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W I N N I N G

2012-02-07T20:15:00.001-07:00

W I N N I N G

Bringing Xiphactinus Back to Life

2012-02-06T03:02:00.001-07:00

While developing the second phase of their Cretaceous Sea Exhibition, The Hastings Museum in Hastings, NE commissioned a life-size model of a Xiphactinus from Gary Staab, a paleo artist based in Kearney, MO. The Xiphactinus was a large predator fish that lived in the Western Interior Sea during the late Cretaceous Period and skeletal remains of this "X-fish" have been found in many parts of North America, Europe, and Australia. Luckily for us, Gary and his team documented the painstakingly detailed process of creating the life-like model in the excellent video above. [Thanks, Jo!]

-James

Cafe Racer Girls 028

2012-02-04T21:43:00.001-07:00

-James

Is Nerve Damage The Rule, Not the Exception With Cholesterol Meds?

2012-01-28T00:46:00.001-07:00

By Dr. Mercola

Spending on cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins increased by $160 million in 2010, for a total spending of nearly $19 billion in the U.S., the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics reported in their Use of Medicines in the United States: Review of 2010.

In all, more than 255 million prescriptions were dispensed for these drugs in 2010, making them the most commonly prescribed type of medication in the United States.

Unfortunately, this excessive use is an artifact of a medical system that regards prescribing pills to lower cholesterol as a valid way to protect one's heart health -- even though the low "target" cholesterol levels have not been proven to be healthy … and cholesterol is actually NOT the underlying culprit in heart disease.

Worse still, these drugs, which are clearly not necessary for the vast majority of people who take them, are proven to cause serious and significant side effects, including, as new research shows, definite nerve damage.

Are You Taking Drugs You Don't Need … and Getting Nerve Damage as a Result?

It must be understood that any time you take a drug there is a risk of side effects.

Oftentimes, these risks are not fully understood, especially when multiple drugs enter the equation, and appear only after a drug has already been taken by millions of people.

Even once a drug has been FDA-approved, you are depending on a limited number of clinical trials to dictate a drug's safety … but it's impossible to predict how a drug will react when introduced into your system, in a real-world setting.

Not to mention, the accuracy of medical research is dubious at best.

In many ways, any time you take a drug YOU are the guinea pig, and unforeseen side effects are the rule, rather than the exception. In terms of statin drugs, side effects are already clearly apparent; at GreenMedInfo.com you can see 304 conditions that may be associated with the use of these drugs, and this is likely only the tip of the iceberg. Among one of the more well-known risks is harm to your muscles and peripheral nervous system with long-term use. Indeed, new research on 42 patients confirmed that:

" … long-term treatment with statins caused a clinically silent but still definite damage to peripheral nerves when the treatment lasts longer than 2 years."

If You Take Statins for Two Years or More, Nerve Damage Appears to be the Rule

What does it mean when you sustain damage to peripheral nerves? As reported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS):

"Symptoms are related to the type of affected nerve and may be seen over a period of days, weeks, or years. Muscle weakness is the most common symptom of motor nerve damage. Other symptoms may include painful cramps and fasciculations (uncontrolled muscle twitching visible under the skin), muscle loss, bone degeneration, and changes in the skin, hair, and nails."

At GreenMedInfo.com you can see 88 studies on statin-induced neurotoxicity (nerve damage), with12 studies further statin drugs directly to neuropathy, including chronic peripheral neuropathy. As explained by NINDS:

"Peripheral neuropathy describes damage to the peripheral nervous system, the vast communications network that transmits information from the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) to every other part of the body. Peripheral nerves also send sensory information back to the brain and spinal cord, such as a message that the feet are cold or a finger is burned. Damage to the peripheral nervous system interferes with these vital connections. Like static on a telephone line, peripheral neuropathy distorts and sometimes interrupts messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

Because every peripheral nerve has a highly specialized function in a specific part of the body, a wide array of symptoms can occur when nerves are damaged.

Some people may experience temporary numbness, tingling, and pricking sensations (paresthesia), sensitivity to touch, or muscle weakness. Others may suffer more extreme symptoms, including burning pain (especially at night), muscle wasting, paralysis, or organ or gland dysfunction. People may become unable to digest food easily, maintain safe levels of blood pressure, sweat normally, or experience normal sexual function. In the most extreme cases, breathing may become difficult or organ failure may occur.

Some forms of neuropathy involve damage to only one nerve and are called mononeuropathies. More often though, multiple nerves affecting all limbs are affected-called polyneuropathy."

One of the more disturbing implications of this finding is that since statins damage the peripheral nerves, it is also highly likely that they damage the central nervous system (which includes the brain), as well. One study published in the journal Pharmacology in 2009, found statin-induced cognitive impairment to be a common occurrence, with 90% reporting improvement after drug discontinuation. There are, in fact, at least 12 studies linking memory problems with statin drug use in the biomedical literature, indicating just how widespread and serious a side effect statin-induced neurological damage really is.

Lower Your Cholesterol and Increase Your Diabetes Risk by Nearly 50%

As mentioned, neurological damage is only one potential risk of statins. They are also being increasingly associated with increased risk of developing diabetes.

Most recently, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed statins increase the risk of diabetes for postmenopausal women by 48 percent! Statins appear to provoke diabetes through a few different mechanisms, the primary one being by increasing your insulin levels, which can be extremely harmful to your health. Chronically elevated insulin levels cause inflammation in your body, which is the hallmark of most chronic disease. In fact, elevated insulin levels lead to heart disease, which, ironically, prevention of is the primary reason for taking a statin drug in the first place!

As written on GreenMedInfo:

"The profound irony here is that most of the morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes is due to cardiovascular complications. High blood sugar and its oxidation (glycation) contribute to damage to the blood vessels, particularly the arteries, resulting in endothelial dysfunction and associated neuropathies due to lack of blood flow to the nerves. Statin drugs, which are purported to reduce cardiovascular disease risk through lipid suppression, insofar as they contribute to insulin resistance, elevated blood sugar, and full-blown diabetes, are not only diabetogenic but cardiotoxic, as well."

A separate meta-analysis has also confirmed that statin drugs are indeed associated with increased risk of developing diabetes. The researchers evaluated five different clinical trials that together examined more than 32,000 people. They found that the higher the dosage of statin drugs being taken, the greater the diabetes risk. The "number needed to harm" for intensive-dose statin therapy was 498 for new-onset diabetes -- that's the number of people who need to take the drug in order for one person to develop diabetes.

In even simpler terms, one out of every 498 people who are on a high-dose statin regimen will develop diabetes. (The lower the "number needed to harm," the greater the risk factor is. As a side note, the "number needed to treat" per year for intensive-dose statins was 155 for cardiovascular events. This means that 155 people have to take the drug in order to prevent one person from having a cardiovascular event.)

The following scientific reviews also reached the conclusion that statin use is associated with increased incidence of new-onset diabetes:

A 2010 meta-analysis of 13 statin trials, consisting of 91,140 participants, found that statin therapy was associated with a 9 percent increased risk for incident diabetes. Here, the number needed to harm was 255 over four years, meaning for every 255 people on the drug, one developed diabetes as a result of the drug in that period of time.

In a 2009 study, statin use was associated with a rise of fasting plasma glucose in patients with and without diabetes, independently of other factors such as age, and use of aspirin or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The study included data from more than 345,400 patients over a period of two years. On average, statins increased fasting plasma glucose in non-diabetic statin users by 7 mg/dL, and in diabetics, statins increased glucose levels by 39 mg/dL.

Side Effects Often Don't Show Up Immediately …

Oftentimes statins do not have any immediate side effects, and they are quite effective at lowering cholesterol levels by 50 points or more. This makes it appear as though they're benefiting your health, and health problems that develop later on are frequently misinterpreted as brand new, separate health problems.

Again, the vast majority of people do not need statin drugs, and if you are one of them, taking them is only going to expose you to serious, unnecessary risks!

If your physician is urging you to check your total cholesterol, please be aware that this test will tell you virtually nothing about your risk of heart disease, unless it is 330 or higher. HDL percentage is a far more potent indicator for heart disease risk. Here are the two ratios you should pay attention to:

HDL/Total Cholesterol Ratio: Should ideally be above 24 percent. If below 10 percent, you have a significantly elevated risk for heart disease.

Triglyceride/HDL Ratio: Should be below 2.

To understand why most people don't need a statin drug, you first need to realize that cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease. Your body NEEDS cholesterol -- it is important in the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help you to digest fat. Cholesterol also helps your brain form memories and is vital to your neurological function. For more information about cholesterol, and why conventional advice to reduce your cholesterol to ridiculously low levels is foolhardy, please listen to this interview with Dr. Stephanie Seneff.

Urgent Information: If You Take Statins You Need CoQ10

It's extremely important to understand that taking a statin drug without also taking CoQ10 puts your health in serious jeopardy. Unfortunately, this describes the majority of people who take them in the United States.

CoQ10 is a cofactor (co-enzyme) that is essential for the creation of ATP molecules, primarily in your mitochondria, which you need for cellular energy production. Organs such as your heart have higher energy requirements, and therefore require more CoQ10 to function properly (cardiac muscle cells have up to 200 times more mitochondria, and hence 200 times higher CoQ10 requirements, than skeletal muscle). Statins deplete your body of CoQ10, which can have devastating results.

As your body gets more and more depleted of CoQ10, you may suffer from fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness, and eventually heart failure. Interestingly, heart failure, not heart attacks, is now the leading cause of death due to cardiovascular diseases. Coenzyme Q10 is also very important in the process of neutralizing free radicals. So when your CoQ10 is depleted, you enter a vicious cycle of increased free radicals, loss of cellular energy, and damaged mitochondrial DNA.

If you decide to take a CoQ10 supplement and are over the age of 40, it's important to choose the "reduced" version, called ubiquinol. The reduced form is electron-rich and therefore can donate electrons to quench free radicals, i.e. function as an antioxidant, and is much more absorbable, as nutrients must donate electrons in order to pass through membrane of cells. In other words, ubiquinol is a FAR more effective form -- I personally take 200 mg a day since it has such far-ranging benefits, including compelling studies suggesting improvement in lifespan.

How to Optimize (Not Necessarily Lower) Your Cholesterol Without Drugs

Seventy-five percent of your cholesterol is produced by your liver, which is influenced by your insulin levels. Therefore, if you optimize your insulin level, you will automatically optimize your cholesterol! By modifying your diet and lifestyle in the following ways, you can safely modify your cholesterol without risking your health by taking statin drugs:

Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your diet, replacing them with mostly whole, fresh vegetable carbs. Also try to consume a good portion of your food raw.

The average American consumes 50% of their diet as carbs. Most would benefit by lowering their carb intake to 25% and replacing those carbs with high quality fats.

Make sure you are getting enough high quality, animal-based omega 3 fats, such as krill oil.

Other heart-healthy foods include olive oil, palm and coconut oil, organic raw dairy products and eggs, avocados, raw nuts and seeds, and organic grass-fed meats, as described in my nutrition plan.

Exercise daily.

Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol excessively.

Be sure to get plenty of good, restorative sleep.

The goal of the tips above is not to necessarily lower your cholesterol as low as it can go; the goal is to optimize your levels so they're working in the proper balance with your body.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/25/nerve-damage-with-cholesterol-meds.aspx

Sent with MobileRSS HD FREE

-James

Awesome Hidden Water Pool

2012-01-28T00:00:00.001-07:00

Great idea to have such hidden swimming pool; the pool will be covered when not in use and your yard can have more space for other activities, and also safer if you have kids at home. Hit the jump to watch how it turns from patio to pool in less than two minutes.

-James

3 Reasons School Choice is Growing

2012-01-27T01:01:00.001-07:00

"We take for granted in our lives, choice, in every othere area, whether it's Pop Tarts or cereal or cell phones. But really education is the most important thing," said Reason's Director of Education Lisa Snell, "Especially as a parent, you want your kids to have a solid education."

Snell makes the case that school choice is now at a tipping point. In the United States, more charter schools are cropping up, while tax dollars and voucher systems are now allowing the money to follow the child. Snell says that there is evidence supporting that these new educational options are effective, and less costly, in improving the quality of K-12 education.

"Kids in America have more choices today than they've ever had before," said Snell, "Every empirical study shows a positiive effect, and no study has found a negative effect."

National School Choice Week is Jan. 22-28, and has hundreds of events scheduled promoting these ideas.

About 7 minutes. Produced by Sharif Matar and interviewed by Tracy Oppenheimer.

Scroll down for downloadable versions, and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.

-James

Don't fall for this old gag ;)

2012-01-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

January 15, 2012:

Whee! Prepping for the move continues apace. I'm very much looking forward to having a little downtime once again.

Guy Laramee’s Insane Book Landscapes

2012-01-14T01:45:00.001-07:00

If you think print is dead, you need to check out these incredibly vibrant landscapes made by Montreal artist Guy Laramee using old books. His vision and attention to detail yield gorgeously dreamy results. Here's a detail shot of the piece above:

And there are plenty more where these came from. Head to Laramee's site to see the complete series.

[via Abduzeedo; thanks Michael!]

-James

The wood man

2012-01-10T02:20:00.000-07:00

With a block of wood & a knife most people couldn't even carve their initials.

Check these out.

Can you believe what this man has done with wood?

Amazing Talent!

Wonder what he does in his spare time????

Wooden you like to know!

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FCC Approves First White Space Devices, Paving Way for Better Wi-Fi

2011-12-24T03:35:00.001-07:00

New developments from the FCC could bring us one step closer to faster, more advanced wireless networks.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday that its Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has approved the first database for television white spaces and the first device that will be allowed to operated on these bands.

White spaces are unused spectrum between broadcast television channels. Although broadcasters argued that they needed this bandwidth for their own needs, the FCC disagreed and ruled to allow unlicensed usage of this spectrum in November 2008. Tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, have long lobbied that the FCC allow these white spaces to be used for more powerful Wi-Fi and wireless broadband. This could lead to what some have dubbed "Super Wi-Fi."

The FCC ruling [PDF] lays the foundation for a new breed of high speed wireless devices, including new forms of Wi-Fi, to come to market.

The first part of the approval says that Spectrum Bridge Inc.'s database of television white spaces can start providing service to devices as of January 26, 2012. Additionally, the FCC has approved a device from Koos Technical Services "as the first product allowed to operate on an unlicensed basis on unused frequencies in the TV bands."

FCC rules require that unlicensed TV bands contact an authorized database first — so the approval of Spectrum Bridge's database is a big first step to getting more products approved.

For now, the approval is limited to Wilmington, NC and its surrounding area. Operations will expand nationwide as soon as the FCC completes and activates processing requests at other facilities.

Eventually, the goal will be to have licensed spectrum across the country that can be used with a new wave of devices. Much as the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands allowed for better cordless telephone and router service, the use of these white spaces will allow more devices to operate more quickly and with lower interference.

Image courtesy of Karl-Martin Skontorp on Flickr

More About: fcc, White Space, white spaces, wi-fi

Home Invasion Robberies Linked to Medical Marijuana

2011-12-24T03:20:00.001-07:00

The city of Kennewick, tucked in the corner of southeastern Washington, has been rated by Forbes magazine as #2 in all the U.S. for job growth as recently as 2009. But an unsettling pair of home-invasion robberies the weekend before Christmas, both involving card-carrying medical marijuana patients, has cast a pall on the town that lies on the shores of the majestic Columbia River. On December 16 three male suspects, one openly brandishing a handgun, barged into a Kennewick …More

Historical Thursday: The Other Manhattan Project

2011-12-24T03:17:00.001-07:00

There are ideas that work in theory, but not in reality. There are ideas that sound dubious to begin with, but then work out in the end. This idea is neither of the latter. It's bad/stupid/preposterous/absurd in every single possible way. Oscar Newman, a city planner and architect, had the notion to protect New York City from nuclear attack during the coldest of wars. Hey, that's not so bad. Wait, what's that? He wanted to do this by recreating the metropolis underground in a massive orb?
Oh god… why…

Yes, the idea is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds and here's why. New York City is big, really big. I'm no mathologist but I'm pretty sure its population in 1969 – when the plan was proposed – was close to 37 million. That's a lot of people to move and a lot of room they're gonna need. And spheres make efficient use of space, so it might be sorta somewhat doable.. right? No. No way. At all. Ever.

On his science book blog John Ptak puts the size of the underground city at a volume of 1.2 cubic miles, meaning it would be one of the biggest man-made holes in the world, so just it's basic construction would be an immense undertaking. Newman's answer to this? Use the stuff we're trying to protect the city from to make that hole. Yep, he wanted to nuke the ground under Manhattan, hoping it would magically create a large gap in the earth and not suffer the effects of radiation.

He has to be joking right? He had to acknowledge there was some faults to his plan, didn't he? Don't worry, he did.

"…the real problem in an underground city would be the lack of views and fresh air…"

You read that correctly. Oscar's biggest concern was that the view wouldn't be pretty and the air wouldn't be fresh. Nevermind the eternal darkness, lack of running water, or the fact that no sane person would ever consider moving there. And he even had a plan to make up for the lack of views.

Notice how the city is only built halfway up the sphere? That's because he planned for the giant dome ceiling to be a backdrop for projections, so the populace of New New New York (extra 'new' thanks to Matt Groening) could gaze up at their maddening creating and see images of the world they moved away from. Oh, and ads for Coca-Cola.

Sorry Charles Carron, you just lost your title of chief crazy engineer.

Enjoyed what you read? Check out all whole compendium of Historical Thursdays!

Pictures and Information courtesy of: Ptak via io9.

As always, if YOU have an idea for a Historical Thursday, let me know at thereifixedit@gmail.com

NASA offers best pics yet of Vesta asteroid

2011-12-24T02:45:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since we talked about the Vesta asteroid and the NASA Dawn spacecraft that went into orbit around the asteroid. The last time we mentioned the Dawn was back in July when Dawn first started to orbit Vesta. NASA has now offered up some of the best photos of the surface of Vesta that have ever been seen.

Dawn has been inching closer to Vesta since July when it showed up at the asteroid and the spacecraft is now at a distance of only 130 miles from the giant asteroid. NASA calls that position the low-altitude mapping orbit. That orbit was reached on December 12 and images started showing up at mission control on December 13.

The new orbit has returned photos taken with the framing camera that have three times the resolution of the previous position Dawn orbited in. NASA says that the best resolution of the camera is about 75-feet. That will provide images that can resolve grooves, small craters, and surface textures. After Dawn wraps up the Vesta mission it, will head to Ceres and start again.

[via Spaceflightnow]

Relevant Entries on SlashGear.com

NASA offers best pics yet of Vesta asteroid is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Interested In A Patek Philippe For The Holidays? It Only Would've Cost You $100 (In 1933, In Italy)

2011-12-24T02:42:00.001-07:00

For Christmas, how about a Patek for 100 USD? Well, lucky for you, Babbo Natale is coming to town and he has a little something for you in his sleigh.

Imagine Italy in the 1930s. Il Duce is running the show and, if you're lucky, you have 2,000 Lire in your pocket to burn. In this advertisement from December 1933, placed by Milan retailer Orologeria Eberhard, Santa presents three stylish rectangular Patek Philippe wristwatches and a pocket watch (click here for a similar one that is on sale on Ebay now).

With the Italian lira pegged to the US dollar from 1927 to 1934 at Lire 19 per USD 1, relative bargains were available for the taking. At the same time, Pateks were sold in the States for approximately double the price, due to the US retail prices set by the Henri Stern Watch Agency and mandatory import duty.

The US market was most certainly buying less luxury timepieces at the time, too. The Depression had left the US economy in shambles. However, times weren't bad for everyone (New Yorker Henry Graves purchased a few in his day) and the Italians embraced watch collecting very early on and had some money to spend on one of the things they loved (and continue to love) most – Patek Philippe.

Altocumulus Lenticularis clouds over Yorkshire look like UFOs on parade

2011-12-24T02:24:00.001-07:00

'UFO cloud' spotted floating over UK: Dazzling picture of rare formation

Known by experts as the Altocumulus Lenticularis, but dubbed the UFO cloud by many, this formation was spotted above Farsley in West Yorkshire yesterday.

And although incredibly rare in the UK the clouds are a common sighting in the Himalayas, Andes and Rocky Mountains.

Tip: @UFOEvidenceco on Twitter

Beautiful. Not sure why they are ever mistaken for UFOs, the move ever so slowly, but these pictures are impressive.

See more in this slideshow by BBC News. The sheep even look amused.

The Year in Pictures: Part III

2011-12-24T02:06:00.001-07:00

In this post, featuring images from the last quarter of 2011, we remember a tumultuous year of change across the globe, the capture of Khadafi, the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the passing of Apple icon Steve Jobs, fire, famine, flood and protests. A memorable year, indeed. -- Paula Nelson -- Please see part 1 and part 2 from earlier. (EDITOR'S NOTE: We will not post a Big Picture on Monday, December 26, due to the Christmas Holiday ) (51 photos total)

A defaced portrait of fugitive Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in Tripoli on Sept. 1, 2011 as the fallen strongman vowed again not to surrender in a message broadcast on the 42nd anniversary of the coup which brought him to power. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)

Volkswagen now deactivates BlackBerry email after each workday

2011-12-24T01:59:00.001-07:00

You may want to consider moving to Germany and working for Volkswagen if you feel like you're a slave to email even after you leave work each day. The carmaker said recently that it has begun to deactivate the email function on its employees' BlackBerry smartphones a half an hour after each work day has finished. Email remains inactive until a half of an hour before the next work day starts. Other data, text and voice features remain active. 1,154 VW employees at six German plants are provided with a smartphone by the company, Reuters reported, and Volkswagen council member Heinz-Joachim Thust said the response from workers has been positive so far. Unfortunately for the company's top management, the new policy does not cover board-level executives.

Read

Frankly, This is Silly: Two Congressmen Gripe about Being Forced to Pay for Their Own Holiday Cards

2011-12-24T01:51:00.001-07:00

One of the perks of being a member of Congress is access to a "free" mail system. Senators and representatives can send information to constituents about legislation, congressional votes or other government-related matters and "frank" the envelope, with the taxpayer picking up the stamp. Related articles:

Little Rock Zoo Announces Little Monkey Twins

2011-12-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

Little Rock Zoo Announces Little Monkey Twins:

These twin Geoffroy's Marmosets were born November 21, 2011 on a very stormy night at the Little Rock Zoo. They were born to parents Becky and Santana. In these photos they are riding on Santana (dad). Their sex remains unknown. Becky was very protective of them and was slow to let Santana carry them, but finally did. They have an older brother, Carlos who was born in early 2010. He would like to help carry the babies, but so far has not been allowed. They share and exhibit with a White Faced Saki family and 7 Green Iguanas.

Photo credit: Karen Caster, Primate Keeper at the Little Rock Zoo

Medical Advice on Depression

2011-11-17T14:39:00.001-07:00

Taliban's drug policy was more humane than the US's

2011-11-17T00:16:00.001-07:00

Click Magnet Internet Marketing–Tucson Arizona

2011-10-12T00:42:00.001-07:00

Click Magnet Internet Marketing–Tucson, AZ 2011

'Austin Powers' actor suspected in prison death - US news

2011-10-11T20:37:00.001-07:00

SACRAMENTO, California ^[1] — A bit actor who appeared in the first "Austin Powers" movie is suspected in the death of his cellmate at the California prison where he is serving a life sentence, corrections officials said Tuesday.

Joseph Son , 40, wore a bowler hat and played one of Dr. Evil's henchmen, named Random Task, in 1997's "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." He also was a mixed martial arts fighter who appeared in several other movies or videos in the 1990s, according to his Hollywood biography.

He arrived at Wasco State Prison in the state's Central Valley on Sept. 16 after he was sentenced in Orange County for the 1990 gang rape of a Southern California woman.

The dead inmate was a parole violator serving a new two-year sentence from San Luis Obispo County for failing to register as a sex offender. He was found dead Monday in the cell he shared with Son.

The death was being treated as a homicide, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.

Thornton and Wasco State Prison spokesman Henry Cervantez couldn't say how the inmate died or why the death was considered suspicious. The cellmate, age 50, wasn't immediately identified because relatives had not been notified.

The Kern County District Attorney's Office, which is assisting the investigation, didn't immediately comment. A spokesman for the sheriff-coroner's office, Ray Pruitt, said an autopsy would likely be performed Wednesday.

Both men were in the reception unit for new inmates at the 20-year-old prison, which houses about 5,800 inmates. The cellmate had arrived on June 23.

Son was convicted of one count of torture in August after his DNA linked him to the abduction of a then-19-year-old victim as she walked her dog near her apartment on Christmas Eve.

Son and a co-defendant, Santiago Lopez Gaitan, 40, drove the woman to Huntington Beach at gunpoint, where they raped and sodomized her in the back of the car. They repeatedly threatened to kill her, hitting her with the pistol and telling her she was going to die.

The badly injured woman begged for her life, prosecutors said, and the two men released her naked and blindfolded with her own pants.

Police collected DNA evidence, but couldn't match it to her attackers until Son was required to provide a DNA sample after he pleaded guilty to felony vandalism in 2008 and violated probation.

Son's co-defendant was sentenced to 17 years and four months in state prison after he pleaded guilty in January to five felonies, including kidnapping and sodomy by force in concert.

Columbus Day–Facts–Not some blogger’s opinion.

2011-10-10T16:40:00.001-07:00

Columbus Day — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts

Origins of Columbus Day

A U.S. national holiday since 1937, Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus ^[1] in the New World on October 12, 1492. The Italian-born explorer had set sail two months earlier, backed by the Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He intended to chart a western sea route to China, India and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia; instead, he landed in the Bahamas, becoming the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings ^[2] set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland during the 10th century.

Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba and believed it was mainland China; in December the expedition found Hispaniola, which he though might be Japan ^[3]. There, he established Spain's first colony in the Americas with 39 of his men. In March 1493, the explorer returned to Spain in triumph, bearing gold, spices and "Indian" captives. He crossed the Atlantic several more times before his death in 1506; by his third journey, he realized that he hadn't reached Asia but instead had stumbled upon a continent previously unknown to Europeans.

Columbus Day in the United States

The first Columbus Day celebration took place in 1792, when New York ^[4]'s Columbian Order–better known as Tammany Hall–held an event to commemorate the historic landing's 300th anniversary. Taking pride in Columbus' birthplace and faith, Italian and Catholic communities in various parts of the country began organizing annual religious ceremonies and parades in his honor. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison ^[5]issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage with patriotic festivities, writing, "On that day let the people, so far as possible, cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discoverer and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life."

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ^[6] proclaimed Columbus Day a national holiday, largely as a result of intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, an influential Catholic fraternal benefits organization. Originally observed every October 12, it was fixed to the second Monday in October in 1971.

Columbus Day Alternatives

Opposition to Columbus Day dates back to the 19th century, when anti-immigrant groups in the United States ^[7] rejected the holiday because of its association with Catholicism. In recent decades, Native Americans ^[8] and other groups have protested the celebration of an event that indirectly resulted in the colonization of the Americas and the death of millions: European settlers brought a host of infectious diseases, including smallpox and influenza, that decimated indigenous populations; warfare between Native Americans and the colonists claimed many lives as well. The image of Christopher Columbus as an intrepid hero has also been called into question. Upon arriving in the Bahamas, the explorer and his men forced the native peoples they found there into slavery; later, while serving as the governor of Hispaniola, he allegedly imposed barbaric forms of punishment, including torture.

In many Latin American nations, the anniversary of Columbus' landing has traditionally been observed as the Dìa de la Raza ("Day of the Race"), a celebration of Hispanic culture's diverse roots. In 2002, Venezuela renamed the holiday Dìa de la Resistencia Indìgena ("Day of Indigenous Resistance") to recognize native peoples and their experience. Several U.S. cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with alternative days of remembrance; examples include Berkeley's Indigenous Peoples Day, South Dakota ^[9]'s Native American ^[10] Day and Hawaii ^[11]'s Discoverer's Day, which commemorates the arrival of Polynesian settlers.

Columbus Day Traditions

In many parts of the United States, Columbus Day has evolved into a celebration of Italian-American heritage. Local groups host parades and street fairs featuring colorful costumes, music and Italian food. In cities and towns that use the day to honor indigenous peoples, activities include pow-wows, traditional dance and lessons about Native American culture.

References

^{^} Christopher Columbus (www.history.com)
^{^} Vikings (www.history.com)
^{^} Japan (www.history.com)
^{^} New York (www.history.com)
^{^} Benjamin Harrison (www.history.com)
^{^} Franklin D. Roosevelt (www.history.com)
^{^} United States (www.history.com)
^{^} Native Americans (www.history.com)
^{^} South Dakota (www.history.com)
^{^} Native American (www.history.com)
^{^} Hawaii (www.history.com)

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