The First Thanksgiving

First of all, from all of us at Scared Monkeys, Happy Thanksgiving. We wish you all a day to share with those close you and reflect on all the joy and happiness in your lives.

As we sit around the Thanksgiving table this year, let us look back at the first Thanksgiving. While odds are they did not have a sweet potato pie, there was a great deal of  venison and turkey to eat.

What foods topped the table at the first harvest feast? Historians aren’t completely certain about the full bounty, but it’s safe to say the pilgrims weren’t gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast. However, the only two items that historians know for sure were on the menu are venison and wild fowl, which are mentioned in primary sources. The most detailed description of the “First Thanksgiving” comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakersof our plenty. via the History Channel

Daily Commentary – Thursday November 23rd, 2006

Dana Pretzer in his morning update discusses

• OJ – It is all about the  money

Customs Officers in Aruba Demonstrate … Walkout Could turned into a Strike

A simple drip of water eventually takes effect … such is the case in Aruba.

Hundreds of Customs Department employees demonstrated against the policies of management of the Aruban Tax Department. Wasn’t it just recently stated that Aruba was an ideal market for investment as one of the reasons was a  a stable political climate? Things are beginning to happen internally due to the loss of tourism and tax revenue that are now affecting the Aruban infrastructure and the people.

Customs is a subdivision of the Tax Department and that is exactly the problem, says union leader Sharina Hernandez.  “We want a status aparte now.”  The responsible minister Nilo Swaen (MEP) of Finance and Economic Affairs indicated in a reaction that he will go to court if the walkout gets turned into a strike. 

“What the union does is very irresponsible.  I have talked with them on October 25th and there was no problem then.  Their reaction is lamentable, because they are doing this based on rumours “, said the minister.  (Amigoe)

This cant be good on several levels. Why would anyone want to shrink the size of the customs department other than they need to reduce government expenditures due to the shrinking economy and lack of tax revenue. Also, why would one chose the customs department of all departments to shrink?  According to union leader Sharina Hernandez, “the government has supposedly drawn up a report to drastically shrink the customs department from more than 200 to 20 persons”.

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OJ Just Won’t Go Way … Book and TV appearance Canceled and Still Won’t Shut Up

OJ … please just exit stage left. It does not matter who came up with the title, “If I Did It” was not your idea. Not much changes how most people really feel about you. There is a reason why the book deal got pulled by mega-communications giant News Corp and that’s because most fell that “pond scum” is a step above.

(Vanderbilt – ‘06)

The book and TV appearances get cancelled by News Corp and still OJ Simpson just does not fade away to the obscurity that should be his lot in life. Instead he appears on WTPS-AM radio in Miami. Instead of just keeping quiet, OJ Simpson had to make it spitefully known to the Goldman and Brown families that he received and spent the money that he has already given for the ill-fated book, “If I Did It”.

Simpson, who lives in the Miami suburbs, also told WTPS-AM the reported advance payment figure of $3.5 million was inaccurate. Although he would not specify how much he was paid, he did say it was a “windfall” that would go mainly to pay bills and support his children.

“Would everybody stop being so naive? Of course I got paid,” Simpson said with a laugh. “I spend the money on my bills. It’s gone.”

Speaking of the book, “If I Did It”, what the hell is wrong with people that a copy of it is bidding for $1500.00 on eBay. Of course the people that would wish to profit off this book fall into the “pond scum” category as well.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – O.J. Simpson’s scuttled book about the hypothetical murder of his ex-wife appeared for sale on the Internet on Wednesday, attracting bids of $1,500 within the first two hours.

Two hours after being posted, the book had received 40 bids, the highest at $1,500.

Hey Animal Rights Activists … Forget about No Fur Friday … Worry about Abyssinian lion cubs being Poisoned

Make yourselves useful …

If animal activists really cared, they would be screaming about rare Abyssinian lion cubs being poisoned in Ethiopia to save money rather than squawking about “Fur Free Friday”. Because of costs to run a zoo, Abyssinian lion cubs are being killed and sold to taxidermists. So much for the black maned lions being Ethiopians national symbol.

Wildlife experts estimate that only 1,000 Ethiopian lions, which are smaller than other lions, remain in the wild. Despite a recent crackdown, hunters also kill the animals for their skins, which can fetch $1,000.

Abdulaziz said it costs around $6,000 a month to run the zoo, but it only receives $5,000 in revenues from entrance fees. He added that the poisoning has been going on at least since he arrived two years ago; the number of cubs that have been killed was not immediately clear. (Yahoo)