply believing.
Read moreKamara says about the beating [WCBSTV]”I was on the floor, beating me with a bat. They started beating me, beating me, beating me. They got back in the car, chasing me.”
I find it interesting how Kamara’s tense changes from past tense “got back in the car” to present tense “chasing me”. When we recollect stories, we usually keep our tense in past tense. We don’t switch back and forth between present and past tense.
Kamara also leaves off the pronoun [they (were)] in the first sentence, and talks about being on the floor instead of the ground which is unusual. He also is quite emotionless considering the ordeal he tells us he went through.
These oddities raised my eyebrows so I looked a little closer. What is interesting is in the link provided above, if you click on the video on the right, you will see Kamara walk three different times in the news segment.
When the video launches at time marker 0:16, Kamara is walking straight towards the camera. Notice how he is not favoring either foot?
Now go to time marker 0:41, and watch his movement. Kamara now has a notable limp. As the camera pans down, notice it seems to get even worse? Another time Kamara is seen on the video is when he is pointing out the fence he supposedly jumped over, and here I do not see any limp.
Are Kamara’s injuries the type that come and go? What type of injuries do that? Does anyone know?
I also find it interesting how Kamara told his mother than he was dying: “Mama, four boys, white boys jumped me, beat me with baseball bat. I’m bleeding, I’m dying, I’m dying,” says Janeba Ladepo, Kamara’s mother.”
This will be an interesting story to watch unfold…I have to wonder if Kamara is exaggerating his injuries, or if there is more to this story.
With regards to the post below, you may actually be surprised to know how I see Senator Hillary Clinton because my vote would be in the minority. I believe Clinton is being sincere in this video. I do not see her head shake as a sign she disapproves of Barack Obama. I see it as affirmation of her beliefs, her strong and true beliefs.
Think of someone saying “That’s amazing” as they think about the impact of what is before them. Have you ever noticed they often shake their head from left to right instead of up and down as they absorb those thoughts of amazement? It is not because they don’t believe what is before them.
Read moreWe all shake our heads in a variety of directions and we cannot just assume because someone shakes their head left to right, it is a negative sign, or has negative meaning. Reading body language is much more complex.
Notice as Clinton starts her head movements she says, “It’s really, for me, a tremendous opportunity and honor to be part of what I hope will be a great next couple of years for America.”
Can you feel the words “tremendous opportunity and honor”? Her head movement supports what she is saying here. It’s like added oomph, even though I believe she does it subconsciously.
This is a notable trait of Clinton’s and she does this when she truly believes something. This is not the first time she has done it.
When Clinton talks in this video, she is quite introspective which I think throws people. She isn’t performing for a crowd. She isn’t speaking into the camera. She is sharing her thoughts off the top of her head as they come to mind. She is being herself. With that, I think her lack of eye contact confuses people as well.
I do not see one indication that she is being deceptive, dishonest or disingenuous with us.
Can I ask what purpose she would have to disapprove of Barack Obama at this point and time? They both share the same ideologies and while she may believe she was the better candidate, I don’t think she disagrees with the majority of Obama’s beliefs. She should be looking forward to working with her party after eight years of a republican in the white house.
Clinton did this exact head movement before, and I spoke about it here:
What Senator Clinton is doing here is what I would call a head swagger. It’s actually her confidence that is causing this, and it is not what I would call a head shake no when she is saying something affirmative.
When people shake their head no when they say yes (a gesture, I believe), it is a quick, swift movement. It comes from the subconscious, and it is most alway brief. It doesn’t languish on like this does, and furthermore, when conscious thoughts kick in, the person usually stops the “no” movement abruptly and switch to a “yes” motion. You can see the thoughts “kick-in” to conscious awareness. It quite fast, and fascinating to witness.
You may find it helpful to watch the video in full-size.
