Sugary Drinks Kill 25k per Year in the U.S. Alone

Consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages may contribute to hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world, mainly due to Type 2 diabetes, a new study says.

The results show sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is linked to 180,000 deaths a year worldwide, including 25,000 deaths a year in the United States, the researchers say.

via Business Insider.

Holy Cow!!

These drinks kill almost as many people as firearms.

So… when is Dianne Feinstein going to propose a ban on Coke.

Today the Obama admin came out with it’s gun control plan:
A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.
via The Washington Post.
This has all been covered before. An expensive boondoggle that will not save a single life or solve a single crime. Pathetic.

Police Issue Warning; No Idea Who to Look For

From the overly politically  correct Chicago Tribune:

The group members enter a restaurant, and when spotting a diner’s cell phone on the table they approach and present fliers claiming they are raising money for their basketball team, police said.

The members place a flier atop the victim’s cell phone while talking, then when retrieving the flier grab the cell phone as well, police said in the alert.

The similar thefts have taken place at 4:40 p.m. on Dec. 31 on the 300 block of North Michigan Avenue, 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 2 on the 600 block of North Fairbanks Court, 6:10 p.m. Jan. 2 on the 100 block of North Wabash Avenue and 8:40 p.m. Jan 2 on the 400 block of East Ontario Street.

In one of the thefts a group member asked restaurant staff for a glass of water before another member grabbed a cell phone and fled, police said.

Witness accounts have varied, but police said in general the suspects are described as three or four males, age 14-25, working together. They have been seen getting into a tan 4-door hardtop, possibly “Buick-style,” police said.

The alert warns victims not to chase a robber but to take careful note of any unique physical characteristics — like scars or a limp — and call police immediately. If there are other witnesses, request contact information.

via Chicago Tribune.

So this is a community alert.  The police are doing two things:  First, asking people to be aware of the scam; and Second, asking people to “take careful note of any unique physical characteristics” of the perps.  So guess what’s missing from the article?  … Go on… Guess.

My guess is that these crimes are most likely being committed by white college frat boys as some sort of hazing ritual.  Or maybe some lilly white LL Bean flannel shirt wearing beatniks who are just looking for bus fare back to Portland.

People, we will not solve any issue in this land by putting our heads in the sand.  If a group of young black, brown, white, yellow, red, purple, beige, kids is going around ripping off cell phone then that’s what’s going on.  We need the cops (and everyone else) to know what to look for.

Lies and deception — even by half-truth — is not helpful to anyone.

Animal Farm

This is Squealer right after they send Boxer off to the glue mill:

“It was the most affecting sight I have ever seen!” said Squealer, lifting his trotter and wiping away a tear. “I was at his bedside at the very last. And at the end, almost too weak to speak, he whispered in my ear that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was finished. ‘Forward, comrades!’ he whispered. ‘Forward in the name of the Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm! Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is always right.’ Those were his very last words, comrades.”

Animal Farm, George Orwell

Talk about not letting a crisis go to waste.

 

Hyatt Chairman Pritzker To Work in Iraq

Thomas Pritzker, patriarch of Chicago’s richest family and executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp., is starting to do business in Iraq.

A venture he co-founded to chase deals in the war-torn country and other parts of the Middle East announced its first project last month: an upgrade of a port on the Persian Gulf—work that will be parceled out to two other Pritzker holdings.

via Crain’s Chicago Business.

I’m sorry but am I the only one thinking Arrested Development?