Thursday, January 31, 2008

Retreat? Hell, we just got here!

~Lloyd W. Williams USMC

Berkeley council tells Marines to leave

... That's the message from the Berkeley City Council, which voted 6-3 Tuesday night to tell the U.S. Marines that its Shattuck Avenue recruiting station "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

In addition, the council voted to explore enforcing its law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against the Marines because of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. And it officially encouraged the women's peace group Code Pink to impede the work of the Marines in the city by protesting in front of the station.

In a separate item, the council voted 8-1 to give Code Pink a designated parking space in front of the recruiting station once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week from noon to 4 p.m.

...

The Marines have been in Berkeley for a little more than a year, having moved from Alameda in December of 2006. For about the past four months, Code Pink has been protesting in front of the station.

"I believe in the Code Pink cause. The Marines don't belong here, they shouldn't have come here, and they should leave," said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates after votes were cast.

...

An employee of a nearby business who asked not to be identified said Wednesday the elderly Code Pink protesters are aggressive, take up parking spaces, block the sidewalk with their yoga moves, smoke in the doorways, and are noisy.

"Most of the people around here think they're a joke," the woman said.

Wozniak said he was opposed to giving Code Pink a parking space because it favors free speech rights of one group over another.

"There's a line between protesting and harassing, and that concerns me," Wozniak said. "It looks like we are showing favoritism. We have to respect the other side, and not abuse their rights. This is not good policy." ...

Unbelievable! A local government is taking steps to prevent the most important job of the government - providing a national defense. The alternative to recruitment centers is a draft! Well, these people would probably rather have a draft because it would win more people over to their side and stop the war. These people are sick! The Marines deserve so much better than this!

GOD BLESS THE MARINES AND ALL OUR ARMED FORCES! TO HELL WITH SMELLY OLD HIPPIES! SEMPER FI!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Villiage idiot parading around with toy gun



Reuters Caption: Fernando Aguirre, locally known as Osama Ben Laden, patrols a slum in Bogota January 17, 2008. Aguirre, who claims to be the son of al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, patrols the most dangerous slums of Bogota and lives from the contributions received from those seeking his protection. Aguirre informs police on petty crimes being committed and is allowed by authorities to brandish his fake rifle. Picture taken on January 17

Considering this is Columbia, I highly doubt his rifle is fake. I don't think a guy claiming he's Osama bin Laden could extort money if he didn't have fire power, otherwise he'd just be the villiage idiot, allowed to parade around with a toy gun.


Does Reuters only take governments by their word when they are NOT the U.S.? Either they are far too credulous or Reuters just blew this guy's cover and he's going to lose his source of income or be gunned down by people with REAL rifles.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Reason #9587 why I am ashamed to be from Massachusetts

I was looking into Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick on Wikipedia and for some reason I had always thought the "incident" had occurred when he was in his younger college days - a youthful indiscretion. Well, for those who don't know, here's the story in a nutshell:

In the summer of 1969, Ted Kennedy, the 37 year old Senate Majority Whip from MA, drove his car off a bridge after a party some time after 12:40am. Unfortunately, Mary Jo Kopechne was still inside after Ted managed to escape the car. Kennedy never called the police or for help and it wasn't until the next morning that some fishermen saw the car in the water and finally the police were called. I will now quote the rest from the Wikipedia page on the Chappaquiddick incident, which I recommend reading for more details on the senator's malfeasance:

The diver, John Farrar, would later testify at the inquest that Kopechne's body was pressed up in the car in the spot where an air bubble would have formed. He interpreted this to mean that Kopechne had survived for a while after the initial accident in the air bubble, and concluded that "Had I received a call within five to ten minutes of the accident occurring, and was able, as I was the following morning, to be at the victim's side within twenty-five minutes of receiving the call, in such event there is a strong possibility that she would have been alive on removal from the submerged car."

And Massachusetts has reelected him to the Senate ever since!

Kennedy turns his back on ALL women!

NY Feminists Accuse Kennedy of Betrayal


... "Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal," NOW's New York State chapter said in a scorching rebuke. "Senator Kennedy's endorsement of Hillary Clinton's opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard."

On Monday, Kennedy, D-Mass., his son Patrick and his niece Caroline Kennedy announced their support for Obama. Edward Kennedy said the country needs a leader who can bring people together and create change.

But the move angered the state chapter of NOW, which called Kennedy's decision the "greatest betrayal."

"We are repaid with his abandonment!" the statement said. "He's picked the new guy over us. He's joined the list of progressive white men who can't or won't handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton."

The group said it was our obligation to "elect, unabashedly, a president that is the first woman after centuries of men who 'know what's best for us.'" ...

Right . . . Ted Kennedy a champion for women! Just not when they're underwater in Chappaquiddick (badum bum ching!) Or - Ted Kennedy, a man who stands for women - especially blondes in short skirts!

On a more serious note, how dare these NAGs presume to say that women have an obligation to vote for Hillary Clinton because of her gender or even that a man's endorsement of another man hits all women hard and is a betrayal! Thanks, but I can think for myself and I will NOT be voting for Hillary.

I always said Brady sold his soul to the devil


I just liked this picture of Tom Brady with Satan running toward him with a pitchfork.

See related post: Devil Went Down to Boston

Great, something to look forward to

Middle-age is truly depressing, study finds

Middle age is truly miserable, according to a study using data from 80 countries showing that depression is most common among men and women in their forties.

The British and U.S. researchers found that happiness for people ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe follows a U-shaped curve where life begins cheerful before turning tough during middle age and then returning to the joys of youth in the golden years.

Obama needs to get a life

AU Embraces Obama on 'One of the Greatest Days of My Life'
"Today is one of the greatest days of my life," [how sad!] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama declared Monday before hundreds of people outside the Bender Arena at American University in Washington D.C., where minutes before three members of the Kennedy family had endorsed his bid for the presidency.

...

"There is no one else I would rather have in my foxhole," Obama told the cheering overflow crowd. "It's nice to have Ted Kennedy in my court."

[... but not in my car . . . OH SNAP!]

Friday, January 25, 2008

Wife of the Year

Sorry, but marriage and sex DON'T go together
Carrie Jones hasn't had sex with her husband Hal, a City banker, for the past four years. Nor does she want to. Sex is something she can no longer summon the effort to endure - with the man she married, at least.

She admits she stays in her sexless relationship for the sake of her children, aged nine and 11, and will remain celibate until the day they are grown up and she feels able to leave. At which point, she confesses, she will probably abandon her husband and begin a sexual odyssey to find the satisfaction that eludes her.

...
Unbelievably, her poor, unsuspecting husband is not only unaware of her plans to leave him. He also, she insists, has no idea that she has written a book or posed for these pictures. She seems as confident of him not finding out as she is that he is understanding of her feelings.

For when asked whether she worries that Hal may seek sexual
gratification elsewhere, she says: "I'm not concerned. I don't think that would happen. It's not Hal's fault that I wish to remain celibate; it's nothing he's said or done. He's a good man and a great dad. It's just that I don't want to be intimate with him any more."

Such cold words must leave her husband reeling? She insists not.

"There's a general understanding between us that I'm keeping the family unit together," she says. "Children need to be brought up by parents in a monogamous marriage. I wouldn't want to blow that apart, and I certainly wouldn't want the burden of being a single parent.

"I know from taking the kids on holiday on my own once when Hal was working that having sole responsibility for them is exhausting."

What a wonderful wife! Refuses to try to make her sex life work, won't talk to her husband about it but writes a book and puts her face on this article, stays with him only because the "burden" of taking care of the kids alone would be "exhausting," and plans to dump him once they are out of the house. Poor guy!

Remember the good old days of KGB beatings?

Yeah, I'd want to relive that, too...

Hey, at least they're not forgetting the past and be destined to repeat it

Gulag tourists line up for 'KGB beatings'

AN adventure park offers a journey back to the Soviet Union with KGB interrogation methods and "beatings" with a leather belt.

The 1984 Soviet Union theme park is located outside the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in an old bunker which served as a secret TV station in case of a nuclear attack.

Visitors to the park pay to be "beaten, interrogated and shouted at" by tour leaders dressed as agents of the Russian secret police, the KGB.

Throughout the Cold War, the KGB became increasingly obsessed with hunting down allegedly ideological subversives in the Soviet Bloc. Most dissidents were sent to gulags for indefinite periods.

Organisers say they wanted to show life under Soviet rule. For those old enough to remember, the two-hour tour can aid in the healing process.

"There are still many people in Lithuania who are sick with Soviet nostalgia so we've started this show to help them recover," a spokeswoman for the park told Reuters.


Related links: Idiots line up to be tasered; Communism should never be cool

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Devil Went Down to Boston

I KNEW IT!!! I've been saying this for years!

So this is why Boston sports are so good

URGENT BREAKING NEWS!!!


I know I, along with millions of others, will never forget where I was when I first heard the news that Puff changed his name to P. Diddy. Or was it Puffy to Diddy? Or P. Daddy? Anyway, I'm sure this will be the last time I am shocked and saddened by the passing of another Sean Jean Puffy P. Diddy Daddy Combs name!




The artist formerly known as Puff Daddy, Puff, Puffy, P. Diddy and Diddy has decided to change his name yet again.



The rap mogul - real name Sean Combs - now simply wants to be known as Sean John, the name of his US clothing and fragrance brand.



He says: "I have always evolved and taken a different name each time. It's nothing unusual where I come from. "Right now I want to be Sean John because that's where I am."

Suffer the little children

This is pretty outrageous:

35 years pass, but not debate

To commemorate Tuesday's 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a woman's right to an abortion, clergy blessed this city's new Planned Parenthood clinic in a ceremony dubbed "On Sacred Ground."

"Today is more than about the building and about bricks and mortar," Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Linda Scharf said. "It's a blessing to demonstrate the support of the clergy."

... Rev. Larry Phillips of Schenectady's Emmanuel-Friedens Church declared the ground "sacred and holy ... where women's voices and stories are welcomed, valued and affirmed; sacred ground where women are treated with dignity, supported in their role as moral decision-makers ... sacred ground where the violent voices of hatred and oppression are quelled."

[More like where the voices of innocent babies are quelled or snuffed out. Abortion is hatred and oppression put into action.]

... Phillips led everyone outside where they laid their hands on the brick and limestone as the minister declared, "This is sacred ground."
[... Yeah, sacred as a cemetery]


Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference makes an excellent point:

"For many years abortion proponents have been saying this is not a religious issue, you should keep religion out of this, and now all of a sudden they turn around and decide to bless an abortion clinic to gain respect for a procedure everybody knows is not worthy of respect," Gallagher added.

[Apparently it's a religious or moral issue ONLY if your religion or morals say abortion is ok.]

Finally, some outrage

I totally agree with this WSJ editorial about how nice it is that liberals are finally admitting how dirty and deceptive the Clintons are.

Obama's Clinton Education

... Mr. Obama told a TV interviewer. "He continues to make statements that are not supported by the facts -- whether it's about my record of opposition to the war in Iraq or our approach to organizing in Las Vegas."


Now he knows how the rest of us feel.


The Illinois Senator is still a young man, but not so young as to have missed the 1990s. He nonetheless seems to be awakening slowly to what everyone else already knows about the Clintons, which is that they will say and do whatever they "gotta" say or do to win. Listen closely to Mr. Obama, and you can almost hear the echoes of Bob Dole at the end of the 1996 campaign asking, "Where's the outrage?"


This has been the core of the conservative critique of the Clintons for years. So it is illuminating to hear the same critique coming from Mr. Obama and his supporters now that his candidacy poses a threat to the return of the Clinton dynasty. Even Democrats are now admitting the Clintons don't tell the truth -- at least until Mrs. Clinton wins the nomination. ...

Depends on what the meaning of shame is

Raise your hand if you're loving the interparty battle between Obama and the Clintons! [raises both hands]

Some in Party Bristle At Clintons' Attacks
Anti-Obama Ad Heightens Unity Fears

...Responding to the negative ad, Dick Harpootlian, a former chairman of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, accused the Clintons of using the "politics of deception," and he compared the former president to the late Lee Atwater, a
Republican operative from South Carolina who was known for his tough tactics.


In response, Bill Clinton said Harpootlian's comments were a distraction, and he accused the Obama campaign of funneling smears through the media.


"They are feeding you this because they know this is what you want to cover. This is what you live for," he told CNN reporter Jessica Yellin, who asked him for a response to Harpootlian at an appearance in South Carolina. "They just spin you up on this and you happily go along," Clinton said. As aides steered him away, he scolded: "Shame on you."


In Washington, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who endorsed Obama last week, castigated the former president for what he called his "glib cheap shots" at Obama, saying both sides should settle down but placing the blame predominantly on Clinton.


"That's beneath the dignity of a former president," Leahy told reporters, adding: "He is not helping anyone, and certainly not helping the Democratic Party."


That concern was also voiced by some neutral Democrats, who said that the former president's aggressive role, along with the couple's harsh approach recently, threatens to divide the party in the general election.


A few prominent Democrats, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.) and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), have spoken to the former president about the force of his Obama critiques. There is some fear within the party that if Obama becomes the nominee, he could emerge personally battered and politically compromised. And there is concern that a Clinton victory could come at a cost -- particularly a loss of black voters, who could blame her for Obama's defeat and stay home in November.


"I'm not underestimating that this could be divisive, but I think both camps know how important this is, that it doesn't go beyond repair," said Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.), the most vulnerable Democrat up for reelection next year, who is unaligned. ...

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

On the lighter side . . .

Liked these from over the long weekend:

The Twin Cities Get Ready for Winter
Hipster guy to chick: You know, if you drink a lot of Tabasco, your sh*t will really burn... No, I don't mean it will hurt. I mean you can light it on fire and it will keep you warm when it's cold out.

Overheard by:
hungry muppet
via Overheard Everywhere, Jan 21, 2008



12PM Is There Anything It Can't Do?
Web artist: Man, it's cold out here! Thank God I bought my mittens.
Graphic artist: I hate wearing mittens... When my hands are cold, I just use my crotch.

731 Pilot Road
Las Vegas, Nevada

Overheard by: Sr. Graphics Goddess
via Overheard in the Office, Jan 21, 2008

Pro-"Choice" Violence

BTW, the article below noted the March for Life was a peaceful protest. Here's some pro-choice violence for you (aside from the 48.5 million butchered babies since 1973, of course):

Michigan Man Assault Pregnant Woman, Kills Baby for Refusing Abortion

Wisconsin Woman Victimized in Attempted Forced Abortion Wants Bond Money

Kansas Legislator Apologizes for Assaulting Pro-Life Advocate at Rally

Wisconsin Pastor Murdered for Refusing to Give Grandson Abortion Money

Woman Whose Parents Kidnapped Her for Forced Abortion Speaks Out

Iowa Man Charged With Assaulting Pro-Life Advocate at Clinton Rally

Here are only a few recent articles on child molesters using abortion to hide their crimes and abortion clinics covering it up or not reporting it:

Connecticut Sees Fourth Case of Abortion Used to Hide Sexual Abuse Crimes

Coach in Abortion-Rape Coverup Was Banned From Sports, Not Arrested

March for Life, crazy pro-choice response

Another successful, inspiring March for Life yesterday in the bitter cold! (Pro-choicers only do a march about once every 10 years, in the spring)

Aside from being shocked that the media even acknowledged the hundreds of thousands in town for the event, I found the wording from the NAG leader in this USA Today article very interesting:

Abortion foes protest 35th year of 'Roe'
Peaceful protest in D.C. lauded by President Bush


...Several dozen women marched in support of abortion rights. "In the last 35 years the anti-choice groups have grown more vicious, lashing out against the landmark Supreme Court decision as part of their on-going campaign to eviscerate it," National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy said in a statement. ...

Geez, you'd think someone who supports the vicious evisceration of babies from the womb would use different language to distract from that fact.

She might as well have said pro-lifers were protesting Roe v. Wade "as part of their on-going campaign to:

Hey, at least we only want to eviscerate a court ruling.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Women Deserve Better Than Abortion


I enjoyed this refreshing perspective about the lawyer who argued for abortion in Roe v. Wade from a Feminists for Life email. I couldn't find a link to it, so I'll quote it in its entirety.


By the way, the number of yearly abortions has fallen to a thirty year low of "only" 1,200,000. That adds up to about 48.5 million people missing in the US since 1973. We've gone too far.

Weddington's Betrayal of Women

Serrin M. Foster

President
Feminists for Life of America


On the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, many will focus on the undeniable humanity of the unborn child now seen clearly by millions through sophisticated sonograms on Oprah as well as in Life and Newsweek cover stories.


Meanwhile, I will be reflecting on the impact of the choice made by attorney Sarah Weddington in 1973.


As her arguments for abortion before the Supreme Court made clear, Weddington saw the discrimination and other injustices faced by pregnant women. But she did not demand that these injustices be remedied. Instead, she demanded for women the “right” to submit to these injustices by destroying their pregnancies.


Weddington rightly pointed out the unmet needs of students: “…there are many schools where a woman is forced to quit if she becomes pregnant.” But Weddington didn’t argue against pregnancy discrimination or even for alternate solutions for a pregnant student.


Weddington did no better for women in the workplace. “In the matter of employment, she often is forced to quit at an early point in her pregnancy. She has no provision for maternity leave… She cannot get unemployment compensation under our laws, because the laws hold that she is not eligible for employment, being pregnant, and therefore is eligible for no unemployment compensation.”


For women with serious medical needs, she further noted: “There is no duty for employers to rehire women if they must drop out to carry a pregnancy to term. And, of course, this is especially hard on the many women in Texas who are heads of their own households and must provide for their already existing children.”


Weddington clearly saw the bind low-income women face when experiencing unplanned pregnancy: “At the same time, she can get no welfare to help her at a time when she has no unemployment compensation and she's not eligible for any help in getting a job to provide for herself.”


Weddington repeatedly said that women need “relief” from pregnancy, instead of arguing that women need relief from these injustices.


What if Weddington had used her legal acumen to challenge the system and address women’s needs?


By accepting pregnancy discrimination in school and workplace and the lack of support in society for pregnant women and parents, especially the poor, Weddington and the Supreme Court betrayed women and undermined the support women need and deserve.


Since then, millions of women have paid the price, struggling in school and the workplace without societal support. After all, when “it’s her body, it’s her choice,” it’s her problem.


According to the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortion in America, half of all abortions are performed on college-age women.


Since 1994, Feminists for Life has worked to address the unmet needs of pregnant and parenting students and staff on college campuses. For the past decade FFL’s Pregnancy Resource Forums on campuses across the country have revealed the still-unmet needs of pregnant and parenting students — especially a lack of housing, child care, telecommuting options, maternity coverage and medical riders for additional children. FFL found there is rarely a central place on campus for pregnancy and parenting resources. Even when resources are available, they are often not publicized. For pregnant and parenting students kept in the dark about the help they need and deserve, perception is their reality.


This March, which is Women’s History Month, Feminists for Life is helping college students make history for women by hosting Rallies for Resources on campuses across the country — so that women don’t feel driven to choose between sacrificing their children or their education and career plans.


The proposed Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act, a bipartisan effort led by Senators Elizabeth Dole and Ben Nelson and Representatives Marcy Kaptur and Sue Myrick, would make grants available for up to 200 colleges and universities to host pregnancy resource forums, create resource centers on campus, and communicate available support on and off campus.


There was one thing Weddington got right. “Whether she's unmarried; whether she's pursuing an education; whether she's pursuing a career; whether she has family problems; all of the problems of personal and family life, for a woman, are bound up in the problem of abortion.”


Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women.


Thirty-five years after Weddington capitulated to inherently unfair practices against pregnant and parenting women, those on both sides of the abortion debate should unite and say “no” to the status quo. Clearly women deserve better.

Scoop your poop for Jesus!

Holding Jesus Hostage

Anonymous residents on Lindy Lane claim Jean Mansel isn't picking up after her dogs, so to entice her to do so, they took something close to her heart.

Those residents say their Mansel's wiener dogs leave their leavings in their yard.

So, they stole her 80 pound statue of Jesus.

..."The note reads:

“We are holding Jesus ransom until you clean up the poopie from your wieners and trust us we see you take your wieners for long walks w/out picking up their poopie in our yards. This has upset us dearly so please clean up all the weiner poopie, if you want to see Jesus unharmed. Sincerely, Lindy Lane Residents.”

Friday, January 11, 2008

Two Daily Mail horror stories!

Girl, 18, confesses in TV documentary: 'I've slept with 50 men in TWO years'

...The youngster told her 45-year-old mother, who is separated from Cheryl's father, how she picked up men, including a drug dealer, by trawling online dating and networking sites in internet cafes.

...In a televised confrontation with her mother, the teenager drew a series of stick men to represent her dozens of partners and appeared shocked when Debbie Tunney revealed she had only had three sexual partners in her life.

The 18-year-old said: "We had to write our numbers on a board for the show and the initial for each partner's name. I couldn't believe my mum had only had sex with three men.

"It made my number seem really high and it was worse because I could only remember about 40 of their names. I have decided not to sleep around any more."

Astonishingly, given her admission that she did not always use condoms, the young woman tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases.

She said: "That is so weird. How did that happen?"






Fatal Attraction

I lost everything after succumbing to the office piranha's seduction


The office Christmas party loomed, and with Ellen heavily pregnant, Colin decided to go on his own.

It was a decision he was to regret. "Clare was there, we both had a bit to drink and we ended up at a hotel," he recalls. "I realise now I should never have gone on my own to this party. Clare looked wonderful and I could no longer resist."

By 4am the day after, however, and as Colin put his key into the front door of his home, he was already regretting his night of passion. "As soon as I glimpsed the Christmas decorations in the front room that Ellen had done with the boys I felt a huge stab of guilt," he says.

...When I tried to tell her it was over, she would beg me not to go, and cry. She threatened if I didn't leave Ellen and marry her, she would kill herself. Once, she acted as if she were carrying out her threat, running across the road and was almost hit by a car."

...At work, the writing was on the wall. "People were horrified I could have had an affair while Ellen was pregnant. Pressure was put on me to go, and I felt so humiliated and ashamed that I had no alternative but to leave."

...Colin has another job, although he says the affair has set his career back several years.

"Since this woman threw herself at me I've been a broken man. We had a good marriage, but like many men I was tempted - and now I am paying a higher price than I could ever have imagined."

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Weird pictures today


Hop on board! Meet Thailand's easy-riding biker frog

This is "Nong Oui", Thailand's amphibian answer to the Hell's Angels.

There is nothing the black-spotted frog likes better than taking her Harley out for a spin - even if she is a bit of a poseur.



For one bride, her perfect wedding had to have that extra layer. So American Chidi Ogbuta had a life-size wedding cake made in her own image.

Standing over 5ft tall, the spectacular cake, made up of butterscotch and polymer clay, was an exact replica of the bride in her wedding dress.

More Knutette


I'm going to die from cuteness!

Animal lovers can breathe a sigh of relief at this sight of the tiny polar bear cub neglected by its mother, sleeping happily in the home of a helper who will now rear it.

The yet-unnamed baby seemed in grave danger when its mother Vera, began violently swinging it around by the scruff of its neck.

The 8lb baby had to be rescued by keepers at the zoo in Nuremberg amid concerns its mother would harm or even kill it.

...An attempt to force the bears to raise their cubs as nature intended has already led to two others being eaten by their confused mother, Wilma.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

New Knut!

Too cute!




Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Nuremberg Zoo is preparing for a stampede of visitors and seeking marketing help after keepers decided to hand rear a baby polar bear to save it from injury.

The new bear's name will be chosen in a public competition, Deputy Mayor Horst Foerther told a televised press conference in Nuremberg. The cub was removed from the polar-bear enclosure at the age of four weeks after its mother Vera took her baby out of the cave and dropped it several times from a dangerous height.

``The cub had no chance of being properly reared by its mother, so with heavy hearts we decided we would have to intervene,'' said Dag Encke, the director of the zoo
.

The new butterfly ballot conspiracy

How sad for the state of our democracy that we have citizens for whom ballot order can change election outcomes.

Ballot Changes Cited in Vote's Discrepancy With Polls

Without a doubt, a big source of the discrepancy between the pre-election surveys and the election outcome in New Hampshire is the order of candidates' names on the ballot and in the surveys.

Our analysis of all recent primaries in New Hampshire showed that there was always a big primacy effect — big-name, big-vote-getting
candidates got 3 percent or more votes more when listed first on the ballot than when listed last.

...Thus, I'll bet that Clinton got at least 3 percent more votes than Obama simply because she was listed close to the top.

...More importantly, if New Hampshire had rotated name order in the voting booth as it has always done in the past, the race would probably have been too close to call without a recount and might even have been an Obama victory.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Overheards that made me LOL

... Without the Ball-Gag.

Middle-aged man: I like these hats they're selling. Oh, look at the one on her head! That looks warm.
Forlorn wife: That's her real hair. She has dreadlocks.
Middle-aged man: Oh, my! You can't take me anywhere.

--Union Square

Overheard by: Dizzle
via Overheard in New York, Dec 20, 2007

That's the "Big Three" of Medication, All Right

Little grandson: Yo! He gonna go get some dicks!
Ghetto grandma: Where you learn to talk like? [To other passengers] I'm sorry. He needs his medication.
Little grandson: Dicks! Bitch! Coca-Cola!

--N train
via Overheard in New York, Dec 22, 2007

Where Conspiracy Bloggers Come From

Kid: Hey, where does the line start?
Mom: All the way over there.
Kid: Dear God. My glasses have fooled me yet again!
via Overheard Everywhere, Dec 27, 2007

Kohl's
Howell, New Jersey


Justifiably Indignant?

White male customer: I want a small black coffee.
East Indian female cashier: Do you want cream and sugar in that?
White male customer: No, I want it black.
East Indian female cashier: Black?
White male customer, pointing at picture of black man in ad on the wall: Yes, black! I want it to look like that guy!

--Dunkin' Donuts, 53rd & Lex

Overheard by: next in line


via Overheard in New York, Dec 29, 2007