random/odd news of the day

[35ft6]

Man with faulty penile implant gets $400K (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060623/ap_on_fe_st/malfunctioning_implant;_ylt=AtL7touGKZ2sZRN6ymS5g66s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-)
By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 23, 7:40 PM ET

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A former handyman has won more than $400,000 in a lawsuit over a penile implant that gave him a 10-year erection.


Charles "Chick" Lennon, 68, received the steel and plastic implant in 1996, about two years before Viagra went on the market. The Dura-II is designed to allow impotent men to position the penis upward for sex, then lower it.

But Lennon could not position his penis downward. He said he could no longer hug people, ride a bike, swim or wear bathing trunks because of the pain and embarrassment. He has become a recluse and is uncomfortable being around his grandchildren, his lawyer said. Sadlarious.

['jim]

I would let that problem go for 3-4 years max.

[slackerbot]

this reminds of the time Disney sued a hardcore Disney fan because he had tattoos of Disney characters.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060623-093710-8391r

Disney lifts ban on Pooh gravestone

CLACTON, England, June 23 (UPI) -- The Walt Disney Co., which had denied permission to grieving British parents to put Winnie the Pooh on their child's gravestone, has had a change of heart.

Disney had warned that a stonemason would be in breach of copyright if he included the bear's image along with "bear of very little brain," on the gravestone, The Telegraph reported. The parents had sought approval from Disney, but were rejected.

Stonemason Aaron Clarke said he was outraged.

"Disney make billions of pounds every year from children but they won't let a family put a picture on a stillborn baby's headstone," he said. "It is ridiculous. The family are upset enough as it is."

The company reversed course Thursday and allowed the parents to use the image. A Disney spokesman told the Telegraph the company is in continual communication with the family.

['jim]

I don't know why you'd want that anyway, but since they asked, Disney has the right to say no.

The key in cases like this is NOT TO ASK. It's not going to get back to them. Jesus.

[slackerbot]

just say no: to suicide bombing

wow. they're making PSA's to discourage suicide bombing in Iraq.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13444608/site/newsweek/

[ocd]

Originally posted by slackerbot
just say no: to suicide bombing

wow. they're making PSA's to discourage suicide bombing in Iraq.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13444608/site/newsweek/ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/oncloudydays/The_More_You_Know.jpg

[GONG_LORD]

That is what happened to Vin Diesel and his twin (very white aryan looking) brother.

Originally posted by slackerbot
haayyy.. one of them kinda looks like the mailman.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=377839&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=&ct=5

21/02/06 - News section

Black and white twins
By LUCY LAING, Daily Mail

When Kylie Hodgson gave birth to twin daughters by caesarean section, she was just relieved that they had arrived safely.

It was only when the midwife handed them over for her to hold that she noticed the difference between them.

Remee, who weighed 5lb 15oz, was blonde and fair skinned. Her sister Kian, born a minute later weighing 6lb, was black.

'Our two gorgeous little girls'

"It was a shock when I realised that my twins were two different colours," said Kylie, 19. "But it doesn't matter to us - they are just our two gorgeous little girls."

The amazing conception happened after two eggs were fertilised at the same time in the womb.

Both Kylie and her partner Remi Horder, 17, are of mixed race. Their mothers are both white and their fathers are black.

According to the Multiple Births Foundation, baby Kian must have inherited the black genes from both sides of the family, whilst Remee inherited the white ones.

Kylie, from Nottingham, discovered she was pregnant in the summer of 2004 and a scan at the Queen's Medical Centre revealed that twins were on the way.

"It was a shock at first to discover I was expecting as we hadn't been trying for a family," she said I had my 14-week scan and the sonographer ran the scanner over my stomach and announced that I was carrying twins.

"We couldn't believe it. Neither of us could take our eyes off the scanner - you could just see two of everything, even the outline of their little noses. We were both overwhelmed."

The twins were born by caesarean in April last year because one of the girls was lying in an awkward position in the womb.

"I didn't see them at first," added their mother. "They were both whisked away to be checked over and then the midwife came back and placed them both in my arms.

"I noticed that both of them had beautiful blue eyes, but whilst Remee was blonde, Kian's hair was black and she had darker skin.

"It seemed strange, but I was feeling so ill that I didn't really take it in at that stage."

The next day she mentioned the colour difference to her mother, who told her that Remee's skin would darken as she grew older.

But as the weeks passed, Remee became lighter still while Kian went darker. And while Remee's eyes stayed blue, Kian's turned brown.

"There are some similarities between them," said their mother. "They both love apples and grapes, and their favourite television programme is Teletubbies.

"If they haven't seen each other for a few hours, they are so pleased to see each other and will hold out their arms, wanting to hug each other. And their smiles just light up their faces.

"I'll explain it all to them when they get older about why they look so different."

Million to one odds

The odds against of a mixed race couple having twins of dramatically different colour are a million to one.

Skin colour is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together.

If a woman is of mixed race, her eggs will usually contain a mixture of genes coding for both black and white skin.

Similarly, a man of mixed race will have a variety of different genes in his sperm. When these eggs and sperm come together, they will create a baby of mixed race.

But, very occasionally, the egg or sperm might contain genes coding for one skin colour. If both the egg and sperm contain all white genes, the baby will be white. And if both contain just the versions necessary for black skin, the baby will be black.

For a mixed-race couple, the odds of either of these scenarios is around 100 to one. But both scenarios can occur at the same time if the woman conceives non-identical twins, another 100 to one chance.

This involves two eggs being fertilised by two sperm at the same time, which also has odds of around 100 to one.

If a sperm containing all-white genes fuses with a similar egg and a sperm coding for purely black skin fuses with a similar egg, two babies of dramatically different colours will be born.

The odds of this happening are 100 x 100 x 100 - a million to one.


http://img287.imageshack.us/img287/7241/twinsgr210206450x3009nu.jpg

[kamenriderv3]

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/06/26/limbaugh.viagra.ap/index.html

limbaugh...

this time its viagra

['jim]

That's funny but then you realize he's boning someone and it's just gross and sad.




There was a she-thing btw.

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by 'jim
That's funny but then you realize he's boning someone and it's just gross and sad.




There was a she-thing btw.

are those two statements connected?

['jim]

....it's a possibility.

['jim]

No I mean:

http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/6268/shethingsharonventura6oj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[kamenriderv3]

cool!

[ocd]

My message to Rush: YOU ARE NOT A MAN.


Another one:
Rush Limbaugh Under New Investigation

By BRIAN SKOLOFF
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 27, 2006; 11:30 AM

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Rush Limbaugh could see a deal with prosecutors in a long-running prescription fraud case collapse after authorities found a bottle of Viagra in his bag at Palm Beach International Airport. The prescription was not in his name.

Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at the airport after returning from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. Customs officials found the Viagra in his luggage but his name was not on the prescription, said Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Miller said the alleged violation could be a second-degree misdemeanor. The sheriff's office was investigating and will soon turn the case over to the state attorney's office, which had no immediate comment Tuesday.

Under the deal reached last month with prosecutors, Limbaugh was not to be arrested for any infraction for 18 months in exchange for authorities deferring a charge of "doctor shopping." Prosecutors had alleged the conservative talk-show host illegally deceived multiple physicians to receive overlapping painkiller prescriptions.

Limbaugh also must submit to random drug tests and continue treatment for his admitted addiction to painkillers.

Limbaugh's doctor had prescribed the Viagra, but it was "labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," Roy Black, Limbaugh's attorney, said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection examined the 55-year-old radio commentator's luggage after his private plane landed at the airport, Miller said.

Investigators confiscated the drugs, which treat erectile dysfunction. Limbaugh was released without being charged.
© 2006 The Associated Press

['jim]

We've been on this for a page, man. He needs that shit so he can bone She-thing's stony vagina! Pay attention.

['jim]

I can't believe I put that image in my own head.

[ocd]

So if you've got stone breasts, do you need support?

[ocd]

Originally posted by 'jim
I can't believe I put that image in my own head. 'Jim just kicked 'Jim's ass.

['jim]

Those costumes don't leave much room for a bra, but all female characters in the Marvel Universe have very buoyant, nippleless breats. It's part of their "mutation".

[puppy fields]

What was Rush doing in the Dominican Republic? Why was he returning from a country known for its thriving sex trade, with a bottle of Viagra that didn’t have his name on it? (http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/38192/)

[ocd]

I wouldn't be surprised if he's been visiting tweenage boys.

[montyburnz]

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_167094324.html

3-Year-Old's Birthday Party Theme: 'NewsHour'

WCCO) When a young St. Paul boy got to pick the theme for his third birthday party, he didn't pick Nemo or the Wiggles or Dora the Explorer. He didn't even pick his favorite sports team.

Henry Schally picked "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer".

His mother, Jennifer Schally, designed party hats complete with pictures of the PBS news program's regular contributors.

"I think most kids get their favorite show for their birthday party theme," Jennifer Schally said.

Henry's father, Troy Schally, explained he and his wife have watched the show during dinner since their son was an infant. He believes the show's distinctive theme caught his son's attention.

"I don't know if it's a fluke this year and he'll be into something next year or if it's a sign of things to come and he wants to go into broadcast journalism, who knows?" Troy Schally said.

The party was over Memorial Day weekend, and the Schallys made all their guests wear the hats Jennifer Schally designed. They got a cake with the photo of the show's correspondents and Jennifer Schally arranged for Jim Lehrer to send an autographed photo for a birthday present.

It read, "To my youngest fan" and was signed, "Jimmy Jimmy BoBo", which is the nickname Henry gave Lehrer.

The unusual party got nationwide attention in Thursday's Washington Post, with the headline, "'Jimmy Jimmy BoBo' Lehrer Makes Birthday Party Newsworthy".

Henry clearly enjoys watching the program. When the anchor came on screen, he burst into a huge smile and yelled out, "Jim!"

Henry later noticed a change in the theme orchestration saying, "It's new music!"

When correspondent Kwame Holman started delivering his report, Henry yelled out "Kwame Holman!"

"He's really a normal kid," Jennifer Schally said. "I think beyond this, he's pretty fun-loving."

"Outside of 6 to 7 o'clock every weekday night, he's pretty normal," Troy Schally clarified.

[golivar]

ashlee simpson considers posing for playboy (http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/ashlee%20simpson%20to%20pose%20for%20playboy_1000966)

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by montyburnz
http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_167094324.html

3-Year-Old's Birthday Party Theme: 'NewsHour'

WCCO) When a young St. Paul boy got to pick the theme for his third birthday party, he didn't pick Nemo or the Wiggles or Dora the Explorer. He didn't even pick his favorite sports team.

Henry Schally picked "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer".


its like family ties?

[zachariah]

Originally posted by golivar
ashlee simpson considers posing for playboy (http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/ashlee%20simpson%20to%20pose%20for%20playboy_1000966) http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/677/puke5lv.gif (http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=puke5lv.gif)

['jim]

Maybe now we can crack down of the dangers of second-hand exposure. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060629/us_nm/life_flipflops_dc)

['jim]

Originally posted by montyburnz
http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_167094324.html

3-Year-Old's Birthday Party Theme: 'NewsHour'


It's that teddy-bear face, check it out:

http://img271.imageshack.us/img271/7995/lehrer627ru.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Adorable! You just wanna squeeze it.

['jim]

More backwards fucked-up conservatism (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060629/ap_on_re_us/billionaires_abortion)

This is mind-boggling, rich guys do something good for once, and these jerks shit all over it. What, it's better for incredibly poor people to have as many children as possible so they're even more poor?

Planned Parenthood wants people to PLAN their PARENTHOOD, so they have babies they can actually take of. Why would they especially want women to have abortions. Cause it's fun for them? Cause they're winning souls for Satan? I want to know the problem. Nobody really questions these people enough.

['jim]

Originally posted by matu


people have got to friggin bitch about everything that isn't their god damn business.

Did you read the article?

['jim]

I don't wanna look at your feet, hippie!

[kamenriderv3]

PETALUMA, California (AP) -- A man who had 1,300 rats removed from his home by animal control officers said that he originally bought several as pets, but that they were "a force of nature" that soon bred out of control.


http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/06/29/rat.house.ap/index.html

[35ft6]

Originally posted by 'jim
More backwards fucked-up conservatism (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060629/ap_on_re_us/billionaires_abortion)

This is mind-boggling, rich guys do something good for once, and these jerks shit all over it. What, it's better for incredibly poor people to have as many children as possible so they're even more poor?

Planned Parenthood wants people to PLAN their PARENTHOOD, so they have babies they can actually take of. Why would they especially want women to have abortions. Cause it's fun for them? Cause they're winning souls for Satan? I want to know the problem. Nobody really questions these people enough. Fuck these people. The world is going to keep growing up even if they want humanity to be children forever.

[kamenriderv3]

giggles and guffaws aside, the defendent has a great government pension.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060628/ap_on_re_us/indecent_exposure;_ylt=Ap4qdKuGzUv9cNclo9eNuKZH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA4dW1uZXIwBHNlYwMyNzQ3

BRISTOW, Okla. - Serving on the jury in an indecent-exposure trial unfolding in this conservative Oklahoma town has been a giggle-inducing experience.

Former Judge Donald D. Thompson, a veteran of 23 years on the bench, is on trial on charges he used a penis pump on himself in the courtroom while sitting in judgment of others.

Over the past few days, the jurors have watched a defense attorney and a prosecutor pantomime masturbation. A doctor has lectured on the lengths the defendant was willing to go to enhance his sexual performance.

The white-handled sexual device sits before the jury box for hours at a time. Occasionally an attorney picks it up and squeezes the handle, demonstrating the "sh-sh" sound of air rushing through the contraption's plastic tubing.

The jurors sometimes exchange awkward looks and break into nervous laughter when the testimony takes a lurid turn.

Thompson, 59, is charged with four counts of indecent exposure, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. If convicted, he would also have to register as a sex offender, and his $7,489.91-a-month pension would be in jeopardy.

Thompson's former court reporter, Lisa Foster, wiped away tears as she described tracing an unfamiliar "sh-sh" in the courtroom to her boss. She testified that between 2001 and 2003 she saw Thompson expose himself at least 15 times.

"I was really shocked and I was kind of scared because it was so bizarre," said Foster.

She testified that during a trial in 2002, she heard the pump during the emotional testimony of a murdered toddler's grandfather.

The grandfather "was getting real teary-eyed, and the judge was up there pumping on that pump," she said. "It was sickening."

The allegations came to light after a police officer who was in Thompson's court heard pumping sounds and took photos of the device during a break in the proceedings.

Thompson took the stand in his own defense, saying the device was a gag gift from a longtime friend with whom he had joked about erectile dysfunction. He said he kept the pump under the bench or in his office but didn't use it.

"In 20-20 hindsight, I should have thrown it away," he said.

The R-rated testimony has produced occasional outbursts of laughter and surreal scenes. A man who once served as a juror in Thompson's court testified that he never saw the device, but figured out what it was based on movies he had seen.

The comment sent sidelong glances through the courtroom.

"It sounded like a penis pump to me," Daniel Greenwood testified. He said he had seen such devices in "Austin Powers" and "Dead Man on Campus."

Dr. S. Edward Dakil, a urologist called as an expert witness, repeatedly prompted laughter from the jury when discussion turned to the penis pump. Dakil defended use of the device after defense attorney Clark Brewster said it was an out-of-date treatment for erectile dysfunction.

"I still use those," Dakil testified.

Brewster paused.

"Not you, personally?" he asked.

"No," Dakil responded as jurors laughed. "I recommend those as a urologist."

[puppy fields]

Originally posted by 'jim
I don't wanna look at your feet, hippie!

man..toes. ugh.

i think there should be a certain level of discomfort in the workplace.

it is work afterall.

[YelloKitty]

Originally posted by montyburnz
It read, "To my youngest fan" and was signed, "Jimmy Jimmy BoBo", which is the nickname Henry gave Lehrer.
this article warms the cockles of my heart!

[Iago]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/06/30/washington/koizumi600.jpg

The shots of Koizumi arm-in-arm with Dubya singing Elvis numbers at Graceland in the worst Engrish possible is fucking embarassing.

THIS... This well coifed man is the reason for all the tension between Japan and its neighbors China and Korea?!

This is as silly as seeing Al Gore and his Democratic constituents dancing to the Macarena.

Where's the beef?

[slackerbot]

hillarious..

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/29062006/80-132/operation-remove-light-bulb-inmate-s-anus.html

Operation to remove light bulb from inmate's anus
Reuters Thursday June 29, 10:02 AM

MULTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Fateh Mohammad, a prison inmate in Pakistan, says he woke up last weekend with a glass light bulb in his anus.

On Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad's misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object.

"Thanks Allah, now I feel comfort. Today, I had my breakfast. I was just drinking water, nothing else," Mohammad, a grey-beared man in his mid-40s, told Reuters from a hospital bed in the southern central city of Multan.

"We had to take it out intact," said Dr. Farrukh Aftab at Nishtar Hospital. "Had it been broken inside, it would be a very very complicated situation."

Mohammad, who is serving a four-year sentence for making liquor, prohibited for Muslims, said he was shocked when he was first told the cause of his discomfort. He swears he didn't know the bulb was there.

"When I woke up I felt a pain in my lower abdomen, but later in hospital, they told me this," Mohammad said.

"I don't know who did this to me. Police or other prisoners."

The doctor treating Mohammad said he'd never encountered anything like it before, and doubted the felon's story that someone had drugged him and inserted the bulb while he was comatose.

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/334/39363679272mu.jpg

[ocd]

Oh no! They're shipping drugs to space!

Crack found in shuttle tank foam (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5137462.stm)

[slackerbot]

this made me want to puke a little. the pic isn't that bad. no blood or gore. but still kinda nasty.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-07-05T123312Z_01_DEL109974_RTRUKOC_0_US-INDIA-SKULL1.xml

Piece of man's skull falls off, draws crowds
Wed Jul 5, 2006 8:33 AM ET

By Bappa Majumdar

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Hundreds of people are thronging a hospital in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata to see a patient holding a piece of his own skull that fell off.

Doctors say a large, dead section of 25-year-old electrician Sambhu Roy's skull came away Sunday after severe burns starved it of blood.

"When he came to us late last year, his scalp was completely burned and within months it came off exposing the skull," Ratan Lal Bandyopadhyay, the surgeon who treated Roy told Reuters Wednesday.

"Later, we noticed that the part of his skull was loosening due to lack of blood supply to the affected area, which can happen in such extensive burn cases."

The piece came off Sunday and hundreds of people and dozens of doctors now crowd around his bed, where he lies holding the bone.

Bandyopadhyay said the skull's inner covering and the membrane which helps produce bone was miraculously unaffected, allowing fresh bone to grow.

"When the skull came off, I thought he will die, but we noticed a new covering on his head forming and that might have pushed the 'dead skull' out," he said.

While possible, such cases are extremely rare.

Roy was injured and almost killed when he was electrocuted while repairing a high voltage wire last October.

"Doctors say a new skull covering has replaced the old one, but I am not letting go of this one," he told Reuters.

He intends to keep his prized possession for life and not hand it over to the hospital when he leaves: "My skull has made me famous," he says.

[click to view pic (http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/3450/genimageaspxuri20060705t123309.jpg)]

[ocd]

Ewwww. The saddest part is the end of the story.

['jim]

That's awesome. I was expecting a little piece.

[Shaftoe]

I can't believe this is an actual fucking AP article.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060705/ap_on_re_us/simpl_wurdz



Push for simpler spelling persists By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 5, 5:23 PM ET



WASHINGTON - When "say," "they" and "weigh" rhyme, but "bomb," "comb" and "tomb" don't, wuudn't it maek mor sens to spel wurdz the wae thae sound?

Those in favor of simplified spelling say children would learn faster and illiteracy rates would drop. Opponents say a new system would make spelling even more confusing.

Eether wae, the consept has yet to capcher th publix imajinaeshun.

It's been 100 years since Andrew Carnegie helped create the Simplified Spelling Board to promote a retooling of written English and President Theodore Roosevelt tried to force the government to use simplified spelling in its publications. But advocates aren't giving up.

They even picket the national spelling bee finals, held every year in Washington, costumed as bumble bees and hoisting signs that say "Enuf is enuf but enough is too much" or "I'm thru with through."

Thae sae th bee selebraets th ability of a fue stoodents to master a dificult sistem that stumps meny utherz hoo cuud do just as wel if speling were simpler.

"It's a very difficult thing to get something accepted like this," says Alan Mole, president of the American Literacy Council, which favors an end to "illogical spelling." The group says English has 42 sounds spelled in a bewildering 400 ways.

Americans doen't aulwaez go for whut's eezy — witnes th faeluer of th metric sistem to cach on. But propoenents of simpler speling noet that a smatering of aulterd spelingz hav maed th leep into evrydae ues.

Doughnut also is donut; colour, honour and labour long ago lost the British "u" and the similarly derived theatre and centre have been replaced by the easier-to-sound-out theater and center.

"The kinds of progress that we're seeing are that someone will spell night 'nite' and someone will spell through 'thru,'" Mole said. "We try to show where these spellings are used and to show dictionary makers that they are used so they will include them as alternate spellings."

"Great changes have been made in the past. Systems can change," a hopeful Mole said.

Lurning English reqierz roet memory rather than lojic, he sed.

In languages with phonetically spelled words, like German or Spanish, children learn to spell in weeks instead of months or years as is sometimes the case with English, Mole said.

But education professor Donald Bear said to simplify spelling would probably make it more difficult because words get meaning from their prefixes, suffixes and roots.

"Students come to understand how meaning is preserved in the way words are spelled," said Bear, director of the E.L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Th cuntry's larjest teecherz uennyon, wuns a suporter, aulso objects.

Michael Marks, a member of the National Education Association's executive committee, said learning would be disrupted if children had to switch to a different spelling system. "It may be more trouble than it's worth," said Marks, a debate and theater teacher at Hattiesburg High School in Mississippi.

E-mail and text messages are exerting a similar tug on the language, sharing some elements with the simplified spelling movement while differing in other ways. Electronic communications stress shortcuts like "u" more than phonetics. Simplified spelling is not always shorter than regular spelling — sistem instead of system, hoep instead of hope.

Carnegie tried to moov thingz along in 1906 when he helpt establish and fund th speling bord. He aulso uezd simplified speling in his correspondens, and askt enywun hoo reported to him to do the saem.

A filanthropist, he becaem pashunet about th ishoo after speeking with Melvil Dewey, a speling reform activist and Dewey Desimal sistem inventor hoo simplified his furst naem bi droping "le" frum Melville.

Roosevelt tried to get the government to adopt simpler spellings for 300 words but Congress blocked him. He used simple spellings in all White House memos, pressing forward his effort to "make our spelling a little less foolish and fantastic."

The Chicago Tribune aulso got into th act, uezing simpler spelingz in th nuezpaeper for about 40 years, ending in 1975. Plae-riet George Bernard Shaw, hoo roet moest of his mateerial in shorthand, left muny in his wil for th development of a nue English alfabet.

Carnegie, Dewey, Roosevelt and Shaw's work followed attempts by Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster and Mark Twain to advance simpler spelling. Twain lobbied The Associated Press at its 1906 annual meeting to "adopt and use our simplified forms and spread them to the ends of the earth." AP declined.

But for aul th hi-proefiel and skolarly eforts, the iedeea of funy-luuking but simpler spelingz didn't captivaet the masez then — or now.

"I think that the average person simply did not see this as a needed change or a necessary change or something that was ... going to change their lives for the better," said Marilyn Cocchiola Holt, manager of the Pennsylvania department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Carnegie, hoo embraest teknolojy, died in 1919, wel befor sel foenz. Had he livd, he probably wuud hav bin pleezd to no that milyonz of peepl send text and instant mesejez evry dae uezing thair oen formz of simplified speling: "Hav a gr8 day!"

___

On the Net:

American Literacy Council: http://www.americanliteracy.com

Simplified Spelling Society: http://www.spellingsociety.org

National Education Association: http://www.nea.org

['jim]

When "say," "they" and "weigh" rhyme, but "bomb," "comb" and "tomb" don't, wuudn't it maek mor sens to spel wurdz the wae thae sound?

Great, fuckin' Gallagher is writing for the AP now.

[slackerbot]

that article makes me sad.

[SDP]

Even Bush's Feces & Urine
Are Classified Top Secret
All Of It Captured And Flown Back From Europe
By Wayne Madsen
WayneMadsenReport.com
7-5-6

Even Bush's crap is classified top secret. According to our Austrian sources, Austrian newspapers are currently abuzz with special security details of George W. Bush's recent trip to Vienna. Although the heavy-handed Gestapo-like security measures meted out to Viennese home owners, business proprietors, and pedestrians by US Secret Service agents and local police before and during Bush's visit received widespread Austrian media attention, it was White House "toilet security" ("TOILSEC"), which has Austrians talking the most.

The White House flew in a special portable toilet to Vienna for Bush's personal use during his visit. The Bush White House is so concerned about Bush's security, the veil of secrecy extends over the president's bodily excretions. The special port-a-john captured Bush's feces and urine and flew the waste material back to the United States in the event some enterprising foreign intelligence agency conducted a sewage pipe operation designed to trap and examine Bush's waste material. One can only wonder why the White House is taking such extraordinary security measures for the presidential poop.

In the past, similar operations were conducted against foreign leaders to determine their medical condition. However, these intelligence operations were directed against dictators in countries where even the medical conditions of the top political leaders were considered "state secrets."

The Israeli Mossad conducted one such operation against Syrian President Hafez Assad when he visited Amman, Jordan in Feb. 1999 for the funeral of King Hussein. The Mossad and its Jordanian counterpart installed a special toilet in Assad's hotel room that led not to a pipe but to a specimen canister. Assad suffered from diabetes and cancer and the operation was designed to discover the actual medical condition of the ailing leader.

During Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Washington in 1987, the CIA reportedly placed a special trap under a sewage tank to collect the Soviet leader's bodily waste for analysis.

More recently, the CIA was reported to have collected waste samples from Ugandan President-dictator Yoweri Museveni's toilet when he visited Washington.

Even Bush's toilet paper was flown in from the U.S. Air Base at Ramstein, Germany. In addition, Bush's food was flown in from the United States and tested with special chemicals before he ate it. Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was shot by a firing squad in 1989, was the last major European leader to constantly use a food tester. The last frequent state visitor to Vienna, who always relied on a food tester, was Adolf Hitler.

http://www.rense.com/general72/fexc.htm

[slackerbot]

haha.. this is funny. Nintendo sent GWB a DS Lite and a copy of Brain Age for his birthday. i doubt it would help him.

http://blog.wired.com/games/index.blog?entry_id=1515667

http://blog.wired.com/games/bushsm.jpg

[kingka]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/06/russia.putin.reut/index.html

Putin kissed boy 'like a kitten'

Thursday, July 6, 2006; Posted: 1:07 p.m. EDT (17:07 GMT)

vert.putin.ap.jpg
President Vladimir Putin talks with the boy in Moscow Wednesday.
Save on All Your Calls with Vonage
Save 50% on your bill with Vonage unlimited local/long distance -...
www.vonage.com
Bad Credit Refinance
Up to 4 quotes with 1 form. Serious refinance inquiries only please.
www.nextag.com
Refinance Rates as Low as 3.8%
Get up to 4 free offers - fast. Save $1,000s. No obligation.
www.refinancetrust.com
More Useful Links
• Notebook Computers
• Electronics
• Online Book Store

WATCH
Browse/Search
Putin plants kiss on stomach of shy boy. (June 28) (:45)
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Vladimir V. Putin
or Create Your Own
Manage Alerts | What Is This?

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Vladimir Putin's decision to stop a small boy as he walked through the Kremlin and kiss his stomach was prompted by a desire to "touch him like a kitten," the Russian president said on Thursday.

The five-year-old boy, identified as Nikita Konkin by the press, was clearly stunned by the kiss and speculation over Putin's motivation has run wild in the week since it happened.

Curious Internet users propelled the issue to the top of a list of questions put to Putin in an interactive Web cast. (Live Watch Putin and the boy -- :45)

"People came up and I began talking to them, among them this little boy. He seemed to me very independent, sure of himself and at the same time defenseless so to speak, an innocent boy and a very nice little boy," Putin told the Web cast.

"I tell you honestly, I just wanted to touch him like a kitten and that desire of mine ended in that act."

The Izvestia daily, which tracked down Nikita, discovered that he had refused to wash after that kiss.

"I just liked him and he liked me very much. I want to be president myself," the five-year-old told the paper.

Putin was shown by state television chatting to graduates of military academies before he took a walk through one of the Kremlin's courtyards, often full of tourists.

He stopped and spoke to Nikita who turned away shyly. "What is your name?" Putin asked, kneeling down in front of the fair-haired boy and holding him by the waist.

"Nikita," the clearly shocked boy answered, looking from side to side.

Putin then lifted the boy's shirt and kissed him on his stomach. The Russian president then patted the boy on the head and walked off through a crowd of astonished tourists.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[SDP]

How do you write 'NAMBLA' in Cyrillic characters?

[slackerbot]

wow. that's just creepy. maybe he was drunk or high on oxy.

[kingka]

I love how he explains himself.

"
"People came up and I began talking to them, among them this little boy. He seemed to me very independent, sure of himself and at the same time defenseless so to speak, an innocent boy and a very nice little boy," Putin told the Web cast.

"I tell you honestly, I just wanted to touch him like a kitten and that desire of mine ended in that act.""

as if that excuse makes him sound like any less of a creepy paedo.

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by kingka
President Vladimir Putin talks with the boy in Moscow Wednesday.
Save on All Your Calls with Vonage
Save 50% on your bill with Vonage unlimited local/long distance -...
www.vonage.com

[650lex]

Tongan Royalty killed in Menlo Park, CA (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/06/MNGR1JQKOC5.DTL)

Tongan royals reportedly killed in Menlo Park crash
Vanessa Hua and John Cote, Chronicle Staff Writers

Thursday, July 6, 2006


(07-06) 15:06 PDT -- Three people died Wednesday night in Menlo Park after a reckless teenage driver hit their vehicle on Highway 101, authorities said this morning.

Edith Delgado, 18, of Redwood City, was driving a white Ford Mustang north on 101 when she attempted to pass another vehicle at high speed just before 9 p.m., authorities said.

In doing so, the Mustang struck the driver's side of a red Ford Explorer, driven by a woman about 45 to 50 years of age with two male passengers on board.

The SUV driver attempted to regain control, but the vehicle flipped several times before stopping on its roof along the right-hand shoulder.

The driver and the two passengers were killed. The CHP said in a statement that the three were wearing passenger restraints.

KTVU Channel 2 reported today that among those killed were members of the Tongan royal family. The king of Tonga has a home in Hillsborough. A Tongan newspaper also reported unconfirmed reports that members of the royal family were killed.

The Mustang driver was stopped at the scene and arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and being involved in a speed contest.

A black Cadillac Escalade with spinner-style rims may have been involved in the collision and exited the freeway at Marsh Road, the CHP said.

The names of the deceased were not immediately available. Delgado received her driver's license in February and had a clean driving record and no prior arrests, authorities said.

She is being held in the San Mateo County jail in Redwood City on suspicion of three counts of vehicular homicide and participating in an illegal speed contest. Her bail is set at $300,000, and she is scheduled to make her initial court appearance Friday.

Anyone with information is asked to call the CHP at (650) 369-6261.


OH MAN - that little 18 year old girl
is gonna pay!

[slackerbot]

Tongans are gonna launch a war against the US!

[650lex]

sucks
but pretty random, huh?

[puppy fields]

Tax dollars to fund study on restricting public data (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-07-05-foia-research_x.htm)

[montyburnz]

In the news: military recruitment is down and we have 2 wars to fight so the Pentagon lowered requirements to get more enlistments. Looks like everyone is looking the other way as White Supremacists get in (along with high school dropouts, gangbangers, petty criminals, and those with slightly lower IQ's.)

I looked up the Southern Poverty Law Center story that spawned the report. They actually name names and claim a Navy SEAL, now honorably discharged, has strong links to the skinhead movement and kept them during his service. He's now a pickup-any-woman dating consultant. Curious.

A Few Bad Men
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/news/item.jsp?aid=66

Game On
The Denver pick-up artists come out from their lair. Look out, ladies!
http://www.westword.com/Issues/2006-06-01/news/feature_full.html

[puppy fields]

^ hey Monty you might like this book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679742034/102-3062386-7976148?n=283155)...your post reminded me of it.

[fmstlr]

Originally posted by slackerbot
Tongans are gonna launch a war against the US!

every 18-year-old who has gotten a driver's license for less than 6 months will be issued a brand new Mustang to fight the enemy. It's the American way.

[slackerbot]

really.. i wish it was tougher to get a drivers license around here.

[kamenriderv3]

they should make cars with a speed limit.

['jim]

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/2131/ktrk071106billboard14be.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

(7/11/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Sophisticated graffiti artists have left their mark near downtown Houston.

Someone covered up a billboard on La Branch at Winbern with a poster featuring a picture of Jesus Christ holding a Budweiser can. The company that leases the billboard believes vandals made the poster at home and then pasted it on top of the ad that's supposed to be there. It shows Jesus holding a Budweiser in between the phrases "Jesus, King of Jews" and "Jesus, King of Beers."

"I thought that was just crazy," said commuter Jose Cazares. "It looks professional too."

Neighbors say the billboard has been up there for a week or more.
(Copyright © 2006, KTRK-TV)

['jim]

It shows Jesus holding a Budweiser in between the phrases "Jesus, King of Jews" and "Jesus, King of Beers."

I like how they didn't even look at the picture. Although Jesus is often referred to as King of Beers, so it's an honest mistake.

[ocd]

That's just awesome.

[zachariah]

Originally posted by 'jim
http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/2131/ktrk071106billboard14be.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

... 7/11/06 ...

... downtown Houston ...

... La Branch at Winbern ... I went there today and I was disappointed in two ways:
1) it's gone (see pics, below)
2) it's not as big as it looked in the news article (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?id=4354235) (see pics, below)

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5702/wilbernlabranch19te.th.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wilbernlabranch19te.jpg) http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/4126/wilbernlabranch27dw.th.jpg (http://img354.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wilbernlabranch27dw.jpg) http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5593/wilbernlabranch31px.th.jpg (http://img354.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wilbernlabranch31px.jpg)

[montyburnz]

Fremont police arrest man, 18, on dangerous weapons charge
Bay City News Service
An 18-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possession of dangerous weapons in Fremont Tuesday morning after he allegedly pointed spears and bats out of his car at passing pedestrians and motorists, according to Fremont police Detective Bill Veteran.

The incident occurred around 11:45 a.m. near the intersection of Fremont Boulevard and Mowry Avenue, Veteran said.

Witnesses reported that a group of teenagers were pointing the weapons out of a white Ford Mustang, Veteran said.

Police located the vehicle, and could see cricket bats, metal pipes, and two metal spears in plain sight within the car, according to Veteran.

Police arrested Ravinder Khangura, the driver of the Mustang and the only occupant in the car when it was pulled over by police, for alleged possession of dangerous weapons, a felony.

Khangura said he was in possession of the weapons for his own protection, according to Veteran.
******************

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,452992,00.jpg

[fmstlr]

possession of sports equipment while brown

[Margin Walker]

Indiana, Wisconsin top Homeland Security list of potential terrorist targets (http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/node/1834)

[zachariah]

more "hilarity" in H-town...

(via Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/12/dude_slips_half_a_bo.html) -- "Dude slips half a bomb past TSA workers at Houston airport")

HPD, airport security at odds over incident (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/4033752.html) July 9, 2006, 11:09AM

Man allowed to board aircraft appeared to have bomb components
By HARVEY RICE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Houston police and the federal Transportation Security Administration disagree over who is responsible for allowing a man with what appeared to be bomb components board an aircraft at Hobby Airport last week.
ADVERTISEMENT

Although the FBI eventually cleared the man of wrongdoing, police officials have transferred the officer involved and are investigating the incident while insisting that the TSA, not police, has the authority to keep a suspicious person from boarding a flight.

"Our job is not to be the gatekeepers," police Capt. Dwayne Ready said. "That burden falls squarely on the airline and TSA to make that final decision.

"We are looking at our role in the situation to make sure our policies were adhered to," he said. "During follow-up, we are finding that there simply was not a material threat."

TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said screeners have the authority to stop people from going beyond the checkpoint to the boarding areas, but they rely heavily on local police.

"It's just agencies talking with each other," Ready said, downplaying the disagreement.

Details of the dispute
McCauley and Ready would not comment about the June 26 incident, but a confidential TSA report obtained by the Houston Chronicle details a dispute between screeners and a police officer on duty at the airport.

The report states that a man with a Middle Eastern name and a ticket for a Delta Airlines flight to Atlanta shook his head when screeners asked if he had a laptop computer in his baggage, but an X-ray machine operator detected a laptop.

A search of the man's baggage revealed a clock with a 9-volt battery taped to it and a copy of the Quran, the report said. A screener examined the man's shoes and determined that the "entire soles of both shoes were gutted out."

No explosive material was detected, the report states. A police officer was summoned and questioned the man, examined his identification, shoes and the clock, then cleared him for travel, according to the report.

A TSA screener disagreed with the officer, saying "the shoes had been tampered with and there were all the components of (a bomb) except the explosive itself," the report says.

The officer retorted, "I thought y'all were trained in this stuff," TSA officials reported.

The report says the TSA screener notified Delta Airlines and talked again with the officer, who said he had been unable to check the passenger's criminal background because of computer problems.

FBI involvement
The incident gained enough attention at higher levels of the TSA that the FBI was asked to investigate. The TSA issued a statement saying its screeners "acted in accordance with their training and protocols."

FBI Special Agent Stephen Emmett in Atlanta said agents there investigated the passenger.

"It was looked at and deemed a non-event," Emmett said, declining to give further details.

Meanwhile the officer involved in the dispute, J.O. Reece, has been transferred to a desk job, "the same place they send officers who are relieved of duty," said Chad Hoffman, attorney for the Houston Police Officers Union.

Hoffman said Reece doesn't understand why he was transferred "when it seems clear from the onset of the investigation that he didn't have probable cause to detain anybody and that his actions were consistent with the law and HPD policy."

[stryfe]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005JNZS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

10 percent of Japanese men in their 40s still virgins (http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/news/20060713p2g00m0dm016000c.html)

Haruka is a 38-year-old temporary employment agency worker. She met her 41-year-old boyfriend through an online matchmaking site. Judging by his e-mail, he seemed to be kind and was certainly mature. After exchanging mail for about a year, the pair finally agreed to meet. The boyfriend shocked Haruka on their second date, Yomiuri Weekly (7/23) says, when he suddenly blurted out a proposal.

"Marry me," Haruka says, recalling her boyfriend's words for Yomiuri Weekly. "I've kept my body clean all my life while I waited to get married. I'm still a virgin."

Haruka didn't know what to say, but kept on seeing her 41-year-old boyfriend and thinks they'll probably tie the knot some day.

While many around the world may have chuckled at the American comedy "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," a complete dearth of sexual experience well into the 40s is a very serious matter. In fact, according to a survey by Dr. Kunio Kitamura, head of the Japan Family Planning Association (and Mainichi columnist), 7.9 percent of Japanese men from the ages of 40 to 44 are still to have sex. And Kitamura says the real figure is probably worse.

"There were another 5 percent of men who didn't give an answer," he tells Yomiuri Weekly. "If you consider that most of these men have probably not had sex, either, I'd say the real number of virgin men in their early to mid-40s is probably closer to 10 percent."

Mayumi Nimatsu, a marriage counselor who has dealt with the problems faced by many couples, thinks she knows the reason why Japan has managed to produce such a large number of chaste middle-aged men.

"This generation reached adulthood just as Japan was in the middle of the bubble era. Matchmaking parties started to become popular and there were plenty of opportunities for the sexes to mix," Nimatsu says. "But, on the other hand, it was also the time when women began insisting any men they would show interest in have the three 'highs' (a high income, a high academic background and height). This really polarized the situation, with men who'd be popular with women standing out above those who wouldn't be and probably did a lot to contribute to the high rate of virginity amongst 40-somethings now."

Ironically, in a Japan where the lack of sex between married couples has reached epidemic proportions, this same demographic producing so many virgins is also the same group with fewer sexless marriages than any other, the weekly says, quoting figures from a government survey on marriage.

Pshrink Seiji Okada thinks he knows why.

"Society has become more Americanized and people are now valued more for speaking their minds. This applies at work and in the home. People developed a dislike for arranged marriages and love marriages were dictated to by market principles, with women the party given the choice," Okada tells Yomiuri Weekly. "Some guys lack the ability to speak out on their own behalf and it becomes a handicap that sees them weeded out (of the love game) through the process of natural selection."

[fmstlr]

What's the state of the AIDS epidemic in Japan? I wonder.

[fmstlr]

Sex Offender Credited on Children's CD

Updated 2:21 PM ET July 13, 2006

Officials are distancing themselves from a state-sponsored CD of children's songs recorded by prison inmates after it was revealed a child sex offender helped put it together.

Among those credited on the "Wings of Hope" CD is Raymond Towler, 49, who was sentenced to 12 years to life in 1981 for the kidnapping of two children, the assault of a boy and the rape of a girl.

"To find out that someone who had committed a crime like that participated in this initiative in any way is a huge disappointment," said Bonnie Hedrick, director of the Ohio Resource Network for Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. "It was a huge oversight and one I regret happened."

Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Lyons said criteria were established for any inmate who volunteered to perform on the CD, including that they have no history of sex offenses or crimes against children.

Lyons said different criteria applied to Towler because he was not among those "presenting the message" on the CD. Towler did not write the music or perform but only worked as a technical adviser or consultant to the songs' performers, she said.

Others credited on the CD include inmates convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping.

The album contains lullabies for newborns, sing-along songs for toddlers and parenting tips. Many songs are childhood classics such as "This Old Man," while some were composed by the inmates.

The project was a partnership between the office of Ohio first lady Hope Taft, the Resource Network and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. It cost $5,000.

Taft's participation involved her voicing an idea at a meeting for a CD that would allow inmates to participate in a "positive, community-oriented activity," Hedrick said.

The prison system said last month that 15,000 copies of the disc would be distributed to prison groups and inmate families as well as to community groups, such as public libraries and social service agencies. Lyons said the plan was scaled back to include only prison-affiliated groups at the request of the Resource Network.

Hedrick said she believes the CD will still have a positive impact. "From the child's perspective, if it was my father who did that, at least I could have something to be proud of him for," she said.

[funkydrunknmonk]

JACKIE CHAN GETS CRUNK, DISRUPTS CONCERT. (http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=227085&GT1=7701)

[stryfe]

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/07/lightningAP130706_228x460.jpg
Incredible pictures: the moment lightning shared the sky with a rainbow (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=395512&in_page_id=1770)

When a rainbow formed in the sky people stopped and stared at the natural wonder.

But then lightning sparked across the evening panorama as two of nature's most spectacular phenomenon created an unusual alliance.

See more incredible storms and lightning pictures here

The clash of weather was seen above the affluent city of Fort Smith, in the Southern state Arkansas.

One onlooker said: "It was awe inspiring. The lightning made a huge rumbling sound and when you looked up there was also this incredible rainbow forming on the horizon."

The intracloud lightning, known as an anvil crawler, is the most common form of lightning, with the electrical charge contained within a single cumulonimbus cloud.

Lightning often occurs during heavy storms while rainbows are generally formed after the rain has stopped, making an appearance of both simultaneously relatively rare.

The actual electric charge in a flash of lightning comes from particles from the sun sent out in the solar wind which gather in the outer atmospheric layers before creating a strike.

Scientists are still divided by what actually causes lightning, with one theory suggesting falling droplets of ice and rain become electrically polarised as they fall through the natural electric field in the Earth's atmosphere.

This would explain why lightning often accompanies storms and heavy rain. The same droplets also cause the rainbow, when light from the sun is refracted by the water to cause a spectrum.

['jim]

Originally posted by fmstlr
What's the state of the AIDS epidemic in Japan? I wonder.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=25846

I thought they were big on condoms.

...

On using them.

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by stryfe
Mayumi Nimatsu, a marriage counselor who has dealt with the problems faced by many couples, thinks she knows the reason why Japan has managed to produce such a large number of chaste middle-aged men.


they were too busy saving japantown.

not that they have saved it yet because they haven't found japan's japantown.

[stryfe]

The whole asian women / white guys thing is so bad, they can't get laid in Japan.

[kamenriderv3]

maybe they are just lying about never having sex.

[yamchild]

biggest photo in the world WTF (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060714/ap_on_sc/world_s_largest_photo)

Photo in Calif. could be world's largest Thu Jul 13, 9:12 PM ET



IRVINE, Calif. - What is believed to be the world's largest photo was successfully created in a hangar that had been converted into a massive camera at the former El Toro Marine Corps base.

About 30 people showed up Wednesday to see the fuzzy, 28-by-108 foot black-and-white image taken by six photographers from the nonprofit Legacy Project. The photo, taken Saturday, shows the control towers, palm trees and a portable toilet.

The photo was created using the centuries-old principle of "camera obscura" after a gumball-size hole was opened in the hangar's wall, allowing a tiny beam of light to enter.

The image then appeared upside down and flipped left to right on a sheath of light-sensitive fabric the length of one-third of a football field and about three stories tall.

The cloth was exposed for 35 minutes. The photographers and 60 volunteers developed the image by moving the fabric into an enormous, 1-foot-deep tray.

"That was the magic: seeing this image come to life in the tray," photographer Jacques Garnier said. "That made all the work worthwhile."

The photo will be wrapped around a tube and eventually shipped to a temperature-controlled warehouse in Riverside. A few museums have expressed interest in displaying the photo, though no firm commitments have yet been made.

Guinness World Records has created two new categories for the project — world's largest camera and world's largest photograph. Certification of the records will take about three months.

The ambitious project was the latest by the group of shutterbugs who wanted to memorialize the Marine base before it was gone. The base was decommissioned in 1999 after more than a half-century of use.

Developers plan to build a 375-acre park, museum district, sports complex and thousands of homes on the base.

^ this was right in my neighborhood! i wish i had known about this and managed to witness the taking and the developing of the photo....

[kamenriderv3]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Supermodel Naomi Campbell, already facing court cases stemming from accusations that she assaulted two of her housekeepers, was sued on Thursday by a third employee who says the British-born beauty attacked her.

....

In one instance, McCarthy said, Campbell struck Brack in the face with her Blackberry, slammed her against a wall and slapped her repeatedly across the face because a piece of her luggage got left behind during a trip to Brazil.

He said Campbell threw a cell phone at Brack's face during a subsequent outburst at the model's New York apartment.

During an April 2005 photo shoot in Morocco, McCarthy said, Campbell exploded in rage at Brack over a forgotten article of clothing. He said that Campbell left her assistant stranded in Morocco without funds, tore up her passport and threw it into the swimming pool and left her to pay the hotel bill.

In a final incident at Campbell's Park Avenue home, she ripped a sweater Brack was wearing "off her neck" and accused the assistant of stealing the garment, McCarthy said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060714/people_nm/campbell_dc

[stryfe]

Originally posted by yamchild
biggest photo in the world WTF (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060714/ap_on_sc/world_s_largest_photo)

Photo in Calif. could be world's largest Thu Jul 13, 9:12 PM ET

^ this was right in my neighborhood! i wish i had known about this and managed to witness the taking and the developing of the photo....
That's would've been really cool to see, especially since it's so close.

[fmstlr]

Although you missed this opportunity to witness the biggest photograph being made, I think it is within you ability to create the smallest photograph in the world, if you want to be part of history, or the world record book.

[slackerbot]

sad..

http://www.nbc10.com/health/9515335/detail.html

Kitten Born With 2 Faces

POSTED: 8:14 pm EDT July 13, 2006
UPDATED: 8:27 am EDT July 14, 2006
A kitten has been born with two faces and veterinarians don't understand why.

The kitten was born Wednesday morning in Ohio. It has two mouths that meow in unison, two noses and four eyes that have not opened yet.

The little boy who owns the cat said he hasn't decided on a name for the kitten yet, but said he wants to name it Tiger.

Two other kittens were in the same litter, but they are normal.

Veterinarians say this occurrence is very rare, but the kitten could be just fine. It has already begun nursing just like the other kittens in the litter.

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/1167/9515470400x3007mq.jpg

[feralmuppet]

Originally posted by slackerbot
sad..

http://www.nbc10.com/health/9515335/detail.html


The little boy who owns the cat said he hasn't decided on a name for the kitten yet, but said he wants to name it Tiger.


http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/1167/9515470400x3007mq.jpg

Not the most imaginative child, is he?

[ocd]

Tiger Tiger would be a much better name.

[feralmuppet]

Originally posted by stryfe
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/07/lightningAP130706_228x460.jpg
Incredible pictures: the moment lightning shared the sky with a rainbow (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=395512&in_page_id=1770)

When a rainbow formed in the sky people stopped and stared at the natural wonder.

But then lightning sparked across the evening panorama as two of nature's most spectacular phenomenon created an unusual alliance.

See more incredible storms and lightning pictures here

The clash of weather was seen above the affluent city of Fort Smith, in the Southern state Arkansas.

One onlooker said: "It was awe inspiring. The lightning made a huge rumbling sound and when you looked up there was also this incredible rainbow forming on the horizon."

The intracloud lightning, known as an anvil crawler, is the most common form of lightning, with the electrical charge contained within a single cumulonimbus cloud.

Lightning often occurs during heavy storms while rainbows are generally formed after the rain has stopped, making an appearance of both simultaneously relatively rare.

The actual electric charge in a flash of lightning comes from particles from the sun sent out in the solar wind which gather in the outer atmospheric layers before creating a strike.

Scientists are still divided by what actually causes lightning, with one theory suggesting falling droplets of ice and rain become electrically polarised as they fall through the natural electric field in the Earth's atmosphere.

This would explain why lightning often accompanies storms and heavy rain. The same droplets also cause the rainbow, when light from the sun is refracted by the water to cause a spectrum.

The photo looks like a heavy metal album cover from the '70s.

[feralmuppet]

Originally posted by ocd
Tiger Tiger would be a much better name.

I'd call him "DAAAAMN!"

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by slackerbot
http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/1167/9515470400x3007mq.jpg

operate now!

[ocd]

Someone call Hercules!

[kamenriderv3]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- We interrupt your cell phone call with this important announcement: The government will soon be sending warnings of national emergencies on wireless phones, Web sites and hand-held computers.

The new digital system will update the emergency alerts planned -- but never used -- during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear strike. More likely, these 21st-century technologies will carry warnings of natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

The Homeland Security Department, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, expects to have the system working by the end of next year. Though still in its pilot stages, the system is being demonstrated Wednesday at a public television station in suburban Virginia.


http://us.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/07/12/alert.system.ap/index.html


i'm guessing the cell phone companies will still charge you for the text message if you're not on a text message plan.

[ocd]

"OMG! WTF! WMD!"

[zachariah]

Originally posted by ocd
"OMG! WTF! WMD!" :LOL:

[stryfe]

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20060714/capt.10a73ade30f74752a8f7a21b7f74cccf.rare_lobster_nyol213.jpg

Maine lobsterman pulls up rare lobster (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060714/ap_on_sc/rare_lobster)
BAR HARBOR, Maine - An eastern Maine lobsterman caught a lobster this week that looks like it's half-cooked. ADVERTISEMENT

The lobster caught by Alan Robinson in Dyer's Bay that is a typical mottled green on one side; the other side is a shade of orange that looks cooked.

Robinson, of Steuben, donated the lobster to the Mount Desert Oceanarium. Staff members say the odds or finding a half-and-half lobster are 1 in 50 million to 100 million. By comparison, the odds of finding a blue lobster are about 1 in a million.

Robinson, who has been fishing for more than 20 years, said he didn't know what to think when he spotted the odd creature in his trap.

"I thought somebody was playing a joke on me," Robinson said. "Once I saw what it was ... it was worth seeing."

Bette Spurling, who works at the oceanarium, said lobster shells are usually a blend of the three primary colors: red, yellow and blue. Those colors mix to form the greenish-brown color of most lobsters. This lobster, though, has no blue in half of its shell, she said.

Bernard Arseneau, a former manager at the oceanarium's lobster hatchery, said lobsters also have a growth pattern in which the two sides develop independently of each other.

The oceanarium has received only three two-toned lobsters in its 35 years of existence, staff members said.

[Iago]

I have to say that Russian president Vlad Putin's comments of late have been quite humorous.

"Cheney, in a May speech in the ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania, accused Russia of cracking down on religious and political rights and of using its energy reserves as “tools of intimidation or blackmail.”

Putin went on to say Cheney’s criticism was like his “bad shot on his hunting trip.”

In the NYTimes:

In the sharpest exchange, Mr. Bush said he had told Mr. Putin during a private dinner here Friday night about “my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world like Iraq — where there is a free press and free religion — and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope Russia would do the same thing.”

Mr. Putin, standing bolt upright in a dark blue suit, responded dryly, “We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I will tell you quite honestly.”

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by funkydrunknmonk
JACKIE CHAN GETS CRUNK, DISRUPTS CONCERT. (http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=227085&GT1=7701)

http://www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/2000/images/drunkenmaster3.jpg

[kamenriderv3]

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- It could be magic for some, but the use of loud Barry Manilow music to drive away late-night revelers from a suburban Sydney park is getting on the nerves of nearby residents.

In a move reminiscent of U.S. efforts to drive former Panama strongman Manuel Noriega from the Vatican Embassy where he took refuge in 1989, the local council in Rockdale, in Sydney's southern suburbs, started a six-month trial of high-volume hits by Manilow and Doris Day to chase away car enthusiasts who were gathering on weekend nights at Cook Park Reserve.

"Barry's our secret weapon," Rockdale Deputy Mayor Bill Saravinovski told The Daily Telegraph newspaper, four weeks after the start of the effort. "It seems to be working."


http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/17/australia.manilow.ap/index.html

[fmstlr]

how many times have this happened? *shake head*

It's time to evacuate the white people.

[zachariah]

Most other goverrnments evacuating people here are actually flying them back to their home country without cost. But not the USG (http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/17/us_govt_billing_citi.html)

[airwon]

Bush vetoes the stem cell research bill. Not a surprise. If we follow his logic, he disapproves of government funds going to do research on embryoes, which he considers to be a destruction of human life. But he approves of the same research if it is privately funded. Wait! Government can't spend the money to kill but you can kill for profit!
What a silly man!

['jim]

Yeah, cause you don't want gov't money being used to to kill...umm...

[airwon]

Right. As long as they are fully developed human beings, preferably somewhere in the middle east.

[ocd]

Not necessarily news, but just as scary: OMG RAPTURE LOLOLOL!!!! (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=264965)

[Shaftoe]

Originally posted by ocd
Not necessarily news, but just as scary: OMG RAPTURE LOLOLOL!!!! (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=264965)

I expected much more, OCD
From one as enlightened as thee
Repent, praise Jehovah
Or when your life is over
A burnin' in fire you'll be

The rapture's not just in our minds
It's foretold by forces divine
Now sir, stop debating
And please stop masturbating!
You don't want to be left behind.

Left back with the soulless, conniving
Left back here where evil is thriving
Please don't get stuck
You'll really be fucked
If it happens while you are driving!

[ocd]

Originally posted by Shaftoe


I expected much more, OCD
From one as enlightened as thee
Repent, praise Jehovah
Or when your life is over
A burnin' in fire you'll be

The rapture's not just in our minds
It's foretold by forces divine
Now sir, stop debating
And please stop masturbating!
You don't want to be left behind.

Left back with the soulless, conniving
Left back here where evil is thriving
Please don't get stuck
You'll really be fucked
If it happens while you are driving! I am laughing way to loud to be at work right now, you bastard.

[Shaftoe]

Originally posted by ocd
I am laughing way to loud to be at work right now, you bastard.

Your boss surely will let it slide
Chuckle and take it in stride
I tip up my liquor
O baby-face-kicker
Laugh at work, man, you've nothing to hide!

[35ft6]

Shaftoe is the best limerick man ever!!!

[Shaftoe]

Originally posted by 35ft6
Shaftoe is the best limerick man ever!!!

Accolades were not the plan
I rhyme simply because I can
But humbly I'll take it
I cannot forsake it
'Cause three five foot six is the MAN

[35ft6]

^ Fucking sweet. Shaftoe needs to start a new genre of music called limerick rap.

[slackerbot]

this is funny..

http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=24262

i'll see if i can make an animated GIF from the video when i get home..

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5954/01mfb5127752bushmerkelquertemplateidrenderscaledpropeub3.jpg

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7680/02mfb5127751bushmerkelquertemplateidrenderscaledpropecs7.jpg

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/4227/03mfb5127741bushmerkelhochtemplateidrenderscaledpropefj6.jpg

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/5403/04mfb5127742bushmerkelhochtemplateidrenderscaledpropenm1.jpg

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/684/05mfb5127738bushmerkelhochtemplateidrenderscaledpropefz5.jpg

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/5544/06mfb5127759bush06hochtemplateidrenderscaledpropertybbg4.jpg

[fmstlr]

bushisaredneckidiotwhodoesnothaveanyawarenessofculturalnormsregardingbasicsocialprotocolsnottomentio ninternationaldimplomaticpractices.

['jim]

^bumper sticker

[SDP]

It's like having a relative who you don't want to go out with in public, because he always does stupid shit and embrasses you.

[funkydrunknmonk]

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2047/idiotkp5.gif

[kyberPaavi]

^ hmmm...has Bush been hitting the bottle again

[kamenriderv3]

follow-up to the tongan royalty killed in california car crash

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga — Tongans lined roads by the thousands today, standing in silent tribute as the South Pacific nation honored its "people's prince" and only royal political reformer, Prince Tu'ipelehake, killed in a car accident in the U.S.
Dressed in black with many wearing traditional mats, adults and schoolchildren stood or sat quietly as the caskets of the prince and his wife, Princess Kaimana Fielakepa, were taken to the funeral service in the capital.

The nation is observing a 10-day mourning period for the pair who, together with their Tongan driver, died in a car crash in California more than two weeks ago.

Tongan royal family members will observe six months of mourning, beginning with an overnight vigil at the couple's home after their bodies were returned on Thursday.

Representatives of South Pacific royalty attended the funeral, as well as dignitaries, diplomats and Tongan royal family members.

Princess Mele Siu'ilukutapu, the prince's eldest sister, told the congregation her brother had been dedicated to peaceful political reform.

The two coffins then were transported to the kingdom's ancient capital, Lapaha Village, where the pair were buried together in the Langi Na Moala tomb reserved for royalty.

...


http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jul/21/br/br07p.html

[slackerbot]

they're planning their US invasion.

['jim]

Originally posted by kamenriderv3

Princess Mele Siu'ilukutapu, the prince's eldest sister, told the congregation her brother had been dedicated to peaceful political reform.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jul/21/br/br07p.html

Assassniated. Nobody likes a peacenik.

[nagasawa]

Originally posted by funkydrunknmonk
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2047/idiotkp5.gif

Wow. "Hey, there's my buddy Angie over there, I'm going to go give her a massage". I wonder if Rummie or Cheney get massages?

On another note: Young boys! Watch your lavender intake or you'll grow breasteseses,

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060706/LIFESTYLE/607060395/1040/LIFESTYLE03

[fmstlr]

mitchuman

[randall fairbrook]

*looks down




that explains it alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

[zachariah]

Two die as giant inflatable blows away (http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1070992006) TWO women died and a three-year-old child was seriously injured after a freak gust of wind blew a massive bouncy castle-style artwork 40 feet into the air yesterday.

Horrified families watched as the huge structure, with 30 people inside, broke free from its moorings and soared into the air, spilling adults and children on to the ground beneath. [more] (http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1070992006)

[puppy fields]

N. Korean leader has secret 'wife' (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/23/nkorea.kim.ap/index.html)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been living with his former secretary, who is virtually acting as the communist nation's "first lady," South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported.

There is no official information available about the marital history of the 64-year-old leader of the highly secretive government, but Kim is widely believed to have been married three times. His last wife, Ko Yong Hi, reportedly died of cancer in 2004.

Since then, Kim has been living with Kim Ok, who had served as his personal secretary since the 1980s, Yonhap reported, citing South Korean government officials it didn't further identify.

Kim Ok, 42, "virtually acts as North Korea's first lady" and frequently accompanies the North Korean leader on his visits to military bases and in meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries, Yonhap said.

She also traveled with Kim Jong Il on a secretive trip to China in January, when she was received by Chinese officials as Kim's wife, the report said. Kim Ok also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, it said.

It is not known whether Kim Ok and the North Korean leader have any children, Yonhap said.

Kim Jong Il is known to have three sons -- one from his second wife and two from his third. North Korean experts say Kim's 25-year-old son Kim Jong Chul is most likely to become the North's next leader.

His eldest son, Kim Jong Nam, is said to have fallen out of favor after embarrassing his father in 2001 when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport, saying he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

[kamenriderv3]

his youngest son ernie has thick glasses and buckteeth.

[slackerbot]

wow!


http://www.local6.com/news/9562444/detail.html

Teen Uses Discovery Channel Tip To Escape Alligator Attack
Mom: Tip To Poke Eye With Thumb Saved Son's Life

POSTED: 9:29 pm EDT July 23, 2006
UPDATED: 10:30 am EDT July 24, 2006
DELAND, Fla. -- A 16-year-old being dragged into a Central Florida lake by a large alligator used a tip he watched on the Discovery Channel to break free and likely save his life, according to a Local 6 News report.

Corey Workman was in a remote area of the St. John's River in Volusia County, Fla., just before midnight Saturday, throwing rocks and sticks into the water.

Authorities said an alligator jumped out of the water, grabbed Workman's left foot and dragged him into the lake.

"He struggled with the alligator but could not get free until he remembered something he saw on the Discovery Channel about what to do if you are getting attacked by an alligator," Local 6 reporter Deborah Garcia said.

Workman poked the alligator in the eye with his thumb as he was told to do on the television show.

His mom said the lesson of poking at the alligator's eye saved her son's life, Garcia said.

"If he was every bitten by a shark, he (learned) to put his hand in its gills and if he was ever attacked by a gator, to take his thumb and poke his thumb all the way in his eye and the gator released him," mother Elisa Badger said. "Thank God he was able to maintain his composure and not panic. He knew exactly what to do."

"Everyone is calling teenager Corey Workman a very lucky young man today," Garcia said.

Trappers used a hook and harpoon to catch an 11-foot alligator Sunday night in the St. John's River near Astor, Fla.

Officials will now try to determine if it is the same alligator that attacked Workman.

Workman remained in Florida Hospital Deland but could be released as early as Monday.

[fmstlr]

So-Called Indigo Teen Says She Can Read People

Updated 3:03 PM ET July 24, 2006

Sandie Bershad says she's always felt different than other kids and generally prefers the company of adults.

At age 12, Sandie, now 17, says she went into a deep, two-year depression because she felt that no one understood her.

She was treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with medication, but as she grew up, she said, she realized that she had special gifts and abilities, including the ability to see angels and hear voices.

"I see dead people. I see my grandmother. She visits me all the time," Sandie said. "I have always been visited by spirits. For the past two years, I have been on a spiritual path, and I have come to help a lot of people with my psychic abilities."

Sandie is one of the so-called "indigo children" -- named for the blue aura some say they see surrounding them.

Indigo children are described as highly accomplished, deeply spiritual, and gifted with psychic abilities.

As with most paranormal experiences, this is more about faith than science. For parents Tammy and Aaren Glover, their children are the proof.
Advertisement

"All three of the older children remember vividly previous lifetimes that they have had," Tammy Glover said. "And Maielaya, for example, lives in lucid, vivid memory of being my mother."

They often talk about speaking with God, angels, or people who have died. Believers say indigo children are often rebellious to authority, nonconformist, extremely emotional, and sometimes physically sensitive or fragile.

"Indigo children have access to human experience at a larger level, at a greater depth than most people do," said Neale Donald Walsch, author of "Conversations With God."

Most have piercing blue eyes -- though Sandie does not. Skeptics, however, believe these children may be autistic, have attention deficit disorder, or suffer from some other behavior disorder.

"No rigorous scientific tests have proven the existence of these so-called paranormal gifts," said psychology professor David Stein.

However, Marjie Bershad, Sandie's mother, says she knew her daughter was different "in utero."

"There was always something different about her -- more adult, more focused," Marjie Bershad said.

"She was a force to be reckoned with," said Sandie's father, Tom Bershad. "She never acted like a child. She was sophisticated and in charge. It's the same with other indigo kids."

When Sandie was 2, she told her mother that she had chosen her and her father to be her parents.

About 10 years later, Sandie told her mother that before she was born, her maternal grandfather, who had died when Marjie was 1, had helped her choose her parents.

Sandie said her most memorable experience was when her friend's recently deceased father appeared to her.

"I called my friend and she was crying -- had no idea this could have happened to her and her father. I described what he looked like and she's like, 'Oh, my God. That's my dad,' Sandie said. "He contacted me so I could give messages to her family and her friends."

Sandie said that the father had revealed some private things to her that no one could know about his marriage.

"I had to keep that back for a while because I didn't want to say anything when he first died," she said.

Sandie says she can do an accurate reading of a person and tell what is troubling them and often advise them on how to fix it.

"I feel totally surrounded by their feelings, embodied by them," she said. "It's kind of like a trance. I zero in on only the person and myself. Sometimes it's very intense because the person will develop an attachment to me because they feel like I'm the only person who truly understands them. They ask me for advice, so I'll offer options and choices rather than just tell them what to do."

She has even helped her father with problems he has had at work.

"I talked to Sandie about it, and she was able to give me real insight into the situation," he said. "She also told me about an employee doing something not quite right, and I was able to handle the problem."

Some say as many as 90 percent of all children have indigo traits.

Sandie believes that all people share her ability and can unlock it if they are open to being mentored by an indigo.

She is happy that she has discovered her gift, after being misunderstood for so long.

"A new world opened up to me," she said. "I felt someone finally understood me and helped open other spiritual realms for me and develop my gifts. I started channeling other people. I felt really in tune."




A new trend in stupidity is upon us.

[kamenriderv3]

so that's what it means. i thought she was part of the indigo girls...

[kamenriderv3]

LONDON (AP) -- Jockey Paul O'Neill will be investigated by the sport's governing body after television replays showed him head-butting his horse, City Affair.

...

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?slug=ap-jockey-head-butt&prov=ap&type=lgns

[stryfe]

Sister dies lighting candles at shrine (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/24/siblings.slain.ap/index.html)
Shootings came four years apart at same time, place
Police said they don't know who shot her or why.

The woman was killed Saturday at about 11:30 p.m. in the city's Roxbury neighborhood on a one-way street close to a mass transit station and within view of Boston police headquarters.

Police declined to give her identity, but friends and a relative identified her as Analicia Perry, 20, of the South End neighborhood. She had a 4-year-old daughter and had lived with her mother and sister about a mile from where the shootings took place.

Perry's brother, Robert Perry, was 26 when he was shot several times on July 22, 2002, on the sidewalk next to his apartment complex. Police identified a man they said was the shooter, but he was not arrested and later was himself found shot to death.

"It's crazy," their sister, Chyneatha Perry, told the Boston Herald for Monday's editions. "Everyone thinks it's a dream that we're going to wake up from. How does this happen? The same day. The same place. Four years ago."

On Saturday night, Chyneatha Perry said, the sisters marked the anniversary of their brother's death as they have each year, leaving pictures of him at the scene and lighting candles.

"It was a windy day and she'd driven by there and seen the candles had gone out," said Chyneatha Perry. "She went to my sister's house and dropped off her daughter, then went down there. ... She was kneeling and lighting a candle when it happened."

On Sunday, dozens of people visited the shooting scene, where a cardboard sign with the words "Rest in Peace" lay against a fence. Friends recalled Analicia Perry as a good friend.

"She was always there for advice," said Chrissy Williams. "She was the first one of all of us to have a baby, so I always called her."

Friends said she was a talented hair stylist who had hoped to go to Quincy College in the fall to study nursing.

[ocd]

Originally posted by zachariah
Two die as giant inflatable blows away (http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1070992006) VIDEO (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm)

Info on the Sculpture (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/5209260.stm)

[slackerbot]

wow. are kids really that bored these days?

[funkydrunknmonk]

Sorensen said Dowling previously was convicted on weapons charges stemming from an incident at the Tacoma Mall after which he also told police he was a Juggalo.


name? RYDER DOWLING.

occupation? JUGGALO.

hahahahahahahaha

[slackerbot]

i just thought this was kinda funny. i'm gonna try this, but i'm gonna say, "this is how we do it in the OC bitch!"


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/07/21/BUG3KK0NBU72.DTL&type=tech

Craigslist users hit by robbers

Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, July 21, 2006

Beware of robbers using Craigslist.

Several of the popular Web site's users have been held up at gunpoint by individuals posing as buyers and sellers, according to a number of police departments.

The robberies, including five in the Bay Area during the past month, highlight a disturbing trend: The targeting of Craigslist users for violent crime. None of the victims has been hurt, but they have lost cash and hundreds of dollars in property.

The cases show the potential dangers of meeting with strangers to make a transaction, whether the parties first connect through the Internet on Craigslist or eBay, or via a newspaper classified advertisement. They also underscore the need for taking precautions, such as meeting in public, to reduce the risk.

Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist's chief executive, said robberies are extremely rare on his Web site, a digital bulletin board for everything from job openings to personals to selling used sofas. He said there are 10 million new classified ad postings each month, the majority of which involve face-to- face meetings that take place without a problem.

The latest known robbery was Sunday night after two people from Pleasanton and Livermore posted an ad on Craigslist to sell hooded jackets. They were contacted by a prospective buyer and agreed to meet in a covered Target department store parking lot in Walnut Creek, according to Walnut Creek police.

But the transaction soured. At 8:20 p.m., two individuals drove up, one of whom pointed a pistol at the sellers and said, "This is how we're going to do this."

The suspects, who appeared to be 16 to 19 years old, took 11 jackets. Before driving off, they flashed a gang sign and said "this is West Pittsburg," a possible reference to their neighborhood.

Police have made no arrests.

A broader outbreak of Craigslist robberies has taken place in San Jose. During the last week of June, San Jose police said there were four robberies involving people buying or selling items through Craigslist.

In each case, the victims met with a man about a potential transaction on the street near apartment complexes, and ended up being held up at gunpoint for small electronics and cash. In two of the incidents, the victims drove to San Jose to meet the suspect or suspects.

The police have yet to announce any arrests.

Whether Craigslist is any more of a target for violent crime now than in the past is difficult to determine. However, representatives from the half-dozen police departments contacted could not recall a Craigslist-related robbery before 2005.

San Francisco police Inspector Pamela Wermes said that she knows of two robberies involving Craigslist in her city since the start of 2005, the most recent of which happened in May. Both cases involved sellers being pushed aside by thieves posing as buyers, who then ran out with the stolen property, in one case an Apple iPod digital music player.

Robberies related to Craigslist aren't only a Bay Area phenomenon. A handful of incidents has been reported across the nation during the past few months.

In April, two men in Boston who responded to an ad for a used 1995 Honda Civic were robbed of their money. The suspect directed the men behind a house to look at the car, and then pulled a gun and forced the victims to the ground before fleeing, according to Boston police.

In May, a man answering an ad on Craigslist in Vancouver, Wash., from a purported prostitute was lured to a park for a meeting and then robbed by three individuals. A man and woman were later arrested, and a teenage female was taken to a juvenile detention facility, the Vancouver police said.

None of the police contacted said that Craigslist has any responsibility for the robberies because of its limited role as an online bulletin board. In fact, they said that Craigslist cooperates with investigations, although it requires law enforcement to get court orders before giving them access to much of its information.

The series of robberies through Craigslist casts the Web site in a different light from its reputation as a tight-knit community, led by Buckmaster, who espouses a philosophy harking back to the hippie era, and the company's convivial founder Craig Newmark. Many users think nothing of inviting strangers to their home or apartment to inspect a used futon or laptop computer for sale.

In fact, Craigslist is no stranger to criminal activity. From time to time, police have arrested individuals for offenses including using the Web site to sell drugs, offering children as prostitutes and fencing stolen merchandise.

Fraud artists routinely lure Craigslist users with come-ons to cash what turn out to be counterfeit cashier's checks for them. Another scam is to ask that buyers pay up front for products that will be shipped later, but never are.

To avoid being robbed, the police and Craigslist advise users to meet in a public place where other people are around.

If something doesn't seem right, reconsider your plans, they said. Also, Craigslist users are advised to keep all correspondence in a transaction to help speed up any police investigation, if one is necessary.

[kamenriderv3]

question is....."how was the craiglist sting operation started?"

[puppy fields]

if the world suddenly ends on August 15th you'll know who to blame.

China to test its `artificial sun` (http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1183705.php/China_to_test_its_%60artificial_sun%60)

BEIJING, China (UPI) -- The first plasma discharge from China`s experimental advanced superconducting research center -- the so-called 'artificial sun' -- is set to occur next month.

The discharge, expected about Aug. 15, will be conducted at Science Island in Hefei, in east China`s Anhui Province, the Peoples Daily reported Monday.

Scientists told the newspaper a successful test will mean the world`s first nuclear fusion device of its kind will be ready to go into actual operation, the newspaper said.

The plasma discharge will draw international attention since some scientists are concerned with risks involved in such a process. But Chinese researchers involved in the project say any radiation will cease once the test is completed.

The experiment will take place in a structure made of reinforced concrete, with five-foot-thick walls and a three-foot-thick roof.

[kamenriderv3]

Tuesday morning, they drank cold coffee and shared croissants under a parasol from an abandoned ice cream cart

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060725/ap_on_re_eu/paris_tent_camps_lh1

[funkydrunknmonk]

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, "PIZZA" WILL BE KNOWN AS "ELASTIC LOAF." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060729/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_foreign_words)

ALLAH HAS SPOKEN!

[puppy fields]

'Nova' asteroid could rock your world in '36 (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/438593p-369528c.html)

PASADENA - It wasn't quite Chicken Little warning that the sky was falling, but astrophysicist and PBS "Origins" star Neil deGrasse Tyson yesterday warned TV writers that an asteroid is coming - very, very close to Earth.

A projected trajectory shows the asteroid, Apophis (named for the Egyptian god of death and darkness), will come very close to our planet in 2029, and have a chance of hitting Earth on its next pass in 2036.

If it hits, the impact would equal the force of 100 nuclear bombs, said Tyson, the new host of "Nova scienceNOW." The show will devote a segment of its Oct. 3 season premiere to "doomsday asteroids."

Tyson says we have plenty of time to act, react and reassess. "In 2029," Tyson said, "on Friday the 13th in April, Apophis is a certainty to come closer to Earth than our communications satellites. It'll be the largest thing to come that close in recorded history ... and depending on that trajectory, will determine whether it will hit us seven years later."

Apollo 9 astronaut Russell L. Schweickart, an advocate of organizing to prepare for such threats, said new data put the odds of a strike at 1 in 38,000. That's still enough, he said, to take the situation seriously.

Is there good news in this asteroid doomsday scenario? Yes and no. "Apophis, if it hits, will not contribute to global warning," Tyson predicted. "It'll just wipe out the entire West Coast of North America."

[Jook Sing Vegas]

Originally posted by puppy fields
"Apophis, if it hits, will not contribute to global warning," Tyson predicted.:) "It'll just wipe out the entire West Coast of North America." [/B]:(

[Nerv']

Originally posted by puppy fields
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/438593p-369528c.html]'Nova' asteroid could rock your world in '36[/URL]

PASADENA - It wasn't quite Chicken Little warning that the sky was falling, but astrophysicist and PBS "Origins" star Neil deGrasse Tyson yesterday warned TV writers that an asteroid is coming - very, very close to Earth.

That's some great ENTERTAINMENT news right there... Is NY Daily total schlock or what? Thank goodness the TV Writers were told first!!

[Jook Sing Vegas]

So me and my friend get out of a movie @ 9:30 at rh local casino/movieplex and walk out to his truck on the roof of the garage, WTF somebody stole the lawnmower he was going to donate/throwaway. Just goes to show people will steal anything not bolted down. :confused::confused::confused:
He wasn't mad or anything but amused and glad he didn't have to strain his back lifting it out.

[slackerbot]

wow. just wow.


http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/115424828161830.xml&coll=2

Picture of aborted fetus to be flown over Cleveland
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Mark Naymik
Plain Dealer Politics Writer

As a shock tactic, a national group that opposes abortion plans to fly a billboard-size picture of an aborted fetus over Cleveland beginning Monday.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, which frequently employs such attention-grabbing advertising, hopes to jar people into reconsidering their support of abortion, director Gregg Cunningham said.

He said the banner would be the most graphic picture ever displayed from the air.

"It will be categorically the most shocking we have ever done," he said. "The imagery is so horrifying that I can't almost stand to look at it."

Cunningham wouldn't describe the advertisement, which also displays a toll-free number to the organization. But he said the advertisement would compare an aborted fetus to a second graphic image related to the war in the Middle East.

"This thing just sucks the wind out of even me," he said.

The California-based group, which has an office in Columbus, is best known for displaying on college campuses giant photos of mutilated bodies of genocide victims or lynchings next to photos of aborted fetuses.

The group advocates nonviolence, but its displays often set off aggressive protests that result in vandalism and lead to arrests.

The group's nonprofit status prevents it from campaigning for candidates or ballot issues, but it is targeting Ohio because of its heated races for governor and other statewide offices. The group flew pictures above Cincinnati and Columbus in the weeks leading up to Ohio's May primary as part of its 2006 Key States Initiative.

Cunningham said the group is spending millions of dollars on the campaign, which he said is not political.

"We know from a great deal of market research that people who see what abortion does to a baby are less likely to support abortion rights," he said.

Comparing his campaign to the civil rights and anti-war movements, he said, "Social reform is driven by horrifying pictures of injustice."

Kellie Copeland, president of the NARAL-Pro Choice Ohio, a group that supports abortion rights, dismissed the banner campaign as a gimmick.

She said that if the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform "is really concerned about reducing the number of abortions, they should help us and other groups trying to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, because that is what works."

Of the group's influence on this year's election, Copeland said, "I don't believe these tactics will have any impact at all."

[35ft6]

Somebody should fly over Cleveland with a picture of an electrocuted man to protest capital punishment.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by matu
Somebody should fly over Cleveland with a picture of Cleveland to protest Cleveland existing. That would be enough for me. Really. They wouldn't need a sign then, just a really big mirror.

[kamenriderv3]

they shouldn't have it shown in the air. its not like all viewers are voters or old enough. are they going to show it to their own kids?

but if you're anti-anything then you should see the pictures of it on your own. abortion, capital punishment, carnivore, war, etc. its only fair that you see what happens as a result of your political/social support. pregnancy pictures are not exactly pretty stuff to look at either.

in some ways it becomes a contest of who gets grossed out the most or first.

[35ft6]

^ True dat. Part about you should see what you're endorsing.

[randall fairbrook]

-- Cuban President Fidel Castro is transferring power provisionally to brother
Raul while he undergoes an operation, Cuban TV announces.

[zachariah]

Polaroid warns buyers not to 'shake it' (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/02/17/polaroid.warns.reut/)

Wednesday, February 18, 2004 Posted: 9:13 AM EST (1413 GMT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- OutKast fans like to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," but the instant camera maker is warning consumers that taking the advice of the hip-hop stars could ruin your snapshots.

[ocd]

BBC NEWS
Brazilian military takes stranded penguins back to Antarctica
Penguins stranded on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro will hitch a ride back home to Antarctica with Brazil's air force and navy, Reuters news agency reports.

It says more than 100 penguins will make the special trip later this month.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41950000/jpg/_41950936_penguins_ap203b.jpg
There are fears that global
warming is affecting penguin
habitats

They will be flown to Brazil's southernmost region and then taken by ship to their Antarctic habitat, a military spokesman told the agency.

The penguins wash up on Brazilian beaches each winter after floating on Antarctic ice floes which melt.

Many of the birds, which are flightless, are usually taken to local zoos, Reuters says.

The penguins will initially be transported on a plane carrying equipment for an Antarctic naval base, before continuing their journey on a naval ship.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/5233312.stm

Published: 2006/07/31 22:02:40 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[chayayogi]

07/29/2006
Shocking arrest

PAWTUCKET -- His first arrest proved shocking to Bak.
The German shepherd police dog, placed in service two weeks ago, got zapped with electricity at 3 a.m. Friday when the man he was arresting bit into a 220-volt electrical cord, with the announced plan of killing anyone who touched him, police say.

Advertisement
No one died, but Adalberto Cardoso, 39, of Sumner Street, will face a raft of charges, including cruelty to animals, once he is discharged from the hospital.

An employee at McDonalds, 255 Lonsdale Ave., called for help at 3 a.m. after Cardoso used his fists to break open a plate glass window and enter the business, police allege.

The first police officers on the scene report seeing Cardoso inside McDonalds, wearing only boxer shorts and his blood that covered him from his head to his feet.

Police surrounded McDonalds and ordered Cardoso to surrender, officers report.

Cardoso, instead, jumped out of a broken window and fought with police, who report they could not get a good grip on him because of his strength and the blood and sweat that covered him.

He also fought with the police dog, punching it in the mouth and neck, police allege. Cardoso was able to crawl back to the broken window and Officer Ernest Pendergrass, who handles the police dog, pulled back the dog, fearing it would be injured by the jagged glass still in the window frame.

Cardoso escaped and jumped back into McDonalds through the broken window, police allege.

Police entered to find Cardoso standing on top of the milkshake machine, officers allege. As they approached, police say, Cardoso turned the machine on and began throwing handfuls of milkshake at the police and the police dog, officers allege.

Cardoso was able to pull the machine from the wall, police say. When Bak, the police dog, pulled him to the ground, Cardoso announced: "I'm going to kill us all," and bit into the electrical cord, police allege.

The dog, Officer Jeffrey Davis, Officer Robert Cardente and Officer Dino Giorgio all received electrical shocks because they were wrestling with Cardoso as he bit the cord, police allege.

Officer Pendergrass pulled back Bak, his partner, and reports he struck Cardoso on the shoulder and back with his fighting baton, causing him to drop the electrical cord from his mouth. Police say they dragged Cardoso away from the electrical cord and outlet and handcuffed him.

Besides cruelty to animals Cardoso is to be charged with breaking into McDonalds, assault on police officers and resisting arrest.

He was admitted to Memorial Hospital because of the deep cuts to his hands and forearms, apparently caused when he broke through the plate glass window, police report.

The dog was not injured, but three police officers were treated for cuts and bruises at Memorial Hospital.

Because the breaking and entering charge is a felony, Cardoso will face charges in Superior Court.

[kamenriderv3]

MANILA (AFP) - Every week around 100 Filipino children go blind, mostly due to preventable diseases, the health department has said.

"Blindness affects close to half a million people in the country and about a hundred Filipino children lose their eyesight every week," Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a statement marking "sight-saving month".

The World Health Organization had recently raised its concern over the problem, he added.

Duque said that more than 450,000 people in the Philippines are blind, with 90 percent of them from the poor and 62 percent of these cases due to cataracts.

Among the children, the causes of blindness are poor nutrition, measles and premature birth which are all preventable if treated in time.

"With early detection and treatment we know that we could save a lot of people from losing their sight as well as from disability and poverty," Duque said.

A great majority of Filipinos particularly in the rural areas still have no access to eye clinics or ophthalmologists due to the high cost of medicines, he acknowledged.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060801/hl_afp/philippineshealthblindness;_ylt=At0QphtvFd5iRpHs.JPtoR_VJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

[stryfe]

Picture 1 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/dailypix/30812041.jpg) Picture 2 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/dailypix/30812116.jpg)
Chinese county massacres 50,000 dogs (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1104AP_China_Dogs_Killed.html)

SHANGHAI, China -- A county in southwestern China has killed as many as 50,000 dogs in a government campaign ordered after three people died from rabies, official media reported Tuesday.

The five-day massacre in Yunnan province's Mouding county spared only military guard dogs and police canine units, the Shanghai Daily reported, citing local media.

Dogs being walked were taken from their owners and beaten on the spot, the newspaper said. Other killing teams entered villages at night, creating noise to get dogs barking, then honing in and beating them to death.

Owners were offered 63 cents per animal to kill their dogs before the teams were sent in, the report said.

The massacre was widely discussed on the Internet, with both legal scholars and animal rights activists criticizing it as crude and cold-blooded. The World Health Organization said more emphasis needed to be placed on prevention.

"Wiping out the dogs shows these government officials didn't do their jobs right in protecting people from rabies in the first place," Legal Daily, a newspaper run by the central government's Politics and Law Committee, said in an editorial in its online edition.

Dr. Francette Dusan, a WHO expert on diseases passed from animals to people, said effective rabies control required coordinated efforts between human and animal health agencies and authorities.

"This has not been pursued adequately to date in China with most control efforts consisting of purely reactive dog culls," Dusan said.

The Shanghai Daily said 360 of Mouding county's 200,000 residents suffered dog bites this year. The three rabies victims included a 4-year-old girl, the report said.

"With the aim to keep this horrible disease from people, we decided to kill the dogs," Li Haibo, a spokesman for the county government was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Calls to county government offices rang unanswered on Tuesday.

China has seen a major rise in the number of rabies cases in recent years, with 2,651 reported deaths from the disease in 2004, the last year for which data was available, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Experts have tied the rise in part to an increase in dog ownership, particularly in rural areas where about 70 percent of households keep dogs. Only about 3 percent of Chinese dogs are vaccinated against rabies, according to the center. Access to appropriate treatment is highly limited, especially in the countryside.

[ocd]

Oh damn, that's horrible…

[kamenriderv3]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


French fries are back on the menu in the US House of Representatives, three years after the name was ditched in favour of "freedom fries."
House Republicans renamed fries and French toast in 2003 to protest at France's opposition to the war on Iraq.

The patriotic name change hit the headlines at the time but the change back is getting much less coverage.

A House official would only say that fries are no longer being offered under the "freedom" nomenclature.

The Washington Times newspaper contacted aides of the two congressmen behind the move to "freedom fries " to see if they could shed light on the change back.

"We don't have a comment for your story," a spokeswoman for Republican representative Bob Ney told the newspaper.

At the time, Mr Ney, who together with Walter Jones pushed for "freedom fries", said the action was "a small but symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with the actions of our so-called ally, France".

The move followed the lead of a North Carolina restaurant whose owner said he got the idea from similar protest action against Germany during World War I, when sauerkraut was renamed liberty cabbage and frankfurters became hot dogs.

The switch to "freedom fries" was seen as reflecting the anti-French sentiment among some lawmakers who felt President Jacques Chirac betrayed the US by opposing its policy on Iraq.

The Senate cafeterias never changed their menus.

A spokeswoman for the French embassy asked about current French-US ties told the Washington Times that the two countries were working closely on the Middle East.

"Our relations are much more important than potatoes," she said.

"French fries are back on the menu in the Capitol, back on the presidential dinner menu and our relations are back on track."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5240572.stm

[puppy fields]

Study: Earth changed after Sumatra quake (http://upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060803-030551-1864r)

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've determined Earth's gravity changed as a result of the giant 2004 Sumatran earthquake.

The discovery marked the first time scientists have used satellite data to detect changes in the Earth's surface caused by a massive earthquake.

The discovery signifies a new use for data from NASA satellites and offers a possible new approach to understanding how earthquakes work.

The 9.1-magnitude December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake in the Indian Ocean produced a tsunami that killed approximately 230,000 people, while displacing more than 1 million others.

The event followed the slipping of two continental plates under the seafloor that raised ocean bed in the region by several feet for thousands of square miles.

"The earthquake changed the gravity in that part of the world in two ways that we were able to detect," said Shin-Chan Han, a research scientist at Ohio State University. He and colleagues determined the quake triggered the massive uplift of the seafloor, changing the geometry of the region and altering previous global positioning satellite measurements of the area. And the density of the rock beneath the seafloor shifted, producing detectable gravity changes.

[ocd]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/oncloudydays/sexysexysexsexsex.jpg

Linky (http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/08/07/sexlyrics.teens.ap/index.html)

[stryfe]

Teen accidentally kills mom during driving lesson (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/07/drivinglesson.ap.ap/index.html)

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) -- -- A 15-year-old girl accidentally struck and killed her mother while being taught how to parallel park, police said.

Tina Rowe, 39, died Saturday after being pinned under a 1997 Chevy Cavalier driven by her daughter.

Police believed the girl may have hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.

Police said the teen won't face criminal charges.

[fmstlr]

I don't know how to react^

I'm socially untrained.

[puppy fields]

The Republican Party has a new voter registration project in Fresno. It involves luring people to sign a LEGALIZE MARIJUANA petition and then re-registering them as Republicans. (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/03/18294421.php)

The attractive young woman says to me, "would you sign our petition to legalize marijuana?" I don’t have to think twice and say "sure, where do I sign?" That is when it got interesting. She says, "Do you have your ID with you?" "Well, yes I do, but what does that have to do with..." I say as she responds with "oh, we just have to verify your ID." Thinking that this has something to do with making sure they have valid names for a ballot initiative I comply.

As I’m filling out my name and address on the petition I notice that the young lady is filling out a very official looking form. Probably just the ballot initiative form, I think to myself. Then, she says "is it OK if I register you as a Republican?" "What?!?" I say "yes, I do mind! What are you doing?" She says that if I register Republican she will get an extra 10 cents. But, I complain, "I don’t want to re-register." She explains that this is just to update the records for the County Clerks office. I repeat that "I do not want or need to update my records." I am repeatedly told that it is OK and that they just want to update my voter registration records. She also tells me that she is working for the Republican party, being paid hourly, and that the ploy about the "10 cent bonus" was not accurate.

This Republican party employee goes on to tell me that she is there to attract people to the table that is set up in Fresno’s Courthouse Park, and that the legalize marijuana petition is just a prop. She confirmed that there is no ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. She said that the petition will be given to an elected official in Sacramento. I have my doubts about that.

At this point in the conversation, she called over her "boss" who was talking with someone a short distance away. I introduced myself as the editor of the Community Alliance newspaper and said I was interested in writing a story about the petition campaign and their registering people with the Republican party. I guess that wasn’t the right approach to get him to open up to me. The "boss" gave me no information. He even refused to give me a copy of the marijuana legalization petition I had just signed.

Later that day I called Victor Salazar, the Fresno County Clerk. Salazar said that the process sounded deceptive and that I might want to call the Secretary of State fraud investigation unit. I called the number for the fraud investigation unit repeatedly today. Apparently, nobody was in the office today and all I got was an answering machine. I will continue to call.

I also went back to Courthouse Park today to see the Republican Party project was again in full operation. They seemed to have different approaches to different groups. To white men that looked like they might be attorneys, they asked if they were registered to vote. When Latinos walked by they would throw out the legalize marijuana angle.

[grandpa_shig]

Originally posted by puppy fields
The Republican Party has a new voter registration project in Fresno. It involves luring people to sign a LEGALIZE MARIJUANA petition and then re-registering them as Republicans. (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/03/18294421.php)

The attractive young woman says to me, "would you sign our petition to legalize marijuana?" I don’t have to think twice and say "sure, where do I sign?" That is when it got interesting. She says, "Do you have your ID with you?" "Well, yes I do, but what does that have to do with..." I say as she responds with "oh, we just have to verify your ID." Thinking that this has something to do with making sure they have valid names for a ballot initiative I comply.

As I’m filling out my name and address on the petition I notice that the young lady is filling out a very official looking form. Probably just the ballot initiative form, I think to myself. Then, she says "is it OK if I register you as a Republican?" "What?!?" I say "yes, I do mind! What are you doing?" She says that if I register Republican she will get an extra 10 cents. But, I complain, "I don’t want to re-register." She explains that this is just to update the records for the County Clerks office. I repeat that "I do not want or need to update my records." I am repeatedly told that it is OK and that they just want to update my voter registration records. She also tells me that she is working for the Republican party, being paid hourly, and that the ploy about the "10 cent bonus" was not accurate.

This Republican party employee goes on to tell me that she is there to attract people to the table that is set up in Fresno’s Courthouse Park, and that the legalize marijuana petition is just a prop. She confirmed that there is no ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. She said that the petition will be given to an elected official in Sacramento. I have my doubts about that.

At this point in the conversation, she called over her "boss" who was talking with someone a short distance away. I introduced myself as the editor of the Community Alliance newspaper and said I was interested in writing a story about the petition campaign and their registering people with the Republican party. I guess that wasn’t the right approach to get him to open up to me. The "boss" gave me no information. He even refused to give me a copy of the marijuana legalization petition I had just signed.

Later that day I called Victor Salazar, the Fresno County Clerk. Salazar said that the process sounded deceptive and that I might want to call the Secretary of State fraud investigation unit. I called the number for the fraud investigation unit repeatedly today. Apparently, nobody was in the office today and all I got was an answering machine. I will continue to call.

I also went back to Courthouse Park today to see the Republican Party project was again in full operation. They seemed to have different approaches to different groups. To white men that looked like they might be attorneys, they asked if they were registered to vote. When Latinos walked by they would throw out the legalize marijuana angle.

WHAT A FUCKING SHAM!!!! THAT GIRL ISNT EVEN ATTRACTIVE

[kamenriderv3]

no free t-shirts either!

[funkydrunknmonk]

that "girl" looks about 45 and mother of 3.

[ocd]

Puma's "Mongolian Shoe BBQ" (http://mongolianshoebbq.puma.com/?source=mbbq0602)

Not exactly news, but I didn't know where to put it.

[slackerbot]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060809/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_brazil_grenade

Man dies opening grenade with sledgehammer

Tue Aug 8, 9:30 PM ET

A Brazilian man died on Tuesday when he tried to open what police believe was a rocket-propelled grenade with a sledgehammer in a mechanical workshop on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Another man who was in the workshop at the time of the explosion was rushed to a hospital with severe burns, a police officer told Reuters. The workshop was destroyed and several cars parked outside caught fire.

Police found several unexploded army issue rocket-propelled grenades in the workshop. They believe the ammunition had been brought there by scavengers wanting to sell them as scrap metal, but they also are investigating a possible link to Rio's heavily armed drug gangs who often raid military bases.

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by slackerbot
Police found several unexploded army issue rocket-propelled grenades in the workshop. They believe the ammunition had been brought there by scavengers wanting to sell them as scrap metal, but they also are investigating a possible link to Rio's heavily armed drug gangs who often raid military bases. [/i]

city of god: part 2

[kamenriderv3]

WILDWOOD, Florida (AP) -- A man riding a personal watercraft was injured after a 4-foot-long sturgeon jumped out of the water and hit him, wildlife officials said.

Blake Nicholas Fessenden, 23, was heading north on the Suwannee River on Sunday when he was hit and fell off the craft, according to a statement from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Fessenden was knocked unconscious.


http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/08/09/jetski.sturgeon.ap/index.html

[35ft6]

Police: Teen given to older man for sex

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. -- A woman who feared she would lose her boyfriend while she recuperated from surgery arranged for her 15-year-old daughter to have sex with him, authorities said.

Police said the three signed an agreement specifying the sexual services the girl would perform and the compensation she would receive, including clothing and body piercings. The 37-year-old man and the girl had sex about 20 times over two months, police said.

"It's incredible that any parent would be involved in such a blatant case of abuse against her own daughter," prosecutor Tony Tague told The Muskegon Chronicle for a story published Thursday.

Authorities investigated after the girl talked to another adult, said police Detective Calvin Mahan.

The woman was freed on $25,000 bond after being arraigned on three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The boyfriend, Michael J. Fitzgibbon, was being held without bail. He was arraigned last week on six counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

It was unclear Thursday whether Fitzgibbon had an attorney.

[nagasawa]

Thin means AIDS, so S. African women get fat

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- Obesity is on the rise among black women in South Africa in part because of fears of looking like an AIDS victim, a top health expert said on Friday.

Tessa van der Merwe of the International Association for the Study of Obesity said around one in three black South African women is now seriously overweight, as new factors compound a lingering sense in the black community that big is beautiful.

"Regretfully, there is also a perception that if a black woman is thin, she might have HIV/AIDS or that her husband can't afford to feed her well," van der Merwe said in a statement.

[nagasawa]

Originally posted by 35ft6
Police said the three signed an agreement specifying the sexual services the girl would perform and the compensation she would receive, including clothing and body piercings.

body piercings?!

[zachariah]

hot ^

[ocd]

http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/


That's right, Ahmadinejad's got a BLOG. Click on the US/England flag for an English translation.

[ocd]

Originally posted by herrokitty
not working Huh, it works for me.

I copied and pasted from this BBC news link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4790005.stm

[kamenriderv3]

maybe he blogs about suit shopping tips?

i wonder if he uses a mac...

[35ft6]

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060815/060815_twoheads_vlrg_9a.widec.jpg

[stryfe]

Copperfield's new wrinkle: fountain of youth (http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/ive-found-fountain-of-youth/2006/08/16/1155407873844.html)

The man who made the Statue of Liberty appear to vanish may soon claim to do the same for unsightly bags and wrinkles.

Master illusionist David Copperfield says he has found the "Fountain of Youth" in the southern Bahamas, amid a cluster of four tiny islands he recently bought for $65 million.

One of his islands in the Exuma chain, Musha Cay, is a private resort that rents for up to $392,000 a week and the other islands serve as buffers to keep prying eyes away from celebrity guests on the white sand beaches.

Copperfield is coy about his reasons for the Fountain of Youth claim, but the man best known for entertaining with grand deception insists his archipelago also contains the legendary waters that bestow perpetual youth. Seriously.

"I've discovered a true phenomenon," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. "You can take dead leaves, they come in contact with the water, they become full of life again. ... Bugs or insects that are near death, come in contact with the water, they'll fly away. It's an amazing thing, very, very exciting."

Copperfield, who turns 50 next month, said he had hired biologists and geologists to examine its potential effect on humans but he's not inviting visitors to swim in or drink from it just yet.

[stryfe]

Kittens Recovering After Frying Pan Incident (http://cbs2.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_226121039.html)

(CBS) BUFFALO, N.Y. Five kittens thrown into a pan of frying pork chops were recovering at an animal shelter Monday and the man accused of scalding them was awaiting a court appearance.

The kittens, about six or seven weeks old, were injured in a city apartment Saturday when a visitor threw them into a pan with hot cooking oil, authorities said.

The kittens suffered slightly burned skin and are expected to recover.

"This is probably one of the worst cases of animal cruelty I've seen in my 26 years on the job," said Charles Loubert Sr., an animal control officer. "It's very sad, because there is no reason to do this to a helpless kitten."

Loubert said the suspect, whose identity was not immediately disclosed, would be charged Monday with animal cruelty.

The abuse occurred Saturday afternoon when a resident of the apartment left the kitchen, where he was cooking at the stove.

"The (visitor) started taking his clothes off, took two kittens, put them in the frying pan with the hot oil and pork chops and began swishing them around," Loubert said. "Then he threw one kitten on the floor and he took the other one and wiped it off on the wall. Then he put three more kittens into the frying pan."

[kamenriderv3]

chinese guy?

[stryfe]

President Bush signs new pension bill

...
"Americans who spent a lifetime working hard should be confident that their pensions will be there when they retire," Bush said.

He added a stern instruction to corporate America.

"You should keep the promises you make to your workers," the president said. "If you offer a private pension plan to your employees, you have a duty to set aside enough money now so your workers will get what they've been promised when they retire."
...


Just like Social Security, right?

[kamenriderv3]

and he had buddies at enron too right?

the enron employees that lost their life savings must be happy with that news.

[nauism]

Monks brawl at peace protest (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-08-17T181046Z_01_COL276316_RTRUKOC_0_US-SRILANKA-MONKS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22)

[kamenriderv3]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5269028.stm

Arrest over China temple killings

A farmer has been arrested in China's Shaanxi province accused of the gruesome killing of 10 people at a Taoist temple, state media said.
Qiu Xinghua, 47, was held on Saturday when he returned to his home in Fobing.

His alleged victims were aged between 12 and 62 and included the abbot of the Tiewadian temple in Ankang, whose organs were found "sliced and fried".

The words "He deserves it" were written at the scene in the blood of the victims, the media reports said.

Qiu Xinghua is said to have returned to his rented home not knowing police were lying in wait.

About 200 officers had taken part in a month-long manhunt, many of them scouring remote forests.

The suspect's picture had been released nationwide and a 50,000 yuan ($6,200; £3,300) reward offered for information leading to his capture.

Possible motive

The abbot, five temple staff and four pilgrims were killed on 16 July in the temple in Ankang city.

Nine of the victims were male and one female.

Abbot Xiong Wancheng was "disembowelled and his eyeballs, heart and lungs were found sliced and fried," Xinhua news agency said.

Early reports said the motive for the attack may have been revenge because Qiu Xinghua had apparently had an argument with temple staff a few days before the attack.

However, Xinhua said the case was still under investigation.

[Nerv']

wtf? So if your'e Falun Dafa the gov't fucks you
And if you're Taoist, the farmer will fry your ass...

['jim]

Originally posted by stryfe
Kittens Recovering After Frying Pan Incident (http://cbs2.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_226121039.html)

(CBS) BUFFALO, N.Y. Five kittens thrown into a pan of frying pork chops were recovering at an animal shelter Monday and the man accused of scalding them was awaiting a court appearance.

The kittens, about six or seven weeks old, were injured in a city apartment Saturday when a visitor threw them into a pan with hot cooking oil, authorities said.

The kittens suffered slightly burned skin and are expected to recover.

"This is probably one of the worst cases of animal cruelty I've seen in my 26 years on the job," said Charles Loubert Sr., an animal control officer. "It's very sad, because there is no reason to do this to a helpless kitten."

Loubert said the suspect, whose identity was not immediately disclosed, would be charged Monday with animal cruelty.

The abuse occurred Saturday afternoon when a resident of the apartment left the kitchen, where he was cooking at the stove.

"The (visitor) started taking his clothes off, took two kittens, put them in the frying pan with the hot oil and pork chops and began swishing them around," Loubert said. "Then he threw one kitten on the floor and he took the other one and wiped it off on the wall. Then he put three more kittens into the frying pan."

Worst visit ever.

[ocd]

India’s Hitler-themed restaurant draws fire
Name will ‘stay in people’s minds,’ says Mumbai restaurateur

MUMBAI, India - A new restaurant in India’s financial hub, named after Adolf Hitler and promoted with posters showing the German leader and Nazi swastikas, has infuriated the country’s small Jewish community.

Hitler’s Cross, which opened last week, serves up a wide range of continental fare and a big helping of controversy, thanks to a name the owners say they chose to stand out among hundreds of Mumbai eateries.

“We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people’s minds,” owner Punit Shablok told Reuters.

“We are not promoting Hitler. But we want to tell people we are different in the way he was different.”

But India’s remaining Jews — most migrated to Israel and the West over the years — say they are outraged by the gimmick.

“This signifies a severe lack of awareness of the agony of millions of Jews caused by one man,” said Jonathan Solomon, chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation, the community’s umbrella organization.

“We are going to stop this deification of Hitler,” he said without elaborating.

The small restaurant, its interior done out in the Nazi colors of red, white and black, also has a lounge for smoking the Indian water pipe or “hookah.”

Posters line the road leading up to it, featuring a red swastika carved in the name of the eatery. One slogan reads: “From Small Bites to Mega Joys.”

A huge portrait of a stern-looking Füehrer greets visitors at the door. The cross in the restaurant’s name refers to the swastika that symbolized the Nazi regime.

“This place is not about wars or crimes, but where people come to relax and enjoy a meal,” said restaurant manager Fatima Kabani, adding that they were planning to turn the eatery’s name into a brand with more branches in Mumbai.

The swastika has its roots in ancient Indian Hindu tradition and remains a sacred symbol for Hindus. Nazi theorists appropriated it to bolster their central hypothesis of the Aryan origins of the German people.
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

[650lex]

“From Small Bites to Mega Joys.”

is wrong that this made me laugh?

did Mel Gibson try the brautwurst yet?

[ocd]

They also use the Goatse image in their advertising, because it "stays in people's minds".

[kamenriderv3]

hey punit, whatcha got cooking in the oven? it smells different...

[randall fairbrook]

http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=URNS-08-16-06

[35ft6]

^ That's the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a while. And that's saying a lot. Holy shit.

[kamenriderv3]

add a webcam to it and its a ready for high volume sales!

[randall fairbrook]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/07/content_635777.htm

[stryfe]

Gropers home in on guys (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20060820t2.html)

By MARK SCHREIBER
Dacapo (Aug. 16)

The Tokyo-bound commuter train was jam-packed. Suddenly, the bespectacled 21-year-old male university student -- let's call him Shigeru -- felt the back of a hand subtly fondling his loins. When he shifted his position, the hand made an unmistakable thrust toward his private parts.

Turning to confront his predator, Shigeru saw a fortyish man in a business suit.

"I'm a guy, dammit!" Shigeru exclaims to him from between clenched teeth.
...
"At first I thought maybe he was reaching for a girl and touched me by mistake," Shigeru tells Dacapo. "But when I saw that sordid leer on his face, I realized he was after me. I thought about shouting to attract attention, but couldn't bring myself to do it."
<cont'd (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20060820t2.html)>

[angoraphobia]

mom: no dear, the term is leapin liz...*THWAP*

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/15328511.htm

Leaping 4-foot sturgeon sends boaters to hospital

SUN SPRINGS, Fla. - (AP) -- A sturgeon in the Suwannee River injured two boaters Saturday when it leaped from the water, knocking one girl from the boat and breaking the arm of another passenger.

Cheyenne Russ, 9, and Jennifer Sullivan, 31, both of Lake City, were taken to Gainesville's Shands Hospital after the Saturday accident.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Dorvan Daniel witnessed the strike.

''I saw this vessel . . . coming toward me at about 30 miles per hour. I watched as the fish jumped out of the water and heard the impact when it hit. The child was knocked out of the boat and into the water,'' said Daniel, who estimated the fish was 4 ½-feet long.

''Boaters have been seriously injured when hit by these fish,'' FWC Maj. Bruce Hamlin said. ``This is the sixth reported sturgeon strike this summer.''

The fish winter in the Gulf of Mexico and enter the Suwannee in the summer and fall to spawn.

[nagasawa]

^Those things are crazy. Primeval, even.

[35ft6]

^ Those fish are working for Al Qaeda.Originally posted by kamenriderv3
add a webcam to it and its a ready for high volume sales! They should sell coffins with tiny cameras inside so people can watch their loved ones decompose.

[yamchild]

Originally posted by 35ft6
^ Those fish are working for Al Qaeda. They should sell coffins with tiny cameras inside so people can watch their loved ones decompose.

i think they already sell coffins that monitor sound in the coffin for people who are paranoid they're being buried alive.

[feralmuppet]

Caviar to go!

[35ft6]

Originally posted by yamchild


i think they already sell coffins that monitor sound in the coffin for people who are paranoid they're being buried alive. Yeah, I read about that. I would totally get one. I would also want a tiny computer inside with a LCD monitor above me so I can message board while waiting for my rescuers. I would post start a thread called "I'm alive!" and then look for lawyers to help me sue somebody.

[650lex]

i heard they now sell coffins at Costco

wow - it really is one stop shopping!

[ocd]

ABC News
La. Mom: Black Kids Sent to Back of Bus
La. School District Investigating Complaints Bus Driver Ordered Black Students to Back of Bus
By DOUG SIMPSON
The Associated Press

COUSHATTA, La. - A Louisiana school district suspended a white bus driver while it investigates complaints that she ordered nine black children to sit at the back of the bus.

No previous complaints have been lodged against the driver, who has worked several years for the Red River Parish school district, school Superintendent Kay Easley said Thursday. She refused to reveal the driver's name.

"I'm trying to get all this straight, and settled, so we can all move on," Easley said.

Two mothers, both black, sparked the investigation with a complaint on Monday that their children and the other black children had been ordered to sit in two rows of seats in the rear of the bus.

"In all these years, I've never had a problem like this," said Janice Williams, whose four children ride public school buses.

One of her children, Jarvonica Williams, 16, said the bus driver allowed many white students to have seats all to themselves while some blacks were forced to stand or sit in others' laps.

Iva Richmond, whose 14- and 15-year-old children were on the bus, said Thursday that they previously had a black bus driver, but their bus assignment changed this year. When school started this month, the white driver told them she had assigned them seats, with the black children at the back of the bus.

Richmond said she complained to a local principal, who told the driver that if any children were assigned to seats, all would have to be.

Early last week, the driver assigned black students to two seats in the back of the bus, Richmond said.

"All nine children were assigned to two seats in the back of the bus and the older ones had to hold the smaller ones in their laps," she said.

The women said their complaints to parish school officials were not immediately addressed.

Easley said she wanted to settle the matter. She said the driver had been suspended without pay, and she would announce the results of the district's investigation at a school board meeting on Sept. 5.

NAACP District Vice President James Panell told The Times of Shreveport that he would give federal attorneys details of the situation this week.

Coushatta is a small farming town in northern Louisiana. The school district has about 1,600 students, Easley said.

Associated Press Writer Kevin McGill contributed to this report from New Orleans.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures

[35ft6]

Originally posted by 650lex
i heard they now sell coffins at Costco

wow - it really is one stop shopping! Totally! Diapers to coffins. The only thing they don't do is give out student loans.

[puppy fields]

Costco checks into the banking business (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/252568_costco19.html)

[kamenriderv3]

if you order checks from costco, they'll send you a dozen boxes of checks instead of one.

[randall fairbrook]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060829/1073401.asp

a school district holds meetings with parents to discuss a teacher's sex change...

some typical reactions..some atypical but interesting that a school would seem to stick up for their teachers in something like this...usually they would quietly get fired for something else..were they afraid of a lawsuit?




*discuss

['jim]

Ok, NOW I renounce Islam. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/04/wirq04.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/04/ixnews.html)

[kamenriderv3]

HANGZHOU, China — Asked whether anyone has ever been beaten by his teacher, all the boys point to Chen Chen. The 12-year-old lifts up his shirt. Sure enough, there are four faint welts on his back from the feared whip.

"Of course it hurt," Chen acknowledged. "But it was because I misbehaved."

"We were all scared to death," classmate Xia Jingying chimed in.

If you think these children are victims of substandard public schooling, think again. Their parents paid to send them here to West Point, a popular boot camp named after the American military academy but designed to straighten out the "little emperors" of China's one-child generation.

For more than two decades, China's strict family planning policy has created a culture in which the coveted lone male heirs tend to run amok at home and in school because besotted parents forget to teach them the meaning of discipline.

One woman believes the only way to rein in all these spoiled boys is to stop sparing the rod. At Wan Guoyin's West Point, every child knows the consequences of bad behavior.

The worst offenders get a whipping, minus their shirts, even in the dead of winter, and in front of the entire school. Minor offenses such as cussing can result in being forced to swallow a spoonful of hot chili sauce or chew on a bitter herb that turns the tongue yellow for hours.

"I saw a kid spit it out and throw up," said Zheng Dongxin, 12. "The teacher made him eat twice as much!"


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-boys27aug27,1,2664313.story?coll=la-headlines-world

[randall fairbrook]

Originally posted by 'jim
Ok, NOW I renounce Islam. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/04/wirq04.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/04/ixnews.html)


MAN..fuckin with a man's falafel is like fuckin with his emotions...

[feralmuppet]

Originally posted by kamenriderv3

For more than two decades, China's strict family planning policy has created a culture in which the coveted lone male heirs tend to run amok at home and in school because besotted parents forget to teach them the meaning of discipline.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-boys27aug27,1,2664313.story?coll=la-headlines-world

I've been thinking about this recently. The next generation of chinese dudes are going to be complete douchebags. As much as I hate spoiled, precocious children, I think the the gulag-like living conditions mentioned in this article seem extreme, though. Why don't the parents just whip out the lacquered featherduster more often?

[kamenriderv3]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Her father said it would be a two-week holiday to learn about her Pakistani heritage. But the British woman soon found herself captive in a remote tribal village for over a year and promised in marriage to a first cousin she had never met.

With the British High Commission's help this month, the woman escaped Pakistan shortly before her planned wedding, avoiding the phenomenon of forced marriage that befalls scores of foreign women, including Americans, annually in this deeply conservative Islamic country.

"My dad made me believe it was just a holiday," said the 20-year-old woman, who declined to reveal her actual name and asked to go by Shazia for her own personal protection.

"But the weeks turned into months and months. I never believed my own father would have a plan to marry me to someone I didn't know, but I was wrong."

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/08/28/pakistan.culture.clash.ap/index.html

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by feralmuppet


I've been thinking about this recently. The next generation of chinese dudes are going to be complete douchebags. As much as I hate spoiled, precocious children, I think the the gulag-like living conditions mentioned in this article seem extreme, though. Why don't the parents just whip out the lacquered featherduster more often?

yeah cantonese folks have the featherduster. but it probably differs for the folks up north. they were affected more by the one-child policy.

[puppy fields]

Meet Grumpy - the nastiest cat on earth (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23365034-details/Meet+Grumpy+-+the+nastiest+cat+on+earth/article.do)

With his vicious fangs on display and weight firmly on his back legs, this tabby looks set to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.

But it is not mice, birds or any other small animals he is after. It is not even the other pet cats he has already savaged in his neighbourhood.

They were deemed too 'small' a target to terrify, so he decided to turn his attention to a much larger prey - humans.

The pet cat, who has been named Grumpy because of his exploits, started entering all the cat flaps on one street in the search for food.

He would make each house his own and would scare off the cats who lived in each of the houses.

And when the surprised owners returned home, Grumpy leapt through the air at them, hissing at them and scratching their hands and arms.

His antics in a small leafy street in Swindon, Wiltshire, have been described as a 'four-month reign of terror' by neighbours, who finally caught the cat and put it in a cage this week.

'It was the nastiest cat ever, it would just attack you and come at you with its claws and teeth,' said one 21-year-old resident.

'If you came home or woke up to see it, he would go crazy, bouncing off furniture at you before running out of the door.

'But you never saw Grumpy in the street or outside your home - that is why we named him the Phantom cat because we never saw him except for in our homes.'

At first the neighbours felt sorry for the puss, but after four received nasty cuts and scratches, they called the RSPCA for help.

They finally trapped Grumpy behind the sofa and used a broom to push it into a cage.

Helen Briggs, of the RSPCA, said the was very unusual for the cat to react with such ferocity.

'It is common for cats to go into other people's houses because they have a curious nature and some do stand their ground when they are approached if they feel threatened,' she said.

'But to actually leap up and attack a stranger is not as common. The poor thing must really be at its wits end and must not really have any love at all.

'I hope that it has a microchip inside it so that we can find its owner.'

Grumpy is being checked over by a vet and will be collected by the RSPCA for re-homing if no owner is found.

'He has been hissing at us and scratching our arms for four months now and I'm quite glad to see the back of him,' another resident said.

'I trapped him in the living room and ran to get my neighbour. In the end there were three of us in pyjamas running around my house after a cat.

'We finally trapped him behind the sofa and I got a broom and pushed it into the cage. It was great. Four months is a long time.'

'We felt sorry for it to start with but after four months we have had enough. We finally got it and we were all really happy and cheered."

[fmstlr]

they should name that cat USofA instead.

[puppy fields]

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/9392/mmmap01rx1.jpg

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7515/mmmap02tx7.jpg

Oh, and one other dirty little secret from 5,000 years of history: Ethnic cleansing works. (http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/06/1833899)

[Jook Sing Vegas]

Sunny Iraq... Great tourist destination :D

J/K
:)

[zachariah]

‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin dies - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14663786/) Sept. 4: Famed "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was killed Monday by a stingray in Australia ... (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14663786/) http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8946/steveirwin9at.png (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14663786/)

[kingka]

grumpy??


http://youtube.com/watch?v=6yVj5OtbA30


Originally posted by puppy fields
Meet Grumpy - the nastiest cat on earth (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23365034-details/Meet+Grumpy+-+the+nastiest+cat+on+earth/article.do)

With his vicious fangs on display and weight firmly on his back legs, this tabby looks set to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.

But it is not mice, birds or any other small animals he is after. It is not even the other pet cats he has already savaged in his neighbourhood.

They were deemed too 'small' a target to terrify, so he decided to turn his attention to a much larger prey - humans.

The pet cat, who has been named Grumpy because of his exploits, started entering all the cat flaps on one street in the search for food.

He would make each house his own and would scare off the cats who lived in each of the houses.

And when the surprised owners returned home, Grumpy leapt through the air at them, hissing at them and scratching their hands and arms.

His antics in a small leafy street in Swindon, Wiltshire, have been described as a 'four-month reign of terror' by neighbours, who finally caught the cat and put it in a cage this week.

'It was the nastiest cat ever, it would just attack you and come at you with its claws and teeth,' said one 21-year-old resident.

'If you came home or woke up to see it, he would go crazy, bouncing off furniture at you before running out of the door.

'But you never saw Grumpy in the street or outside your home - that is why we named him the Phantom cat because we never saw him except for in our homes.'

At first the neighbours felt sorry for the puss, but after four received nasty cuts and scratches, they called the RSPCA for help.

They finally trapped Grumpy behind the sofa and used a broom to push it into a cage.

Helen Briggs, of the RSPCA, said the was very unusual for the cat to react with such ferocity.

'It is common for cats to go into other people's houses because they have a curious nature and some do stand their ground when they are approached if they feel threatened,' she said.

'But to actually leap up and attack a stranger is not as common. The poor thing must really be at its wits end and must not really have any love at all.

'I hope that it has a microchip inside it so that we can find its owner.'

Grumpy is being checked over by a vet and will be collected by the RSPCA for re-homing if no owner is found.

'He has been hissing at us and scratching our arms for four months now and I'm quite glad to see the back of him,' another resident said.

'I trapped him in the living room and ran to get my neighbour. In the end there were three of us in pyjamas running around my house after a cat.

'We finally trapped him behind the sofa and I got a broom and pushed it into the cage. It was great. Four months is a long time.'

'We felt sorry for it to start with but after four months we have had enough. We finally got it and we were all really happy and cheered."

[puppy fields]

Originally posted by kingka
grumpy??


http://youtube.com/watch?v=6yVj5OtbA30




:(

[puppy fields]

Has Bush gone over the edge? (http://www.capitolhillblue.com/content2/2006/09/has_bush_gone_over_the_edge.html)

Bush acknowledges secret CIA prisons (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=IADES&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)

[puppy fields]

Appease on Earth (http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/09/appease_on_eart.html)

I know from the comments to this blog that most of you are against the idea of appeasing Iran. Your thinking is that if we back down on any of our demands, then sometime next week the United States will be a smoldering crater. You can’t give those evil empires an inch.

With that concept in mind, I wonder how you would advise the leadership of Iran. If they give in to U.S. demands for nuclear inspections and whatnot, the Iranians will be appeasing their enemies. And you know that never works. Within a week Israel will be building settlements in Tehran.

Iran could try to be friends with the United States, so their appeasing looks more like being friendly. But frankly I would see that as a sign of weakness. I think I speak for all Americans when I say that that would be an ideal time to attack.

Maybe Iran could suggest some sort of negotiated agreement where both sides get something different but of equal value. That way neither side seems weak. So let’s see… we’d need to find something that’s as valuable to Iran as having a nuclear deterrent, dominating the region, and eliminating Israel. That’s a tough one. But I can think of a solution.

Suppose we agree to make George Bush and Dick Cheney wear school girl outfits and dance a jig for the mullahs while singing the “I’m Sorry” song. Afterwards, their testicles would be surgically removed and displayed in an Iranian museum. In return, the Iranians would allow U.N. inspectors to check on their nukes, they’d stop supporting Hezbollah and they’d leave Iraq to the Iraqis.

You can’t tell me the Iranians would reject that deal.

I realize that this would be a big sacrifice for our President and Vice President, but I’ve heard them say that sacrifice is necessary to achieve security. Why do our soldiers have to do all the sacrificing?

I suppose there’s always the risk that the Iranians would make the deal and then renege after they had our leaders’ nuggets in a Plexiglas display case. But that’s a chance I’m willing to take. Because at that point we could nuke Iran and even Bin Laden would agree they had it coming.

[Nerv']

Originally posted by puppy fields
Has Bush gone over the edge? (http://www.capitolhillblue.com/content2/2006/09/has_bush_gone_over_the_edge.html)


"White House aides point to the President's increasingly bizarre behavior: an inpromptu "massage" of a foreign leader at the recent G8 conference, his penchant for farting in front of new West Wing aides and his rambling, often incoherent answers to reporters' questions."

--It should come as no surprise, but Oh My God...

[puppy fields]

yeah. sad and scary.

...

why not be suprised? the guy is an adult and leader of the free world.

[Nerv']

Dismay, to be certain. Sadness. Disappointment.
But, surprise? His parents' poor parenting + low IQ + mental imbalance... = capable of breaking wind in front of anyone, I bet...

[puppy fields]

i think farting goes beyond those factors.

[Nerv']

It's a matter of socialization. And the barriers to proper socialization. It's related to Bush's sociopathic tendencies... And each of those factors, including IQ, effect socialization in people.

[puppy fields]

so...you know his IQ?

[ocd]

Originally posted by puppy fields
so...you know his IQ? Look at him. He's either an idiot or good at faking it. And, read the links you posted yourself.

[puppy fields]

Originally posted by ocd
Look at him. He's either an idiot or good at faking it. And, read the links you posted yourself.

link says "...gone over the edge". all kinds of people have gone over the edge.

[puppy fields]

i mean isn't the farting thing an obvious form of intimidation?

not saying it's smart...but it's not just stupid...it's stupid and mean.

[puppy fields]

Autism in the United States has been increasing for two and a half decades, from one child in 10,000 to one in 500 or perhaps even one in 166 today. (http://www.slate.com/id/2149002/?nav=tap3)

[Nerv']

All we need to kinow is that Bush is stupid.
And Bush is a sociopath.

He isn't really aware of the world he's in.
Which is too bad, because he's doing a lot of things in the world he's in. And even more unfortunately, it's the world we are also in...

[feralmuppet]

Hey baby, that's a sexy burial shroud...

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/15447475.htm

Cops say grave robbers had sex on their minds
Twin brothers, friend are arrested in Wisconsin after tip leads police to young woman's grave
BY TAD VEZNER
Pioneer Press
On their way to dig up a grave in rural southwestern Wisconsin, the Grunke brothers and a friend stopped at a Wal-Mart to pick up some condoms, authorities said.

Three days later, on Tuesday, twins Nicholas and Alexander Grunke, 20, and Dustin Radke, 20, were charged in Grant County with attempted theft — and attempting to have sex with a corpse.

"In different schools that teach you about bizarre behavior, necrophilia is one of those things that you hear about, but never think you'll have to deal with," said Grant County Sheriff Keith Grovier.

A Cassville police officer arrived at the St. Charles Cemetery on Saturday night after a neighbor alerted police to suspicious activity, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The officer found an abandoned vehicle parked near the cemetery. Minutes later, the complaint stated, the officer saw Alexander Grunke walking toward the vehicle, dressed in black and sweating profusely.

After being questioned, Grunke told the officer his brother and Radke were trying to dig up a grave, according to the complaint.

The two drove into the cemetery to find the partially dug grave of a 20-year-old woman who was killed in a motorcycle accident Aug. 27 in Cassville. The diggers had only managed to reach the top of the grave's concrete vault.

Nicholas Grunke and Radke were arrested Sunday morning in Beetown, about eight miles from the cemetery.

The complaint said Radke told police that Nicholas Grunke had asked him to help dig up the Cassville woman's body and take it to Grunke's house, so that Grunke could have sex with it. On the way to the cemetery, Radke said, they stopped by a Dodgeville Wal-Mart to buy condoms "because Nick wanted to use them when he had sex with a corpse," the complaint added.

Grovier said the three did not know the woman but had seen her picture in a newspaper obituary.

The Grunkes are from Ridgeway, while Radke is from Dodgeville, both in Wisconsin's Iowa County, about 50 miles northeast of Cassville.

Grovier said the woman was "very well-liked, very popular" in Cassville, a Mississippi River town of about 1,100. "The community is very upset," the sheriff said. "They can't believe it."

"The family, they're people of faith, but this is still a difficult time for them," the Rev. John Norder, pastor of St. Charles Church in Cassville, told the Associated Press on Monday. "We're all pretty shook up that something like this could even happen. It blows your mind how anyone could stoop so low."

Radke and the Grunkes were being held Tuesday night in the Grant County jail. The Grunke brothers were assigned a $1,000 bond, while Radke had a $1,500 bond for previous misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, Grovier said.

Each could face nearly 5½ years in prison and a $17,500 fine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Tad Vezner can be reached at tvezner@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5461.

[Nerv']

... cremation.

... always.

[ocd]

Speeding Swiss driver blames
Canada's lack of obstructive goats (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/5322302.stm)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42058000/jpg/_42058170_goat_bbc203.jpg
Police said goats had not been reported
on eastern Ontario's roads

BBC NEWS
'Goat-free roads made me speed'
A Swiss man caught speeding on a Canadian highway has blamed his actions on the absence of goats on the roads.

The man was caught driving at 161 km/h (100mph) in a 100 km/h (60mph) zone.

A traffic officer's notes said the Swiss driver had said he was taking advantage "of the ability to go faster without risking hitting a goat".

Canadian police spokesman Joel Doiron said he had never found a goat on the highways of eastern Ontario in his 20 years of service.

"Nobody's ever used the lack of goats here as an excuse for speeding," Mr Doiron told the AFP news agency.

"I've never been to Switzerland, but I guess there must be a lot of goats there," he said.

The driver was ordered to pay a fine of C$360 ($330; £175) for speeding.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/5322302.stm

Published: 2006/09/07 00:25:52 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[650lex]

hahahaha "feeling of doom...."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/07/BAGF5L0U6V1.DTL



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BERKELEY
Suspect sweets send 12 people to hospital
University students believe party treats contained marijuana
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, September 7, 2006



A group of UC Berkeley students were hospitalized late Wednesday for severe medical reactions after eating brownies or cookies that they believed contained marijuana, according to authorities.

More than 30 people, ages 18 to 25, at the Cloyne Court co-op residential building experienced negative reactions and called for help at about 8 p.m., said Alameda County Fire Capt. Tim Dillon.

Twelve of the people were taken to the hospital, and two were treated at the scene, Dillon said. He said police are investigating whether the brownies or cookies caused the students' illness.

Their symptoms included anxiety, rapid heart rate, chest pains, "and a feeling of doom,'' said Dillon.

He said crumbs found at the scene were taken for testing. "We believe it's beyond marijuana,'' he said.

A witness said that the students were having a social gathering after selecting their room assignments at the co-op building, 2600 Ridge Road. Classes started at UC Berkeley Aug. 28.

"I ate one and I feel fine," said a friend of one of the students. "There were people who ate a lot, and on top of that they were drinking. ... It looked like they got too high."

Cloyne Court houses 149 students. The university owns the property, but the residence is jointly run by occupants.

"What happened tonight was an isolated incident where adults didn't know their limits," said Nathan Danielsen, a house manager. "We do not officially condone any of their actions."

The incident adds to a rocky opening to the school year for UC Berkeley.

On Monday, 23-year-old Wayne Drummond Jr. died outside a UC Berkeley sorority house on Prospect Street. Police said Drummond, who was not a student at the university, had been shot and may have gone to the sorority in search of help.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by ocd
[b] Speeding Swiss driver blames
Canada's lack of obstructive goats (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/5322302.stm)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42058000/jpg/_42058170_goat_bbc203.jpg I've been complaining about this for years. This ain't news. Not enough obstructive goats on roads is a problem everywhere.

[35ft6]

The Senate also voted to add $700 million to combat opium production in Afghanistan, where a resurgence of the Taliban has been accompanied with increased cultivation of poppies. What am I missing here? Why so much money to fight opium?

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/iran

[ocd]

Originally posted by 35ft6
What am I missing here? Why so much money to fight opium?

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/iran It may be to compensate the farmers and train them to grow other crops? Just a guess. Either way, it probably will just be contracted out and wasted.

[puppy fields]

I think Afghanistan is now the world's biggest producer of opium. The taliban had nearly wiped out all opium production when they were in power.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by ocd
It may be to compensate the farmers and train them to grow other crops? Just a guess. Either way, it probably will just be contracted out and wasted. Ahhhh... makes sense. I figured it was a way to maybe disrupt a source of income for "terrorists?" But it seemed like a lot of money. Or is this more of a war on drugs kind of thing. Oh well. All I know is I could use some of that money to pay my student loans. Time to buy lottery ticket. :(

[puppy fields]

$5 billion per month for the war in iraq

Divided by 4 weeks equals $1.25 billion.

Divided by 7 days equals around $ 180 million.

[nauism]

Originally posted by ocd
It may be to compensate the farmers and train them to grow other crops? Just a guess. Either way, it probably will just be contracted out and wasted.

i remember reading last year about how the US had stop funding the reconstruction of iraq. this makes me wonder if maybe it's certain elements within the afghani government that is putting pressure on the US to do something to help curb this problem. i'm sure there is more then a few reasons why it's happening...it's just a thought i had.

[nauism]

The Senate also voted to add $700 million to combat opium production in Afghanistan, where a resurgence of the Taliban has been accompanied with increased cultivation of poppies.

hrm...it doesn't stop there (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2407575).


Stevens, who was steering the defense bill through the Senate, said the extra money was unnecessary since the bill already had $400 million directed toward that purpose.

But a Republican attempt to kill the amendment was defeated 51 to 45.

$1.1 billion?

did a little digging...

it is weird how much more aid the US is giving afghanistan now.

2000-2001: US gives Taliban-ruled Afghanistan $245 million in "aid." (http://www.bowlingforcolumbine.com/library/wonderful/afghanistan.php)

"The United States has been the single largest donor of humanitarian aid for Afghans for the past several years. In 2000, the United States contributed a total of $113 million in humanitarian aid to Afghans, both inside Afghanistan and in refugee camps in neighboring countries. In 2001, the aid level has already exceeded $184, accounting for some 300,000 tons of American food sent to Afghanistan this year."

this made curious about colombia.

Colombia investigates army officers for deadly attack on eve of presidential inauguration (http://)

BOGOTA, Colombia The head of the army has accused his troops, including two officers, of participating in a deadly car-bombing on the eve of President Alvaro Uribe's swearing-in ceremony last month that was originally blamed on leftist rebels.

The revelations come as the army already is reeling from a series of embarrassing scandals linking troops to drug traffickers and the extrajudicial killings of civilians.

Gen. Mario Montoya, head of the army, said that initial accusations against leftist rebels "didn't correspond to the reality" of the facts, deploring the alleged actions of his subordinates in a brief statement read Thursday.

...

The main recipient of more than US$4 billion(3.1 billion euros) in U.S. anti-narcotics military aid since 2000, Colombia's army is struggling to clear its battered reputation, with officers accused of trying to pass off as leftist rebels the bodies of innocent civilians killed extrajudicially.

(damn...3.1 billion euro is now worth US$4 billion?)

hrm...

Colombia to aid in Afghan drug war (http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060725-110053-5562r.htm)

The chairman of the House International Relations Committee said yesterday that a contingent of Colombian narcotics fighters is due in Afghanistan this week to share its expertise in combating powerful drug lords.

Colombia's 'Drugs and Thugs' (http://www.cfr.org/publication/11313/colombias_drugs_and_thugs.html)

Colombian police officers recently flew to Kabul to advise Afghan authorities—plagued by a skyrocketing opium trade—on successful counter-narcotics tactics. Such a trip begs the question, what successful tactics? Though the overall level of coca cultivation is down nearly 50 percent from its peak in 2000, Colombia remains the largest producer of cocaine in the world. Despite billions of dollars of U.S. aid under Plan Colombia (http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/plncol/) , in 2005 Colombia provided more than two-thirds of the world's supply, and the amount of land used for coca cultivation increased, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Colombia Coca Cultivation Survey.

:confused:

[Nerv']

Ha ha ha! And rednecks keep complaining about "All the services we're giving illegals here..."

Sheeit, we been helping everybody's asses. Get in on the gravy train somehow, or shut the fuck up!

...ok, not really, but kind of

[kamenriderv3]

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- A nurse returning from work discovered an intruder armed with a hammer in her home and strangled him with her bare hands, police said.

Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, ran to a neighbor's house after the confrontation Wednesday night. Police found the body of Edward Dalton Haffey 59, a convicted felon with a long police record.

Police said there was no obvious sign of forced entry at the house when Kuhnhausen, an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, got home from work shortly after 6 p.m.

Under Oregon law people can use reasonable deadly force when defending themselves against an intruder or burglar in their homes. Kuhnhausen was treated and released for minor injuries at Providence.

Haffey, about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, had convictions including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, robbery, drug charges and possession of burglary tools. Neighbors said Kuhnhausen's size -- 5-foot-7 and 260 pounds -- may have given her an advantage.

[funkydrunknmonk]

man on trial for threatening judge, threatens judge (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060908/od_nm/spain_abuse_dc;_ylt=AjJ5w8yPMNGRE7PtlLLFjhPtiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--)

oh those wacky spaniards.

[zachariah]

Sat 9 Sep 2006
City's cardboard warriors prepare to do battle (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1334182006)

A DATE has been set for Edinburgh's cardboard warriors to defend their honour against their ancient west coast rivals.

Box Wars Edinburgh v Glasgow will take place at the Cathouse Nightclub in Union Street, Glasgow on September 23.

A special bus, for which tickets cost £3, will take Edinburgh's cardboard soldiers to the event, which is expected to kick off at around 12.30am.

A meeting for anyone wishing to take part will be held at the Forest Cafe tomorrow at 10pm.

Box Wars involves people dressing up in cardboard suits and fighting each other with cardboard weapons.

Originating in Australia, the popularity of Box Wars has spread, largely via the internet, to Canada and the US.

Edinburgh-based Australians introduced it to the Capital at the start of the year and since then events have drawn big crowds.

To get involved in Box Wars participants make their own suits of armour and weapons from cardboard which they collect anywhere they can.

[syngeon]

Originally posted by ocd
Look at him. He's either an idiot or good at faking it. And, read the links you posted yourself.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2350564,00.html

I suspect that it's a terrible bit of research, but there you go.

[35ft6]

^ Yeah, I'm not too impressed by their findings. "He went to Yale" sums up how hard they're trying to seem impartial. I wonder if that's because he was so damn smart, or because his daddy was rich and powerful and a Yale man himself?

[ocd]

Millions of Mandarin Chinese Slaughtered, Eaten Due To Poor Headline, Sub-Headline (http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5333898.stm)

[funkydrunknmonk]

Anna Nicole Smith's 20 year old son dies 1 day after she gives birth to her new baby. (http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1533524,00.html)

she had a 20 yr old son? that's disturbing.

[ocd]

Originally posted by funkydrunknmonk
Anna Nicole Smith's 20 year old son dies 1 day after she gives birth to her new baby. (http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1533524,00.html)There Can Be Only One.

[650lex]

that sucks!