BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 04 Mar 10 - 02:07 PM

RAHWAY, N.J. — A New Jersey family's nude snow woman got a frosty shoulder from at least one person.

Maria Conneran and her family sculpted Venus de Milo in last week's snow outside their Colonia Boulevard home in Rahway.

Her mother, Elisa Gonzalez, called it, "curvaceous, bodacious and booty-licious."

But Sgt. Dominick Sforza says police received an anonymous complaint.

Gonzalez says the officer was apologetic and appreciative of the sculpture's assets. The officer asked the family to dress the snow woman.

The family added a green bikini top and a blue sarong bottom.

The family took it down on Monday because it was starting to melt in the warmer air.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 05 Mar 10 - 01:23 PM

Iraq Opens Up to Foreign Oil Majors
Western producers like BP, Exxon Mobil, and Shell are enjoying their best access to Iraq's southern oil fields since 1972, but a weaker government could be on the way

By Anthony DiPaola and Daniel Williams




(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. took the best deal they could get in Iraq last year when they won the largest oil contracts since addam Hussein was toppled in 2003. Oil companies may wait a long time to get a better one.

Parliamentary elections may produce a weak or unstable government incapable of tendering new oil contracts, said Samuel Ciszuk, a London-based analyst at IHS Global Insight. He said he does expect the 10 technical-services contracts won by Exxon, BP and 20 other companies to be honored.

"One thing that's fairly certain is there won't be a strong coalition, so it may take time for the next government to get its act together," Ciszuk said in a telephone interview.

"Bottlenecks could hold up production increases" if no government forms by June.

Western producers haven't had access to oil fields in southern Iraq since 1972, when the country nationalized production including concessions owned by the companies now known as BP, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon.

The contracts awarded in two auctions, which pay a per-barrel fee for development work rather than granting a share in the production itself, will cost the companies a total of about $100 billion to develop deposits, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said in December. Iraq, with the world's third-largest oil reserves, will earn about $200 billion a year.
Service Fees

A group led by BP, which vies with Shell as Europe's largest oil company, will receive $2 billion per year in fees to develop the Rumaila field. A Shell-led group will get $913 million and a group led by Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company, will receive $1.6 billion per year. Each calculation is based on the agreed-to per-barrel fee times the maximum production level.

"We see this as the beginning of a long-term relationship with Iraq and will continue to look for further opportunities," Andy Inglis, BP's chief executive for exploration and production, said on a conference call March 2.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose government signed last year's oil contracts, is running against an array of opponents. Sunni Muslim, Shiite Muslim and Kurdish factions, along with a pan-sectarian party, all are in the race with Al-Maliki's Shiite-based Rule of Law coalition.

The sectarian blocs are also divided one against another, making it unlikely any one group can win a majority.

"This is the most wide-open election in Iraq's history," said Faleh Abdul-Jabar, director of the Beirut-based Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies, in a telephone interview. ...

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Mar 10 - 02:16 PM

This has been some interesting reading lately, Amos. That one of the dogs in the Moscow subway is really intriguing.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 10 Mar 10 - 08:52 AM

Cosmopolitan reports:

Once in a while, we come across a news story that is just begging to be forwarded to everyone on our e-mail address list. This is that story:

According to the Key West news site, keysnews.com, "Florida Highway Patrol troopers say a two-vehicle crash...was caused by a 37-year-old woman driver who was shaving her bikini area while her ex-husband took the wheel from the passenger seat...'She said she was meeting her boyfriend in Key West and wanted to be ready for the visit,' [a state trooper] said."

We're just gonna need a minute to process this. So she was shaving her hoo-ha while driving? Okay. And she couldn't do it before leaving the house? Uh-huh. And her ex-husband was going with her to the boyfriend's? Of course. And he watched her do this? Got it.

Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. And the woman was charged with driving with a revoked license, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a wreck with injuries and driving with no insurance, reports keynews.com....

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 21 Mar 10 - 06:02 PM

ENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - A burglar who spent about five hours on a store's computer after breaking into the business gave police all the clues they needed to track him down. Investigators said the 17-year-old logged into his MySpace account while at Bella Office Furniture and that made it easy for them to find him. He also spent time looking at pornography and trying to sell stolen items, all while using the business' computer.

He was arrested Tuesday and charged with first degree burglary. Kennewick Police said he helped officers recover a cell phone stolen in the break-in.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Mar 10 - 06:48 PM

That Cosmo item is one for the water cooler, isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 23 Mar 10 - 03:20 PM

Kangaroo Punches Jogger
By Miss Cellania on Mar 22, 2010 at 11:39 am

David Striegl of Canberra, Australia was jogging on Mount Ainslie during his lunch break when he was assaulted by a kangaroo who punched him in the face! Striegl was found dazed and bleeding and was taken to a hospital by a passing motorist.

    His only injury seemed to be some cuts and bruises, a black eye and a wounded ego with his colleagues making fun of his misfortune and giving him a new nickname – "Skippy".

    "The main thing they've been asking is whether I got one (punch) back on the roo," he told the Australian Associated Press.

    "I can't even say that, because one punch and it put me to the floor.

    "All my years of playing football and never a fight, and then I have a fight with a kangaroo."

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 09:05 AM

Junk mail delivered to one home in a year weighed 28.8kg - Australia


MARTIN Wale has had it up to his neck with junk mail.

So he kept brochures, catalogues and pamphlets delivered to his Mona Vale home for a year and found they weighed 26.8kg - as much as an eight-year-old child.

The hefty collection goes on display at Mitchell Library's 100th birthday exhibition, which he designed. He says one of the library's roles is document the reality of Australian society.

"It is not enough to only collect things perceived as worthy. We collect anything that accurately reflects our culture and society at any point in time," he said.

"I am hoping we look back on this collection in horror - it paints a damning picture of the wasteful, consumerist society we live in. Hopefully by being quite jarring it makes people stop and think."

==========

one comment from a reader -

Hmmm, 26.8kg x 1,600,000 Sydney residences = 43,000,000kg per year, straight into the bin.
===============

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 10:30 AM

That link doesn't go anywhere now, so I'm glad you posted the story.

I've managed to get off of most junk mail lists, and most of it goes straight into the recycle bin. The thing here that you need to watch for is that the companies that offer rebates on things you buy are tending to make their checks look more like junk mail. If they're not cashed, then the company isn't out that money. (I have a check for .82 cents from the phone company on my fridge that I'll deposit next time I make a trip to the bank.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: frogprince
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 08:19 PM

Re:junk mail and non-junk mail. I've just come across something odd and a little annoying in the last couple of month. Our credit union changed credit card systems, and issued new cards. One day an envelope turned up with only a street address for a return, and "important" printed in big letters. I almost trashed it unopened, as I've never seen that combination on anything but junk before. Turns out that is how our credit card billing comes now.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 08:24 PM

I wish I could pout a sign on my building door "Advertising material goes straight into the recycling bin - don't leave any here"

Here in OZ we have an assortment of signs saying 'No Junk Mail' or 'No advertising material' put out by various organisations from non-profits to commercial publishers & plastered on mailboxes across the country.

All get ignored by some deliverers (a bloke on talkback radio once said - "My employer doesn't pay me to deliver junk, so I always leave the brochure')

Meanwhile the piles of paper at the recycling companies (or in landfill) grow higher & the trees keep falling ...

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Mar 10 - 10:58 AM

Noisy wheelie bin betrays brazen beer thief

An attempted raid on a beer fridge in Palmerston, near Darwin, last night failed when the thief picked a noisy wheelie bin to carry away the alcohol.

Police allege the man entered a residential property about 2.30am, took alcohol from the fridge and used a wheelie bin to carry it away.

Duty Superintendent Mike Murphy says the noisy getaway vehicle woke up the owner.

"He took about a six pack of beer, two bottles of wine and a bottle of spirits from an outdoor fridge, loaded it into their wheelie bin and trotted off down the road," he said.

"The occupier woke up and obviously got a good description.

"He was easy to find one street later, still with the wheelie bin."

The alleged offender was taken into custody.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 29 Mar 10 - 02:10 PM

The EU's trademarks authority has permitted a German firm to brew beer and produce clothing under the name "Fucking Hell". It may be an expletive in English, but in German it could refer to a light ale -- Hell -- from the Austrian town of Fucking. Whether it will be brewed there is another question.

The European Union trademarks authority has permitted a German firm to register the brand name "Fucking Hell" for a new beer, much to the irritation of the Austrian village of Fucking.

In English, the term "Fucking Hell" is just an expletive used to express irritation or surprise. In German, it could refer to a light ale from Fucking in Upper Austria, because "Hell" is a term for light ale in southern Germany and Austria.

The problem is that Fucking has no brewery, and the town's mayor, Franz Meindl, is not aware of any plans to build one there, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported on its Web site.

The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union said in a statement that it had rejected a complaint that the trade mark "Fucking Hell" was upsetting, accusatory and derogatory.

"The word combination claimed contains no semantic indication that could refer to a certain person or group of persons. Nor does it incite a particular act. It cannot even be understood as an instruction that the reader should go to hell," the Office said in its statement.

EU Trademark Office Has No Problem with Name

"Fucking Hell" was an "an interjection used to express a deprecation, but it does not indicate against whom the deprecation is directed," the Office added. "Nor can it be considered as reprehensible to use existing place names in a targeted manner (as a reference to the place), merely because this may have an ambiguous meaning in other languages."

That is good news for German marketing executives Stefan Fellenberg and Florian Krause, who own the rights to the brand name, and who had referred to the town of Fucking in their application to register it.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 04:09 PM

London, United Kingdom (AHN) - A British woman is now suffering from persistent sexual arousal syndrome after accidentally falling from her Nintendo Wii Fit board.

The condition sexually arouses her whenever she feels slight vibrations from a cell phone or other devices.

The sexual disorder caused by a damaged nerve sometimes "builds into a trembling orgasms," according to Amanda Flowers, 24.

Persistent sexual arousal syndrome is a rare medical condition that may disrupt normal sexual activity, but Flowers commented to a local tabloid that she enjoys it.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018403586#ixzz0lCYLNs3I

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 04:23 PM

Primark (low end clothes shop) pulls padded bikinis for little girls after complaints that the swimming costumes over sexualise 7 year olds.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/14/primark-children-padded-bikini-to

Well duh!?!?!?!

What idiot designed them and how the freaking hell did they pass marketing research muster?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 05:22 PM

SHeeshe, the endless arrogance of trying to improve on nature!! It's not as if they won't sexualize themselves soon enough!


A

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 05:42 PM

It gets worse. Disney's High School Musical underwear for girls have the words "Dive In" printed on them.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1556538.ece

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 27 Apr 10 - 01:53 PM

Do Boobs Cause Earthquakes? Facebook Event Aims to Prove It


After prominent Iranian cleric Kazem Sedighi said that women's immodesty increases earthquakes, a Purdue University student named Jen McCreight created a Facebook event called "Boobquake," calling for the women of the world to wear their most revealing outfits on Monday, April 26.

Sedighi was quoted in the Chicago Tribune saying, "Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes."

The plan, of course, is to embarrass Sedighi if a significant increase in earthquakes does not occur on Monday. The event has more than 177,000 "confirmed" guests and 57,000 "maybes." There's also a Facebook page that has been liked by more than 37,000 users, and a Twitter (Twitter) hashtag called #boobquake that's getting several updates per minute. Boobquake has been all over the mainstream media and merchandise is already rolling out — T-shirts and the like. It's this weekend's social media phenomenon.

For many, this is an example of how social media can raise public awareness and generate discussion. For quite a few straight men of the more narrow-minded variety, though, it's mostly an opportunity to do some extra ogling. Both of those are the last things Sedighi wants.

The event has nevertheless stirred up a lot of controversy even among non-religious people. Some groups of feminists are saying that it only adds to the sexualization of women, in contrast to others who are saying that it's all about women having the freedom to present themselves however they want.

McCreight responded to the concerns in her blog (blog), saying she never knew the event would become much more than a private joke, and that she'd have been more careful about wording and execution had she known.
...

(From the Mashable web site)

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Apr 10 - 10:37 AM

I wasn't aware of any new earthquake faults being cleaved into stone on Monday. I guess that cleric must have been wrong about boobs, eh?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 02 May 10 - 11:05 PM

I guess some politicians are more suggestible than others.

"Sure, it sounds like an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie: Tough-as-nails hero travels back through time to change a horrific error to save society's collapse.

But in Virginia, this ain't no movie. And the hero, played by Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli, doesn't need a hot tub time machine or any other time travel device to do it.

He's just fixing the problem now. That problem?

The Virginia State Seal. Anyone who has seen it comes away horrified.

Created in the debauchery-plagued period known as the Revolutionary War era, the seal shows the Roman goddess Virtus (virtue). But just how virtuous is she? Her left breast is exposed.

"Like she's performing in a Super Bowl halftime show," writes outraged NBC reporter Matthew Stabley.

Our crazy forefathers let it slip. And the country's been on a devastating free-fall ever since. Now there's Motley Crue.

Until now. Cuccinelli is cracking down. He's created a new lapel pin. This one corrects the wardrobe malfunction by placing an armored breastplate in front of Virtus' bosom.

"When the new design came up at a staff meeting, workers in attendance said Cuccinelli joked that it converts a risque image into a PG one," reports Julian Walker at the Virginian-Pilot.

Reportedly no state funds were used to create the new pin. Surely, not for long though. With an Iranian cleric's recent declaration that women who dress suggestively increase the likelihood of earthquakes, who wouldn't want taxpayer monies used for public safety?

-- Jimmy Orr" LA Times piece

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 May 10 - 06:51 PM

Did the Justice Department ever remove that curtain that Ashcroft put up over a nude or semi-nude art piece?

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 May 10 - 05:09 AM

Study of starving yogi bears few answers

An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.

Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed-circuit television.

During the period he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah said after the experiment.

"It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."

The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad in a study initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defence and military research institute.

The DRDO hopes the findings, set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.

"His only contact with any kind of fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically during the period," said a statement from G Ilavazahagan, the director of India's Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences.

The yogi has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat, where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation.

He says that at a young age he was blessed by a goddess who gave him special powers.

During the 15-day observation which ended last week the doctors took scans of his organs, brain and blood vessels, as well as doing tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.

"The reports were all in the pre-determined safety range through the observation period," Dr Shah said.

Other results from DNA analysis, molecular biological studies and tests on his hormones, enzymes, energy metabolism and genes will take months to process.

"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," Dr Shah said.

"As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 10 - 11:26 AM

That's creepy!

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: GUEST,CrazyEddie
Date: 12 May 10 - 03:02 AM

I thought he got his calories from picnic-baskets?



I'll get my coat....

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 May 10 - 05:22 AM

Ninjas to the rescue as thugs pick wrong alley includes video report

Three would-be thugs have learnt their lesson after setting upon a fellow train passenger in a dimly-lit alley in Sydney's west

The three men attacked the 27-year-old German medical student after getting off the train and following him down the alley at Kingswood on Tuesday.

What the muggers did not realise was that the alley ran behind the Ninja Senshi Ryu warrior school.

A ninja student coming out of class noticed the attack and alerted his teacher and three other students.

Ninja sensei, Kaylan Soto, says he and his students gave chase to the men.

"We looked around to see what was happening and there were three blokes on this guy just kicking him and punching him in the head," he said.

"We started running towards them and they took off. They would have seen five of us in ninja gear...all in black with our belts on, running toward them.

"I think they're probably still running if I'm not mistaken."

Police say they have charged a 16-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man with robbery in company over the assault.

They are looking for a third male described as being aged between 15 and 17, 165cm tall and caucasian.
.................

When the story ran on 20th May it was illustrated as a manga strip by one of the paper's artists, Simon Letch - unfortunately the drawing aren't yet up on his Gallery, latest pic there is from the 18th.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Jun 10 - 09:16 AM

Super drink creates brain cells, prevents wrinkles

North Korea again threatened war with South Korea today but found time to spruik an extraordinary super drink that it claims will multiply brain cells.

The often-shrill KCNA state news agency softened its tone to advertise an anti-oxidation drink made by the Moranbong Carbonated Fruit Juice Joint Venture Company which contains 60 kinds of "micro-elements" extracted from more than 30 species of plants.

"It, with effects of both preventive and curative treatment, helps improve mental and retentive faculties by multiplying brain cells," the agency said.

"It also protects skin from wrinkles and black spots and prevents such geriatric diseases as cerebral haemorrhage, myocardium and brain infarction by removing acid effete matters in time."

The KCNA says the drink also makes skin fair.

Company manager Jong Song Ho told KCNA that the drink was particularly "efficacious" among workers at a thermal power station, smelter and at medical institutions.

"The drink has no side effect," the agency added.

========

perhaps I could have started a thread about this new wonder drink - this place is full of old folkies who might just need it!

sandra (retired & wrinkled)

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 10 - 03:02 PM

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/06/no-donations-in-the-book-drop-please-draft.html

NO DONATIONS IN THE BOOK DROP, PLEASE
Posted by Eileen Reynolds

Much as it pains us, here at the Book Bench, to hear about books being damaged in any way, we couldn't help but grin when we read the news that a seventy-four-year-old woman was arrested this week after pouring a jar of mayonnaise into the book-drop at a public library in Boise, Idaho. When it comes to substances one would hope never to find slathered on a copy of oh, say, "Ulysses," mayonnaise—it must be said— is a wonderfully imaginative choice. And the best part of the story? The mayo-dumper is being investigated for earlier book vandalism incidents involving ketchup and corn syrup, as well as other "condiment-related crimes." To pen such a gem of a phrase is every young journalist's dream.

One cannot help but speculate on what would would motivate someone to throw condiments down the book-drop. Was it a falling out with a librarian? A skirmish over due dates and fines? Or did the books themselves somehow invite the attack? Was it a self-indulgent memoir that inspired such rage? Or a novel that started well but petered out midway through?

I wonder if librarians at other public libraries have seen this sort of thing before. Surely, there must be some amount of benign book-drop mischief going on all the time. I know someone—maybe you do, too—who carefully tucks an old theatre ticket or party invitation into each library book before dropping the whole stack into the chute. Let's just hope that no one else gets the idea to smear perfectly good books with sandwich spread. After what happened in Idaho, should librarians be on the lookout for copycat crimes?

The public library in my hometown had a sign that said "No donations in the book drop, please." I used to imagine that this was some enterprising librarian's subtle attempt at reverse psychology: perhaps at the mere sight of the word "donation," some wealthy library patron might write a million-dollar check, affix it to a note saying that the funds should be used for a new fiction wing, and toss both slips of paper into the bin. But maybe I had it all wrong, and those wise librarians were simply trying to protect themselves against a flood of Hellman's—or worse.

No books were harmed in the writing of this post.

(I'll leave their manufactured url on the bottom, it might be more durable)
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/06/no-donations-in-the-book-drop-please-draft.html#ixzz0r8eRwLos

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Jun 10 - 12:05 AM

'Stupid' drunk driver nearly mows down police

Two Northern Territory police officers have narrowly escaped injury after almost being mowed down by a drunk driver.

The officers say they had parked their police van on an Alice Springs street on Friday night when a car revved its engine and sped straight for them.

The car veered away with just metres to spare.

When police stopped the car they say the driver had swapped seats with his passenger.

Both were allegedly more than three times over the legal alcohol limit.

Senior Sergeant Darryl Kerr says it was a senseless act.

"[It was] very, very stupid, very dangerous," he said.

"The police officers could have been injured, or worse."

The men sobered up in the Alice Springs watch-house.

They will be charged with a range of offences including drink-driving, driving dangerously and resisting police.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 10 - 01:04 PM

Over here (Texas, USA) the drunk drivers are famous for killing or maiming police.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Jun 10 - 11:50 PM

we have drivers who drive at police, too, as well as folks who pretend to be the driver in driving cases, but this is the first I remember where passenger was similarly over the limit.

Back in the late 80s when my sister was visiting the US she was pulled over for exceeding the speed limit & got a hell of a shock to see the officer with his hand on his gun as he approached. Here is Oz drivers aren't likely to be armed, so police can approach alleged offenders without worrying about retaliation, tho as road rage has risen in the last few years they're probably no longer so relaxed.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jun 10 - 07:37 AM

I get the impression that the role many police play here is one to intimidate. In some, I think it is a character flaw that attracts them to the job.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jun 10 - 07:02 PM

ALA 2010: Public Libraries Renew Community Connections With Targeted Services

Go to the journal page for all of the links embedded in this article:

By Carrie Netzer Wajda Jun 27, 2010

Six public librarians serving very different communities yesterday showcased how listening to community needs can generate ideas for innovative and popular library programs.

Clo Cammarata and Sarah Maner of Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC, presented two popular, low-cost programs.

"In the current economic situation people are really turning to library resources," Maner said. Her library supports a crafting group called Sew Delightful by providing space, crafting books, tea, and coffee. Sew Delightful meets weekly at the library to practice and share knitting, crochet and crafting tips.

The program is especially popular with retirees, who now teach crafting workshops to children and teens. The group donates many of its goods to charity organizations such as women's and homeless shelters, Ronald McDonald House, and Hats 4 Heroes.

Cammarata described another program serving a very different community: international residents. Let's Speak English is an informal gathering in which participants can practice conversational English and find assistance with reading and writing letters, filling out forms, and other tasks. The program, which started at a single location, has since expanded to four additional libraries.

Let's Speak English has had such an impact that one participant intends to begin a similar program for internationals living in his home country, South Korea.

Outreach innovation

When San Francisco Public Library staffers noticed that major changes were in store for the U.S. citizenship exam, they assembled a team of innovative librarians to significantly upgrade the library's exam web page.

The page already was one of the top ten pages visited on the library website, given that about 20 percent of San Francisco's population is foreign-born. After the revamp--information in eight languages plus video content--there was a a 50 percent spike in traffic. Many community organizations serving internationals have linked to the new page as a primary resource for exam information.

The team has since implement EDother successful projects. Librarians need to "respond quickly to needs and innovate within [our] organizations," said Brian Bannon (an LJ Mover), one of the librarians on the project.

GED testing

Gayle Holloman of Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System described meeting a very different kind of community need.

Atlanta-Fulton, she said, is the nation's only public library offering GED testing, partnering with Atlanta Public Schools to offer test prep courses. The GED program has been so successful that the library has expanded it to include two satellite testing locations.

Help in hard times

Although the economic meltdown reached the Seattle area late, librarians were quick to notice its effects on their patrons. "Our library staff noticed a change in patron behavior," noted Julie Brand of the King County Library System, including an increase in reference questions during normal working hours and higher stress levels.

By reaching out to local news media and vendors, the library was able to create an award-winning, high-impact, low-cost media campaign called "Look to Your Library, Especially Now" (LYTL).

Targeting small business owners, job seekers and the newly laid off, the library increased circulation for LYTL resources by 89 percent and created several accidental celebrities out of the librarians who appeared in the televised publicity spots.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 04:15 PM

(Reuters) - Charles Zevallos, a politician in Peru's Amazon basin, often wins kisses from female supporters, but things have moved to a whole new level as women at his rallies have started throwing their underwear at him.

Zevallos, a candidate for mayor in the province of Maynas, has made a tradition of giving fans, watches or soccer balls at his rallies in exchange for women's kisses.

But in the past few days, some supporters have taken off their underpants and tossed them to him during rallies for his progressive party, 1000 Movimiento Integracion Loretana.

Zevallos has downplayed any resemblance to Tom Jones, the Welsh crooner who for years was showered with women's panties while performing at pop music concerts.

Commentators in Peru's capital of Lima, 990 miles from Maynas, said the underwear throwing was proof that politics in the Andean country had reached a new low.

"It was spontaneous, I didn't ask for them, but then I saw a pair of yellow ones, and then another woman threw another pair at me," Zevallos said.

He said he cannot be blamed for having zealous supporters.

"I don't know if this will stop, it's really crazy here right now. The people love me," Zevallos said.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 05:39 PM

I wouldn't throw my underwear at this guy. When I did the search I was kind of expecting someone who looked like Rickie Martin. Not quite!

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jul 10 - 11:20 PM

Musical Kludge

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Alice
Date: 05 Jul 10 - 11:53 PM

Musical Kludge is at a web site called There I Fixed It, a division of I Can Has Cheezburger, home of the LOLCats.

Here is a news article about cute animal pictures on the web and their place in internet culture:

CNN.com Why We Love Cute Animals Online
July 2, 2010, by Damon Brown

(CNN) -- Had your fix of LOLCats today? If you did, you're one of 16 million unique visitors hitting I Can Has Cheezburger, which features cat photos with cutesy baby-talk captions, and its affiliated sites every month.

The New York Times recently profiled web entrepreneur Ben Huh, whose $10,000 purchase of the little cute-picture website has evolved into a multimillion dollar empire of 53 sites and several best-selling books.

However, the obsession with cute animal media is hardly anything new. Back in the '70s, we had the quickly clichéd "Hang In There!" posters with an animal, usually an adorable tabby or a gray kitty, clinging to a tree branch for dear life.


Rest of the article here.. click

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jul 10 - 11:22 AM

I know the cheezburger site has lots of spin-off sites. I regularly check out the Epic Kludge site (click on the banner on that page I linked to and you'll get to the current set, they add from the top, so you can scroll through older posts). And the one called "Probably Bad News" is headlines and newspaper items with unfortunate word choices. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: frogprince
Date: 06 Jul 10 - 04:19 PM

Gullee, to think I've been sitting around lis'n'n to junk from Bobert, and Olddude, and Amos, when I could have been lis'n'n to that kludge feller.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 12:53 PM

"Proving that nothing succeeds like excess, 111 Los Gatos skinny-dippers crowded into a pool on Saturday to go boldly where few naked people have gone before: the Guinness book of world records.

Pudgy, slender, tanned, pale, firm and droopy — sharing only sunscreen — the happy crowd cheered for official eyewitnesses, who took a photo to submit proof for the history books.

"We're all here because we're dedicated to acceptance and mutual respect," said Lupin Lodge owner Glyn Stout, 72, who removed his hearing aids to jump into the water.

Then they celebrated with a picnic of barbecued ribs, corn and apple pie. Only the cook, perhaps nervous about hot coals, wore a shirt.

Lupin was one of dozens of clubs, camps and beaches across America that participated in the event, coordinated by the American Association for Nude Recreation, that capped the end of Nude Recreation Week, July 5-11.

Rules were exacting: To be counted, participants had to be nude in an American Association for Nude Recreation-sanctioned site at exactly noon ("Pacific Naked Time"). An estimated 100 groups participated, from steamy Decatur, Texas, to goose-bumpy British Columbia.

Los Gatos hills

It's a new tradition for the historic Lupin, the oldest member of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce in a rural part of town called Aldercroft Heights. Built on the remnants of a pre-Prohibition winery, it sits in a deep crease of the Los Gatos hills, bathed in sunshine and shielded from view.

It's easy to assume that nudists are just exhibitionists with iPods. But nothing could be further from the truth, they say. Many just want to play tennis without annoying shorts. Or ride home on a motorcycle without a wet swimsuit.

There's a Needlepoint Club. Children gambol the grounds. On Fridays, ladies meet for lunch.

Erudite, its members gather for book clubs, field trips and meals. While reading John Steinbeck, for instance, they donned clothes to tour Salinas. Discussions of the book "Shanghai Girls" featured Chinese carryout.

"It's my chosen family," said Ardis Williams, 70.

Said Cindy Gregory, with red hair and pink sunglasses: "No one's perfect, but it doesn't matter. We're all here because this is a place for the whole human being."

Fit, tanned and the father of 8-year-old twins, owner Stout is a Yale man whose classmates included Porter Goss, John Negroponte and "Bucky" Bush. He has worked hard to improve the club, moving boulders and yanking out weeds.

He's an open-minded guy. But he has one strict rule: No open fires.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: frogprince
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 01:14 PM

This reminds me, I gotta check and see if our local resort got a bigger turnout than for the first Guiness event last year. One of the small sorrows of my life these days is that we've had a conflict to keep us from getting in on the two record attempts so far, and probably will have for the indefinite future.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 08:48 PM

Three ambulances, two kangaroos, one big delay

An unwelcome encounter with some kangaroos has caused an expensive delay for ambulances responding to a call near Stawell, in western Victoria.

An ambulance was called to pick up a patient at Halls Gap, but was damaged after hitting a kangaroo, about 15 kilometres from Stawell.

A second ambulance was dispatched to the scene.

But it too, hit a kangaroo, only about half a kilometre from the first ambulance.

A third ambulance was called and the patient, who was in a stable condition, was taken to hospital without further incident.

It is expected to cost $10,000 to repair the damage to the two ambulances.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 09:02 PM

By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER

A New York judge has issued a temporary restraining order restricting the transfer of Facebook Inc.'s assets, following a suit by a New York man who claims to own an 84% stake in the social-networking company.

Paul D. Ceglia filed a suit in the Supreme Court of New York's Allegany County on June 30, claiming that a 2003 contract he signed with Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg entitles him to ownership of the company and monetary damages.

The suit is being heard by Judge Thomas Brown, who issued the temporary restraining order earlier this month. Facebook has requested that the case be moved to federal court.

In his suit, Mr. Ceglia claims he signed a contract with Mr. Zuckerberg on April 28, 2003, to develop and design a website, paying a $1,000 fee but getting a 50% stake in the product. The contract stipulated that Mr. Ceglia would get an additional 1% interest in the business for every day after Jan. 1, 2004, until it was completed.

In a statement, a spokesman for closely held Facebook said, "We believe this suit is completely frivolous and we will fight it vigorously."

Mr. Ceglia didn't return calls seeking comment. His lawyer, Paul A. Argentieri, also didn't return a call for comment.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 11:53 AM

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he received a $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday.Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84 ringgit ($23) bill, the New Straits Times reported.

But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit ($218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported.

It wasn't clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya's father's phone line was used illegally after after his death.

"If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said.

Yahaya, from northern Kedah state, received a notice from the company's debt-collection agency in early April, the paper said. Yahaya said he nearly fainted when he saw the new bill.

Government-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the country's largest telecommunications company.

A company official, who declined to be identified as she was not authorized to speak to the media, said Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. She did not provide further details.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Jack Campin
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 12:23 PM

From Al-Jazeera:

Israel jails Arab for 'deceit rape'
===================================

Many Israeli Jews have hostile views of mixed relationships with Arabs [EPA]

An Arab living in Israel has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for having consensual sex with an Israeli woman who apparently believed he was Jewish.

Sabbar Kashur was sentenced on Monday after being convicted of "rape by deception".

According to the court, Kashur met a Jewish woman in Jerusalem in 2008 and introduced himself as a single Jew looking for a serious relationship. The two had sex in a nearby building.

The woman filed a criminal complaint after learning Kashur was Arab, not Jewish.

Prosecutors acknowledged that the sex was consensual, but accused him of misrepresenting himself.

The court agreed, sentencing Kashur despite acknowledging that his case was not "a classical rape by force".

"If she hadn't thought the accused was a Jewish bachelor interested in a serious romantic relationship, she would not have co-operated," the judges said in their ruling.

"The court must protect the public interest against sophisticated criminals with a smooth tongue and sweet talking, who can lead astray innocent victims."

'Deceit'

The Israeli criminal code mentions "deceit" as a possible aggravating factor in sexual assault cases and the verdict in Kashur's case is not the first time an Israeli court has sentenced a man for "rape by deception," according to several Israeli lawyers.

"The court must protect the public interest against sophisticated criminals with a smooth tongue and sweet talking, who can lead astray innocent victims"

Judicial ruling

The most notable case was in 2008, when Israel's high court of justice upheld the conviction of Zvi Sleiman, a man who impersonated a housing ministry official and promised women apartments and benefits in exchange for sex.

A rape conviction sentence could be upheld, the court ruled, when "a person lies does not tell the truth regarding critical matters to a reasonable woman".

Several other men have been convicted of "rape by deception" since that ruling.

But the Kashur case appears to be the first time a person's race has been used as the determining factor.

"In this case, the ruling seems to say that if a 'reasonable' Jewish woman knew a man was an Arab, then she would not make love to him," Abeer Baker, an attorney with Adalah, an organisation that advocates for Arab rights in Israel, said.

Baker called it a "dangerous precedent," saying it would allow the Israeli government to interfere in the private lives of citizens.

"It's interfering in a very intimate, personal decision," she said. "That should be made between two people. The court should not interfere."

Open hostility

Similar laws have been controversial in other countries, as well. A man in the United States was convicted in 2007 of impersonating his brother in order to have sex with his girlfriend. That conviction was overturned on appeal, though, after an appellate court ruled that rape laws apply only to non-consensual sex.

Kashur's case also highlights the open hostility with which many Israeli Jews view mixed relationships with Arabs, who make up one-fifth of the population of Israel.
IN depth

Blog:
        Is being Arab Israeli's criteria for rape?

A poll conducted in 2007 by Israel's Geocartography Institute found that more than 50 per cent of Israeli Jews thought marrying an Arab was "equal to national treason". Jews are legally forbidden to intermarry in Israel.

The Sunday Times reported in 2009 on a squad of "vigilantes" in the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Zeev. The group has patrolled the streets for more than a decade looking for mixed couples.

And in 2009, the town of Petah Tikva established a team of counsellors and psychologists to "rescue" Jewish women from relationships with Arab men.

The Israeli daily Maariv reported in February that Tel Aviv had launched a similar programme.

Gideon Levy, a liberal columnist with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, said the "rape by deception" law would have been applied differently if a Jewish man had sex with an Arab woman under false pretences.

"Would he have been convicted of rape?" Levy asked. "The answer is: of course not."

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 10 - 11:23 AM

Caterpillars move guts-first
link

X-ray analysis shows the insects slide their guts ahead before moving the rest of their body in a unique form of motion that may inspire robot designs. (The article uses a photo of my old friend, the tobacco hornworm.)

The gravity-defying crawl of caterpillars, which has the guts sliding forward before the rest of the caterpillar moves, represents a unique "two-body" system of locomotion that has never been reported before for any other insect or animal, according to a new study.

In addition to shedding light on how organisms can crawl in three dimensional structures, such as tubes and hollow branches, the finding -- reported in the latest issue of Current Biology -- is also inspiring new designs for soft-bodied robots.

Humans, however, could never truly mimic a caterpillar crawl with our own bodies -- our guts aren't loose enough.

"One way to think about it is to imagine you're crawling on your hands and feet," lead author Michael Simon told Discovery News. "Normally, as you move forward, all of your internal tissues move forward with you. It makes sense, as it's all packed into your rib cage. But imagine if, instead, as you began to bring your back leg forward, your liver suddenly began to slide upward toward your neck."

"Quite impossible in humans, of course, because of how our organs are packed, attached to one another and to our skeleton, but the caterpillar gut is not so confined," added Simon, a Tufts University research assistant in the Biomimetic Devices Laboratory.

He and his team made the discovery by accident, while using sophisticated X-ray technology to see what happens inside caterpillars when they move. This was for a planned neurosensory experiment. The scientists expected to find fluid sloshing around inside the caterpillars.

Instead, they determined that at the start of each caterpillar crawl, the gut in the insect's mid-body segments moved in advance of the body wall and before the attached limbs, known as prolegs, swung.

"Basically the movements of the gut are independent of the surrounding body," Simon explained. "This is not to say that it is totally disconnected; it still is at both ends. But the body wall undergoes muscular contractions that move the body forward, whereas the gut changes shape and moves around within the body based only on the movements of the front and back of the animal."

The researchers predict leeches might also have such a sliding gut locomotion system. As Simon points out, "the leech gut already has considerable freedom of movement, since it must absorb such large blood meals."

The scientists theorize this form of movement benefits insect "eating machines" that spend much of their time feasting. In the case of caterpillars, their chief goals in life are to eat, grow and survive.

"Anything that would interfere with these goals would be a disadvantage," explained Simon. "If the gut were confined to individual segments, as in an earthworm (which is segmented), I would speculate that body movements would be transmitted through individual parts of the gut."

This, he said, might interfere with crawling, which is a forward-moving wave, and digestion, which involves backward-moving contractions.

Aside from promoting efficiency, the unusual gut-first, body-later movement may also improve the insect's balance, control and ability to grip. The technique is already being considered for soft-bodied robots with the ability to carry internal cargo, such as chemicals, electronics or even smaller robots.

"So, for example, if I wish to design a search and rescue robot that can morph its body shape as it winds through debris, as I'd like it to carry, say, a video camera and microphone to transmit information back, the way the electronics are carried within the robot may be dictated by, and play a role in, the control of the robot's movements," he said.

Susan Ernst, a Tufts professor of biology who did not work on the project, agreed that such robots and related research "could help scientists and engineers around the world navigate complex and even dangerous situations."

Simon says he's still surprised something so "commonplace and humble" as a caterpillar could exhibit such a "wealth of amazing phenomena" with so many important potential applications.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 26 Jul 10 - 10:49 AM

CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. (AP) — A bronze surfer statue near San Diego has been the target of many gags, but never one this big and scary.

Unknown predawn pranksters on Saturday surrounded the roadside statue in Cardiff-by-the-Sea with a papier mache model of a great white shark that appeared to be swallowing it whole.

Crowds of gawkers and photographers gathered around the 16-foot creation after the sun rose.

San Diego County sheriff's Lt. Tony Ray said no criminal report was filed because there was no damage to the statue.

The $120,000 sculpture called "Magic Carpet Ride" was commissioned by the Cardiff Botanical Society in 2007.

The statue has been bedecked with bras, skirts and witch hats so many times that locals have come to call it "The Cardiff Kook."

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 28 Jul 10 - 04:49 PM

Kenyan gets 14 years for sex with donkey; blames devil

A Kenyan court sentenced a 30-year-old man Wednesday to 14 years in jail for having sex with a donkey.

Stephen Kipkemoi Rono was convicted after pleading guilty before a court in the southern town of Narok.

The father of two was charged with having "carnal knowledge of an animal, namely a donkey, which is against the order of nature."

Rono pleaded for leniency claiming that he had been deceived by the devil. He has two weeks to appeal the sentence.

"I am sorry. I plead for leniency because it's the devil who sent me. I have been living alone since my wife left me to marry another man," he told the court.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 05 Aug 10 - 07:55 PM

Scientist Makes Breakthrough--Wife Unimpressed


A pair of Japanese and US computer whizzes claim to have calculated pi to five trillion decimal places -- a number which if verified eclipses the previous record set by a French software engineer.

"We believe our achievement sets a new record," Japanese system engineer Shigeru Kondo said, adding that the French man's calculation to nearly 2.7 trillion places was believed to be the previous record.

The 54-year-old from central Japan, teamed up with Alexander Yee, a US computer science student, to set about calculating the constant that has fascinated mathematicians for millennia.

Pi, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, starts with 3.14159 in a string whose digits are believed to never repeat or end.

"Alexander provided software and I was in charge of hardware. We couldn't have achieved the results without either of us," Kondo said, adding that the two men worked together while communicating by email.

It took 90 days to calculate pi at Kondo's home using a desktop computer with 20 external hard disks. It ran on the operating system Windows Server 2008R2 and used powerful Intel microprocessors. Verification took 64 hours.

Kondo built the computer by himself, procuring parts from local electronics shops and via the Internet. "I don't really want to say how much it cost me as my family may hear it... it's about 18,000 dollars," he told AFP by telephone.

It was midnight in Japan when the computer reached five trillion decimal places. "I was alone in the room at the moment... I know this is nothing but self satisfaction," he said.
His mother and wife who live with him were sleeping at that time and later showed "no particular feelings" despite his sense of achievement, he said.

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Amos
Date: 07 Aug 10 - 12:01 AM

One of Italy's most wanted mafia godfathers has been arrested after seven years on the run after police traced him to his wife's mobile registered in the name of Winnie the Pooh.

Vittorio Pirozzi, 58, who was on Italy's 100 most wanted mafia gangsters list, had been a fugitive from the Italian police since 2003, during which time he allegedly ran drug-trafficking operations in Spain and Belgium.

He remained in close contact with his wife but changed the SIM card in his mobile phone every two weeks in order to avoid his location being traced.


His wife, however, was not so prudent, calling and texting her husband on a mobile phone which was registered under the alias of AA Milne's character.

Police managed to crack a code that Pirozzi used when he called his wife's mobile at a fixed time on the same day every two weeks.

After intercepting calls, they followed his wife to Brussels this week and discovered that Pirozzi, a senior member of the Naples-based Camorra mafia, was living in a modest apartment in the centre of the city.

Police and Interpol agents raided the flat on Wednesday night, apprehending Pirozzi on an international arrest warrant issued by Italian judges. Police said he was not armed and did not put up any resistance.

He appeared in a court in Brussels and will be extradited back to Italy, where he will serve a 15 year prison sentence after being convicted in absentia on drug trafficking charges in 2003.

The Naples police chief who led the operation, Vittorio Pisani, said Pirozzi had divided his time on the run between Brussels and Malaga, in Spain.
...

Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Aug 10 - 12:11 AM

Another Winnie who didn't live up to expectations.