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BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .')
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Mar 11 - 09:31 PM Mind-boggling. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: JohnInKansas Date: 21 Mar 11 - 09:18 PM Recent articles have lamented the rise in back pains and other disorders from the popularity of "man bags" in some places. The woman in the following report probably has had similar difficulties, and appears to have found an alternative to carrying a heavy purse/handbag: Police: Cavity search produces 50 bags of heroin Associated Press 3/21/2011 10 SCRANTON, Pa. — Police in northeastern Pennsylvania say they recovered more than 50 bags of heroin, cash and loose change from a woman following a cavity search. Authorities say 27-year-old Karin Mackaliunas was detained last weekend following a crash. Scranton police say they found three bags of heroin in her jacket and after being taken to the police station she told investigators she had more hidden in her vagina. A doctor performed a search and recovered 54 bags of heroin, 31 empty bags used to package heroin, prescription pills and $51.22. Mackaliunas was jailed on $25,000 bail on charges including possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. It was not clear if she had an attorney. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday. [end quote] But would the guys (those who might use a "man bag") lack similar capacity to replace a shoulder bag with equal efficiency? John |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 21 Mar 11 - 10:52 AM March 21, 1936 London Hopes Reich Accepts Germany's reply to the Rhineland peace proposals contained in the agreement reached here by the Locarno powers tonight [March 21] was expected tomorrow or Monday. Whitehall hoped Chancellor Adolf Hitler will not risk the dangers of a flat rejection, but will make counter-proposals as a basis for further discussion. "We must hope for the best," remarked Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's Ambassador at Large, this afternoon before he took off from Croydon aerodome for Berlin. Von Ribbentrop would not comment further, but another member of the German delegation to the League said: "We are returning to Berlin in a definitely hopeful spirit." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 13 Mar 11 - 01:36 AM Great story, Sandra. And Curmudgeon, good to see you posting on this thread! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 12 Mar 11 - 05:35 AM Zahida Kazmi: Pakistan's ground-breaking female cabbie Zahida Kazmi has been hailed as Pakistan's first female taxi driver. She has driven from the crowded markets of Islamabad to the remote tribal country in the north. Here she tells Nosheen Abbas about her two decades in a male-dominated world. In 1992 at the age of 33, newly widowed Zahida Kazmi decided to take her fate in her own hands and become a taxi driver. Born into a conservative and patriarchal Pakistani family, she flew in the face of her family's wishes but with six children to support, she felt she had no choice. She took advantage of a government scheme in which anybody could buy a brand new taxi in affordable instalments. She bought herself a yellow cab and drove to Islamabad airport every morning to pick up passengers. In a perilous and unpredictable world, Zahida at first kept a gun in the car for her own protection and she even started off by driving her passengers around wearing a burqa, a garment that covers the entire body. Her initial fears soon dissipated. "I realised that I would scare passengers away," she said. "So then I only wore a hijab [head covering]. Eventually I stopped covering my head because I got older and was well-established by then." Exposing herself to the hot, bustling city streets of Islamabad and by driving to the rocky and remote districts adjoining Pakistan's tribal areas, Zahida says she learned a lot about the country she lived in and its people. The Pathans of the tribal north-west, despite a reputation for fierce male pride and inflexibility, treated her with immense courtesy on her journeys. Eventually she became the chairperson of Pakistan's yellow cab association. Once she was established, she offered to teach young women how to drive taxis, but there was little interest. Even her daughters didn't express enthusiasm. "They don't need to make a living," she says wistfully. "They are all married." Zahida is not one of Pakistan's metropolitan liberal middle class - there are plenty of educational and career opportunities for privileged women in Pakistan but not for women from Zahida's background. Pakistan has an exceptionally low number of women in work: 33.7% according to the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. Most women who work come under the category of "unpaid family workers". Pakistan's legal system does little to protect women, so harassment is commonplace. Campaigners say it is little wonder that women do not choose livelihoods that make them even more vulnerable. "Girls shy away from non-traditional jobs in a setting where there is a particular mindset... of intimidation," says Anees Haroon, chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women in Pakistan. But had Zahida been starting out now, things would be quite different as she would be entering the workforce in a country torn between the forces of liberalism and Islamic radicalism. Pakistan in 1992 was a more moderate place: it was opening up to the world; the dish antenna had been introduced; Pakistan had won the cricket world cup. Zahida says society felt fairly open to her. But the Taliban presence in many parts of Pakistan has intensified over the years. Zahida has had to drive long distances on treacherous routes to northern areas such as Balakot, Chitral, Dir and even the Swat valley. "Police at checkposts would be interested in why I was driving a taxi, but they were simply curious and amazed," she said. Passengers seek her out as well. Adnan Waseem, a businessman from Haripur, told me that he always books Zahida for his journeys. I saw her and the first thought that came to my mind was that she's my mother's age. I liked her driving and in these days where one feels insecure in Pakistan I felt very relaxed," he said. Another traveller, Sohail Mazhar, had to be driven through rocky terrain up to the northern city of Abbottabad. "Even the policemen who stopped us at security checkpoints also knew her... we were so happy to see a woman driving a taxi." Although Zahida has been feted for being Pakistan's first female taxi-driver, she still has many bitter memories of her struggles as a single mother working hard on the road. Her own mother disapproved of her career choice and only resentfully accepted it when the media gave her positive coverage. And she is estranged from her children now. "I am old now and I get tired. It's hard for me to drive all the time but what can I do? My sons don't help," she said. "If I had a chance I would have become a doctor." Just as she said that to me, a passing taxi driver stopped his car and got out to reverentially greet Zahida. Despite her travails, she is clearly a respected presence on the streets of Islamabad. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: curmudgeon Date: 19 Feb 11 - 10:46 AM From NYT, 18 Feb, 2011: Wisconsin's Democratic state senators went into hiding to deprive the Republican majority of the quorum they need to pass Walker's agenda. The Senate majority leader, Scott Fitzgerald — who happens to be the brother of the Assembly speaker, Jeff Fitzgerald — believes the governor is absolutely right about the need for draconian measures to cut spending in this crisis. So he's been sending state troopers out to look for the missing Democrats. The troopers are under the direction of the new chief of the state patrol, Stephen Fitzgerald. He is the 68-year-old father of Jeff and Scott and was appointed to the $105,678 post this month by Governor Walker. Perhaps the speaker's/majority leader's father was a super choice, and the fact that he was suddenly at liberty after having recently lost an election for county sheriff was simply a coincidence that allowed the governor to recruit the best possible person for the job. You'd still think that if things are so dire in Wisconsin, the Fitzgerald clan would want to set a better austerity example. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Feb 11 - 10:32 AM Okay, okay, so I turned the "location" thingie back on on my cell phone. In case I need to track it down with one of the other phones. :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 18 Feb 11 - 01:36 PM A twelve year old student in Suffolk, England, recently used GPS tracking technology to track his mother's stolen mobile phone, according to the Daily Mail. The phone, an HTC Wildfire, was stolen within weeks of his mother's purchase of it. It was worth £230, and she placed it on a bar as she ordered a drink. While the woman, Gemma Richardson, assumed it was gone, as no one had given it to the staff of the nightclub, she told her son what happened. Her son, Kristen Richardson, had previously downloaded a GPS tracking system utility to his mother's phone. This piece of software allowed him to track where it was. By logging onto her laptop, he pinpointed the precise location of the phone within four meters. The twelve year old then located the address on Google Street View. The police were then notified of the theft. They found the home in question, and the 21-year-old resident said that he did, in fact, take the phone in the night club. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Ed T Date: 17 Feb 11 - 05:57 AM Hard or soft news? |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Ed T Date: 17 Feb 11 - 05:48 AM Tyche, Giant Hidden Planet, May Exist In Our Solar System? Tyche? |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 16 Feb 11 - 11:02 PM There is a commercial that uses that scenario. Truth is at least as strange as fiction! |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 16 Feb 11 - 08:51 PM Newser) Ð A Los Angeles County employee lay dead and slumped over her desk in an office cubicle for what could have been as long as a day before anybody noticed, police say. Rebecca Wells, a 51-year-old auditor who had recently become a grandmother, was found by a security guard Saturday afternoon, KTLA reports. She had last been seen alive at 9am Friday morning, say detectives, who suspect she died from a stroke or heart attack. ( |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 31 Jan 11 - 12:46 AM China tries to pass Top Gun footage as military drill China's state broadcaster is facing questions after internet users spotted that footage in a report on air force manoeuvres in a national newscast was taken from the 1980s Hollywood film Top Gun. China Central Television, or CCTV, aired the footage in a January 23 report on a People's Liberation Army Air Force training exercise, showing a plane firing a missile at another. The second aircraft plane was destroyed in a fiery explosion and the dramatic footage was shown in between interviews with air force officers. However, some internet users recognised the explosion from the dogfight in the final scene of the 1986 film Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise. The Wall Street Journal posted a side-by-side video comparison of the CCTV news report and the Top Gun scene on its website, showing the two were identical. A CCTV representative could not comment on the similarities, the Wall Street Journal said. The Top Gun footage was aired a week after China vowed to step up its fight to protect intellectual property rights by targeting online piracy. The original report was removed from the CCTV website after news that part of it had been lifted from the movie spread. The gaffe has delighted many internet users who often express frustration about having to endure CCTV's propaganda-driven agenda. "CCTV is the king of copycats," read one comment below a report posted on the video sharing website tudou.com. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Jan 11 - 08:40 PM When my son was about 8 he had to spend a day with me because for some reason he couldn't go to school. He spent part of the day tagging along after me, and I had to visit the engineering building on campus, where they had an exhibit of scale models of things student engineers had built. Suspension bridges, vehicles, buildings, whatever. At a couple of them that my son really liked, I mentioned to the student builder that my son was a great fan of Legos. That was all it took - each of these young engineers had a fond history of the building toys. When we left the building, my son said he'd like to be a Lego engineer. Who knew? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 26 Jan 11 - 08:25 PM "24-year-old Cal Walsh has put his aerospace engineering degree to good use by becoming the Lego Czar at The Legoland Discovery Center in Texas. Walsh beat out over 100 other Lego lovers for the $37,500 starting salary, and the chance to play with blocks for a living. From the article: "The 15 finalists were given an hour to design something that defined them and their interests. Walsh applied his engineering skills to build a spaceship, a unicycle and a running shoe that spelled out his first name. He gave credit to the children spectators at the event, who offered suggestions on what pieces to add to make the designs more interesting." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 24 Jan 11 - 03:08 PM BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Witnesses say they saw a woman throw herself from the 23rd story of a Buenos Aires hotel Monday and survive. The woman landed in a sitting position on the roof of a taxi whose driver got out just before the impact deeply dented his roof and shattered the windshield. The woman, a 30-year-old Argentine, has injuries throughout her body and is being treated in the emergency room of the Hotel Argerich, said Alberto Crescenti, director of Argentina's Emergency Medical System. The taxi driver, who gave his name as Miguel, reportedly said he saw a policeman looking up and that prompted him to get out just before the driver's side of the car was smashed by the woman's body. Another taxi driver, Juan Carlos Candame, told Associated Press Television News that he saw the woman climb over a barrier and jump into the void. The woman fell from the top of the Hotel Crown Plaza Panamericano, where a restaurant overlooks the landmark Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Jan 11 - 11:05 AM Pet ferret eats seven fingers of baby boy It took how long for these parents to wake to a baby crying? And can they not tell the difference between a fussy baby awake at night and the sound of horror and pain? January 11, 2011|By Michael Martinez, CNN A 4-month-old baby boy from Grain Valley, Missouri, was in critical condition after a family pet ferret ate seven of the infant's fingers, and the boy's parents are under investigation for neglect and failure to obtain a $100 license for the exotic pet, police chief Aaron Ambrose told CNN Tuesday. Authorities are not releasing the names of the baby or his parents, Ambrose said. The mother was awakened at 2:30 a.m. Monday to her baby's crying, and she awakened her husband with screams upon discovering what happened, Ambrose said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 19 Jan 11 - 08:17 AM another wild ride! Monk caught with nun's skeleton A Cypriot monk caught at a Greek airport with the skeletal remains of a nun in his baggage on the weekend told authorities he was taking the relics of a saint back to his monastery. The 56-year-old Cypriot was detained at Athens airport on Sunday (local time) after security staff discovered a skull wrapped in cloth and skeletal remains in a sheet inside his baggage. He told police the woman was a saint and he was transferring her remains to a monastery in Cyprus. The remains were those of a nun who died four years ago. She was not a saint in the Greek or Cypriot Orthodox Churches but had once been a nun at a Cypriot convent, police said. Revering the skeletal remains of saints is common in the Greek Orthodox tradition and a sect within the church may have venerated the nun even though she was not an official saint. In many churches, venerated relics are put on display for the faithful to touch or kiss and a box for collecting donations from the faithful placed nearby. "It appears to be the work of charlatans with a financial interest, that is what I suspect," Cyprus Archbishop Chrysostomos said when asked about the monk's tale. The monk was freed after being charged with theft and desecrating the dead, a misdemeanour in Greece. He was also suspended from his monastic duties for three months for going away without leave, Cypriot police said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 17 Jan 11 - 01:09 PM What a wild ride! |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 17 Jan 11 - 12:27 AM We have Once in 100-year & even Once in 200-year floods in many areas of Australia at the moment where folks have been swept into swollen rivers & clutched at anything to save themselves, but not in this area. Pair rescued after sex doll river ride A woman has been rescued from the Yarra River in Melbourne after she lost her grip on the blow-up doll she was riding. A 19-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man were floating down the river in the city's north-east about 4.30pm yesterday using the inflatable dolls for buoyancy. The woman lost her grip on the doll when they hit turbulent water, grabbing hold of a tree while yelling for help. A kayaker took life jackets to the pair, who escaped injury and were rescued by the SES. ============================ SES = State Emergency Service |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: frogprince Date: 07 Jan 11 - 05:32 PM Our niece lives a couple of miles from Hiddenite; the town is actually named for the stone of that name. I forget whether we heard that emeralds were also common there. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 07 Jan 11 - 04:13 PM A 65-carat emerald was unearthed recently in a cornfield on a North Carolina farm. There's no word on its value, but it probably will fetch a life-changing amount of money when it is sold. This Aug 17, 2009 photo provided by Terry Ledford shows the Carolina Emperor emerald prior to cutting, with a U.S. 25-cent coin in the foreground. (Associated Press) An emerald so large it's being compared with the crown jewels of Russian empress Catherine the Great was pulled from a pit near corn rows at a North Carolina farm. The nearly 65-carat emerald its finders are marketing by the name Carolina Emperor was pulled from a farm once so well known among treasure hunters that the owners charged $3 a day to shovel for small samples of the green stones. After the gem was cut and re-cut, the finished product was about one-fifth the weight of the original find, making it slightly larger than a U.S. quarter and about as heavy as a AA battery. The emerald compares in size and quality to one surrounded by diamonds in a brooch once owned by Catherine the Great, who was empress in the 18th century, that Christie's auction house in New York sold in April for $1.65 million, said C.R. "Cap" Beesley, a New York gemologist who examined the stone. While big, uncut crystals and even notable gem-quality emeralds have come from the community 50 miles northwest of Charlotte called Hiddenite, there has never been one so big it's worthy of an imperial treasury, Beesley said. "It is the largest cut emerald ever to be found in North America," Beesley said in a telephone interview from Myanmar, an Asian country rich in precious gems. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 06 Jan 11 - 06:38 PM another Taiwan story!! Taiwan to curb pollution by potty training pigs Taiwan's environmental authorities say they are planning to promote toilet training for pigs to help curb water and waste pollution. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) made the pledge following the success of a pig farm in southern Taiwan where the breeder started to train his 10,000 pigs in late 2009. To keep his animals from defecating in nearby rivers, the breeder has established special toilets smeared with faeces and urine to attract the pigs, the EPA said in a statement. This reduced the amount of wastewater by up to 80 per cent. As well as making the farm cleaner and less smelly, it also helped reduce illness among the pigs and boosted their fertility by 20 per cent, the EPA added. Taiwan has about six million pigs, most of them raised on farms in the centre and the south of the island. Waste from livestock farms is among the main complaints about water pollution received by the EPA. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 06 Jan 11 - 06:35 PM Taiwan bans tax evaders from taxis Taiwan has banned repeat tax evaders from engaging in activities considered wasteful, including taking taxis. Several people who owe more than 10 million Taiwan dollars ($331,000) in tax but have been found to be living in extravagant style have received "anti-extravagance" orders, a justice ministry official said. "Since they owe the government a lot of money, they are banned from spending more than 2,000 Taiwan dollars ($68) on a single purchase and using expensive transportation means such as taxis or high-speed trains," the official said. The government will monitor the spending of the repeat evaders, he added, warning they could face detention if violating the order. Taiwan last year adopted an anti-extravagance law on tax evaders due to a public outcry after a tycoon who owed about 300 million Taiwan dollars in tax was found to be frequenting luxury boutiques. The government last week unveiled the list of top tax evaders for the first time and encouraged the public to keep a close eye on them in a fresh bid to collect overdue tax. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jan 11 - 10:12 PM Was Gluon barking/quacking at the fish and birds? Oh, wait, that question is for the MOAB thread. Never mind. :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 03 Jan 11 - 11:37 AM State officials on Monday were investigating why 80,000 to 100,000 fish washed up dead on the shores of the Arkansas River last week. "The fish deaths will take about a month" to determine a cause, Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, told msnbc.com. Stephens also provided the estimate of 80,000 to 100,000 dead fish. The fish were found Thursday by a tugboat operator along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near the city of Ozark. More U.S. news :Up to 5,000 birds fell from Ark. sky Updated 7 minutes ago 1/3/2011 4:26:58 PM +00:00 The number of birds that fell on this Arkansas town on New Year's Eve night is now estimated at 4,000 to 5,000, a wildlife official told msnbc.com, up sharply from the initial estimate of 1,000. So...what the fug is going on in Arkansas? Secret gummint experiments? A |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 03 Jan 11 - 11:34 AM "In Oklahoma, a convicted killer was caught in November posting photographs on his Facebook page of drugs, knives and alcohol that had been smuggled into his cell. In 2009, gang members in a Maryland prison were caught using their smartphones to approve targets for robberies and even to order seafood and cigars. Even closely watched prisoners are sneaking phones in. Last month, California prison guards said they had found a flip phone under Charles Manson's mattress. The logical solution would be to keep all cellphones out of prison. But that is a war that is being lost, corrections officials say. Prisoners agree. "Almost everybody has a phone," said Mike, 33, an inmate at Smith State Prison in Georgia who, like other prisoners interviewed for this article, asked that his full name not be used for fear of retaliation. "Almost every phone is a smartphone. Almost everybody with a smartphone has a Facebook." ..." Lemme see if I understand this--this little short guy serving life for the Tate murders and generally defacing Western civilization, has to have a smartphone so he can "friend" people on Facebook and mebbe Twitter his followers? Oy, tempore, oy, mores! |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 02 Jan 11 - 12:43 PM The notion that they all died of heart attacks because of fireworks is a bit far-fetched; on the other hand, the notion they were overtaken by a galloping hailstorm strikes me as improbable as well. They were apparently showing signs of some kind of trauma. I suppose they could have been fired upon while roosting by fireworks rockets or some such. I agree with your analysis, Gnu--a true WTF moment... |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: gnu Date: 02 Jan 11 - 11:28 AM WHA...??? Falling blackbirds baffle Arkansas officials By AFP | Agence France-Presse – 30 minutes ago Red-winged blackbird sings at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, … Like an Alfred Hitchcock nightmare, a flock of more than 1,000 blackbirds rained on the small town of Beebe, Arkansas, baffling wildlife officials who said Sunday the birds would be tested. The blackbirds began dropping from the sky on New Year's Eve, officials said, alarming residents as they mysteriously piled up on homes and gardens, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a Facebook posting. Game authorities said they had no immediate answer as to why the birds fell from the sky, and that they would be tested on Monday. Some scientists said they could have been hit by high-altitude hail, or startled by fireworks, the Arkansas Times reported. People from most of Latin America, including neighboring Mexico and Central America, traditionally mark New Year's Eve by setting off fireworks for as long as possible -- a noisy celebration that might well have blasted the single flock of birds straight out of their roost. Of the almost 310 million Americans, about 40 million are of Hispanic culture, and millions more Latin Americans live in the United States illegally. **************************************************** Like I said... WHA??? |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jan 11 - 03:01 AM That sounds like it would have been fascinating work. Too bad he died so young. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 01 Jan 11 - 01:10 AM CBC reports on sad news for Star Wars fans: "Grant McCune, a special effects artist who earned an Oscar for his work on the 1977 film Star Wars, has died. He was 67. McCune died Monday at his home in Hidden Hills, Calif., of pancreatic cancer. McCune created scenes with miniatures, models and special effects for dozens of movies, including Spaceballs, Ghostbusters II and 2008's Rambo. He began in special effects in 1975 when he and friend Bill Shourt were hired to make a giant white shark model for Steven Spielberg's Jaws. They got no credit for the film, but McCune caught the eye of the film community and he became chief model maker for Star Wars, where he created R2-D2 and many of the creatures that populate the film." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 14 Dec 10 - 12:05 PM ELK RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan family has celebrated a pair of birthdays this week — one more eventful than the other. Jessica Porter went into labor early Sunday during a big storm. She and her husband, Greg, began the trek of about 50 miles from their home in East Jordan to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. The blizzard conditions and slick roads halted the Porters' trip. The Traverse City Record-Eagle says the couple pulled to the side of the road in Elk Rapids and called authorities. Village police arrived, and Officer Michael Courson helped deliver Bradley in the car. Baby and mother finished their snowy trip to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. They were discharged Monday, which was Greg Porter's birthday. He says it's the best birthday present. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 14 Dec 10 - 10:56 AM An Orange County inmate who disliked salami was able to receive kosher meals in jail after his lawyer cited the "Seinfeld" holiday Festivus as his religious belief. The Orange County Register reported Monday that Malcolm A. King, 38, a convicted drug dealer, asked for kosher meals at the Theo Lacy jail in Orange to maintain his physique. County sheriff's officials reserve such meals for inmates with religious needs, so a judge demanded a religious reason for Mr. King to get the meals. Mr. King's lawyer, Fred Thiagarajah, cited his client's devotion to Festivus, the holiday celebrated on the "Seinfeld" series. A sheriff's spokesman, Ryan Burris, said Mr. King got salami-free meals for two months before the county got the order thrown out in court. (NYT) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Dec 10 - 11:36 PM http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101202/NEWS03/712039906/-1/NEWS The neighbor from Hell: Published: Thursday, December 2, 2010 KKK snowman appalls Idaho home's neighbors HAYDEN, Idaho — A white separatist drew complaints from neighbors and a visit from law enforcement officers after erecting a snowman shaped like a member of the Ku Klux Klan on his front lawn. Kootenai County sheriff's deputies told Mark Eliseuson Wednesday that he could be charged with a crime because the 10-foot-tall snowman was holding what appeared to be a noose. Deputies were called by neighbors who were appalled by the pointy-headed snowman with two dark eyes. Hayden for decades earned notoriety for being near the former rural compound of the Aryan Nations. Eliseuson could have been charged with creating a public nuisance. Idaho law defines such a nuisance as anything "offensive to the senses" or that interferes with the comfort of an entire neighborhood. Eliseuson removed the noose and toppled the snowman after he talked with officers. Eliseuson told KXLY-TV of Spokane that he sees nothing wrong with the snowman. But other people did. "It's such a message of hate," said Amber Caldwell, who saw the snowman while visiting her cousin in the neighborhood. "My kids asked me about it and I had to explain what that symbol means." Eliseuson has angered neighbors in the past by flying Aryan Nations flags at his home. At Halloween he passed out bullet casings after he said he ran out of candy. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 10 - 11:34 PM Those tent-related "swags" would probably be called a "pup tent" in the US. Another idiom to unravel. :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 01 Dec 10 - 10:12 PM Drugs worth $150k found in man's swag Police have found a commercial quantity of drugs stashed in luggage on a bus in Alice Springs overnight. Police were checking the bus from Adelaide when sniffer dogs found an estimated $150,000 worth of drugs in a 24-year-old man's swag. They say more than 2.5 kilograms of cannabis and 45 ecstasy tablets were found. Duty Superintendent Bob Rennie says the man was not supposed to be on the bus. "This chap was driving up in his own car from Adelaide, broke down near Coober Pedy, left his car there and jumped on the bus to come to Alice," he said. "He was arrested and charged with related offences of possess supply commercial quantity of cannabis and a trafficable quantity of MDMA." =========== swag can be used figuratively to mean luggage, or literally (possessions wrapped in blanket & carried on the back) traditional swag carried by by men on the road back in the olden days either workers heading for their next job, or unemployed men trying to find a job in hard times modern swags used by campers/hikers |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Nov 10 - 12:25 AM A friend of mine worked for a New York City law firm as a clerk in the patent department. They also renewed copyright (including Marvel Comics). Anyway, he brought home a couple of sketches that were being submitted by an inventor of various forms of what amounted to fart filters. They all tended to involve adhesive. Ugg. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 28 Nov 10 - 12:22 AM Patently odd: thunder-stealing grundies and kit to get kitty on the can Australia is home to many quirky inventions, and they're worth $12 billion a year to the economy. It's those SBDs - silent but deadlies - that give us away. But the telltale smell of a secret gas alert could be a thing of the past thanks to a unique Australian innovation that has just hit the shelves. The designer of 4SKINS, Gilbert Huynh, says although odour-neutralising fabric has been used in sportswear for years, his range of men's undies is the first time the material has been used in intimate apparel. "Everyone has experienced those awkward situations and I thought that it would be great if you could let one off and no one could smell it," Huynh says. After extensive trials - with friends and family - Huynh launched 4SKINS this month and says interest in the innovation has been beyond expectation. "I'm amazed at the number of women who are buying them for their boyfriends or husbands," he says. "We have actually had more women buyers than men." Huynh's product is one of many unusual innovations coming out of Australia over the past decade. Although the number of patents for new inventions has remained steady, IP Australia, the federal government body charged with intellectual property protection, says design innovations such as odour-eating knickers have increased by about 30 per cent. "The value of patents to the Australian economy is worth around $12 billion each year," an IP spokesman said. "In Australia, inventions and innovations that do have a patent are normally 50 per cent more profitable than those that don't." Jo Lapidge had her light bulb moment during the movie Meet the Parents. After returning from Britain the family decided to get a cat, but Lapidge begun to wonder if it was such a good idea when she found herself constantly cleaning the litter tray. "Then I saw the cat in the movie going to the toilet, and I wondered if I could train our cat, Doogie, to do that," she says. Using a $5 toilet seat and some coloured plastic discs, she designed the first Litter Kwitter system and trained Doogie to use the family toilet instead of the littler tray. "I only ever intended it for us, but then my husband, Terry, and I started wondering about commercial possibilities," she says. Within nine months, the Litter Kwitter system had gone from a "home-baked" idea to being picked up worldwide after a Reuters journalist saw a press release about the innovation. Now Litter Kwitter is sold among 12 language groups in countries including Russia, the US and Britain. If one person needs it, there are sure to be others, which is how a builder, Peter Hinchey, hit the big time with his innovation. A G-string sewn onto the collar of a work shirt was all it took for Hinchey to get international workwear companies interested in his innovation, the Dustee. Hinchey was sick of inhaling dust on building sites and although disposable dust masks were available, they were always back in the truck or the site shed. It took four years of trial and error before he hit on the right design - thanks to the G-string - but now Dustees are not only to be included in the King Gee range, but Hinchey and his business partner, Damian Cullen, are talking to a big US workwear company and are considering designing similar attachable masks for other industries. Exporting worm wee and poo to China seems like a crazy idea, but for Chris Ma, of the Woods International agribusiness company, it made perfect sense. In 2003, the entrepreneur took one litre of a specially treated concentrate of worm casings from his business partner's commercial worm farms in NSW to China to showcase the benefits of organic fertiliser. "All their plants were ready to die, and then after they used our fertiliser they called me and said their plants were reborn," Ma says. "They asked me what chemical I used and I told them it was just earthworm pee." As the first person to import organic fertiliser to China, Ma has opened new doors to industry using something that thousands of Australian households have sitting in their backyards. "I was the first person to bring this to China, and everyone kept telling me I was crazy," he says. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 24 Nov 10 - 06:40 PM The beleaguered state of Arizona has just concluded one of the most lopsided elections in state history, in which Republicans captured every statewide office, seven of ten Congressional seats, and three-quarter supermajorities in both legislative bodies. Conservatives took most of the local and municipal seats as well, and voters passed ballot initiatives prohibiting affirmative action, allowing secret ballots in workplace elections (to hamper union organizing), and challenging coverage-mandate aspects of the recently passed federal health care bill. Despite this resoundingly ideological state sweep, there were still a number of surprisingly progressive results. Voters soundly rejected an NRA-backed proposition to make hunting a constitutional right Ð the only state to do so in this election cycle, where similar measures passed in South Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. Also rejected was a provision that would have allowed state trust land to be sold in the service of "protecting" military bases, as well as one that would have transferred over $100 million from a land conservation fund to the state's general fund. And overwhelmingly rejected (by 70 percent of the voters) was a measure that would have ended an early childhood services program and transferred its $300 million in revenues to the general fund. Most surprisingly, with the narrow passage of Proposition 203, Arizona became the 15th state to adopt a medical marijuana law. The measure was trailing in the tally following election day, began gaining ground as provisional and mail-in ballots were counted and finally surged ahead ten days after the election to ultimately prevail by about 4,000 votes out of almost 1.7 million ballots cast. Prop 203 was unique in Arizona's midterms in that it was the only citizen-referred initiative on the 2010 ballot; all of the others were referred directly by the Republican-dominated state legislature. The initiative garnered more than 250,000 petition signatures to get on the ballot, a total exceeding the required number by more than 100,000. It passed despite being opposed by law enforcement, the state's top-ranked officials and both U.S. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Nov 10 - 11:39 AM Poor pony! |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Nov 10 - 11:17 PM more tattoo news (but not in Australia this time) Rolling Stones tattoo too wild for pony A German court has ruled that tattooing a pony with the Rolling Stones' famous tongue logo would infringe animal rights law. The court in Muenster, north-western Germany, found against the white pony's owner, who wanted to tattoo the animal's right hind thigh to make it "more uniquely beautiful". He had already shaved a large portion of hair from the animal and pre-tattooed the outline of the tongue, 15 square centimetres in area. "The tattooing of a warm-blooded vertebrate contravenes animal protection laws," the court said. "This forbids causing an animal pain without reason." In addition, the court took into account the inability of the animal to understand why it was being tattooed. The court also said the owner's desire to "beautify" the pony masked a more commercial purpose. "He wanted to make money from a 'tattoo service for animals'," the court said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 27 Oct 10 - 04:38 AM Man charged over rude tattoo Police at Ipswich west of Brisbane have charged a 21-year-old tattooist who is accused of putting an obscene picture on a customer's back instead of the image requested. The 25-year-old customer wanted a yin and yang symbol and a dragon but instead was given a 40 centimetre tattoo of a penis and a rude slogan implying he was gay. It is believed the pair had earlier been involved in an argument. Police say the tattooist will appear in court next month charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one charge relating to the Public Safety Act. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Oct 10 - 08:43 PM Not As Private as you Think Not As Private As You Think Andy Greenberg, 09.25.08, 06:00 PM EDT Users' confusion about their online privacy raises questions about whether the private sector will adequately protect personal data. The Daily Number: 57 News for just over half of all Americans who use the Web: Companies don't need to let you know if they're watching you online. A report published Thursday by the Consumer Reports National Research Center shows that 57% of Web users mistakenly believe that before monitoring their online browsing, companies are legally required to identify themselves, spell out why they're collecting data and who they intend to share it with. Sixty-one percent believe what they do online is "private and not shared without their permission," and 43% of users incorrectly believe that a court order is required to monitor Web-browsing activities. That doesn't mean users aren't concerned about online privacy. Seventy-two percent of respondents to Consumer Reports' poll said they were troubled by the idea that their behavior is tracked by companies. Fifty-three percent of users said they were uncomfortable with Internet firms merely using their e-mail content or browsing history to show them more relevant ads. That mix of concern and ignorance could have broad implications for the Web's advertising regulations. Companies that sit on mountains of users' Web-browsing data, including search engines, ad networks and Internet service providers, argue that self-regulation and competition are better than new laws for safeguarding privacy online. But if consumers aren't aware of how their data move around the Web, companies have little incentive to compete over privacy standards, advocates contend. The newest chapter in the debate between laws and self-regulation: whether Internet service providers should be legally prevented from selling data to advertisers. That data-selling practice has come under scrutiny since Redwood City, Calif.-based NebuAd began partnering with ISPs, including Charter Communications (nasdaq: CHTR - news - people ), Embarq (nyse: EQ - news - people ) and WOW, using the providers' massive collection of user-browsing data to better target and place Web ads. (See "Broadband Indiscretions.") NebuAd's innovative ad tactics offer broadband providers a lucrative new revenue stream, but have raised flags with lawmakers who see it as a new method of tracking that's more invasive than the data collection schemes of search engines and ad networks. (See "Senate Grills Wiretapping Ad Firm.") In a hearing Thursday before the Senate's Committee on Commerce, Energy and Transportation, representatives from broadband providers AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ), Time Warner (nyse: TWX - news - people ) and Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ - news - people ) argued that NebuAd's indiscretions mean ISPs need more self-regulation, not new laws. The three providers reassured lawmakers that none of them have partnered with ad firms or plan to sell Web-browsing data. Verizon and Time Warner also laid out proposed frameworks of self-regulatory rules that require ISPs to ask permission to track user behavior and create standards of security for how the information is stored. But Gigi Sohn, an attorney with the advocacy group Public Knowledge, told senators that wasn't enough. Competition, she pointed out, hasn't been particularly strong between ISPs, many of whom hold near-monopolies on entire regions. Some providers that partnered with NebuAd in particular, she argued, served rural areas and had practically no competitors. "Can I be the skunk at the self-regulatory party?" she asked. "This notion that there's going to be this competitive pressure … I'm dubious." Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who chaired the hearing, seemed to waiver between supporting new legislation and self-regulation. But he pointed to the Consumer Reports research as evidence that Web users might not be able to discern which broadband providers adhere to privacy standards and which don't. Dorgan, who sat in on Wednesday's hearings on Wall Street's meltdown and the current bailout plan, said it served as a reminder that self-regulatory measures aren't always enough. "This reminds me of last night's discussion about 'firewalls,' " Dorgan said. In the case of that system's self-regulation, he remarked, "It turns out the firewalls weren't so fireproof." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Oct 10 - 08:36 PM What's in Fast Food Chicken Nuggets? (Hint - it isn't chicken) From Organic Authority, posted to facebook by Dr. Andrew Weil. Frying chicken is fairly simple, if a little messy. You dip pieces of chicken into a mix of egg and milk, roll them around in flour and spices, then cook the chicken in sizzling hot oil until the pieces are brown, crispy and delicious. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 14 Oct 10 - 12:00 AM Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns gave a moving announcement at the Oct. 12, 2010 City Council meeting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4. It's long, but stick with it. It's good, very moving. I think it will communicate to troubled teens as well as any message out there. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Oct 10 - 11:07 AM That's touch feely enough to last me for years. Gag. This thread is for published news stories, not internet chain emails. Just so you know. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: wysiwyg Date: 05 Oct 10 - 08:49 AM Apropos of nothing, see below; of course it does not excuse or make just all the bad things ever done in the name of "America," but I found it a useful counterpoint. ~S~ ========== Subject: Fw: Fwd: An American It really is sad that there are so many in this, our own Country, who do not understand, nor appreciate what this individual from Australia is saying... THANKS AUSTRALIA !!! Written by an Australian Dentist To Kill an American You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!) 'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan. An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as Native Americans. An American is Christian, or s/he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God. An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness. An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return. When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country! As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists. So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American. |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: gnu Date: 29 Sep 10 - 01:30 PM 2 hours, 1 minute ago By The Canadian Press OTTAWA - A network of philanthropists, business leaders and government are distributing 5,000 kid-proof laptops to children in aboriginal communities across Canada. The specially designed laptops are low-cost, low-power devices, about the size of a textbook and meant to be used in remote areas. They come with built-in wireless capacity and a glare-free screen that can easily be used outside. Each computer is loaded with customized child-centred programming meant to encourage literacy, health and learning about science, finances and aboriginal culture. Cree singer Buffy Sainte-Marie helped develop the programming. Led by the Belinda Stronach Foundation, the donor group includes the Ontario government, the Bank of Montreal and nickel giant Vale, among others. The effort is the Canadian part of a global campaign, One Laptop Per Child. "I believe strongly in combining the power of technology and education and investing in our young people," Stronach said in a statement. "Aboriginal kids should have the same opportunities as every other child in Canada." |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 27 Sep 10 - 01:25 PM MUGS FOR THUGS Munich Oktoberfest Sees Rise in Assaults with Beer Glasses While certain crimes are down at Oktoberfest this year, there have been more attacks with an unlikely, yet readily available, weapon: the one-liter beer stein. Some of the victims have been whisked away in ambulances with concussions and fractured skulls caused by fights involving the heavy glasses. (der Spiegel) |
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Subject: RE: BS: News of Note (was 'I Read it . . .') From: Amos Date: 21 Sep 10 - 02:22 PM An Austrian zookeeper enlisted the help of unwitting rhinos by growing cannabis in their enclosure. The scheme worked for years until a stool pigeon betrayed him. An Austrian zoo has fired a zookeeper after discovering that he had been secretly growing a cannabis plantation in the rhinoceros enclosure he was in charge of. It was a clever scheme because the 59-year-old man had exclusive access to the enclosure at Salzburg Zoo, and the presence of the notoriously irritable one-ton beasts was likely to deter the curious. Police discovered the 33 cannabis plants after getting a tip-off from a drug user that the cannabis grower had been supplying. The zookeeper had been in charge of the animals for a number of years. "It was appalling. We had never thought something like that could happen in our zoo," the director of the zoo, Sabine Grebner, told local newspaper Salzburger Krone. "We cater for families and children -- we don't want anything to do with drugs and these people." Media reports said that the cannabis plants had been well camouflaged and that the unsuspecting rhinos did not have access to the calming vegetation. (Der Spiegel) |
