From the BBC:
Bookcase 'trap' killed US woman
The body of a missing US woman has been found by her family, wedged upside down behind a bookcase in her room.
Mariesa Weber, 38, is believed to have fallen over and become trapped as she tried to reach behind the bookcase to adjust the plug for a TV set.
Her family spent nearly two weeks searching for her, fearing she had been kidnapped from the house she shared with them in Florida.
Ms Weber may have died of suffocation, a local police spokesman said.
Her death was not being treated as suspicious, the spokesman said.
Ms Weber's parents last saw her alive in the family house on 28 October.
Unable to locate her after that, the family contacted the police, fearing she had been abducted.
Her body was eventually discovered when her sister noticed a foot protruding behind the bookcase in her bedroom.
"I'm sleeping in the same house as her for 11 days, looking for her. And she's right in the bedroom," the woman's mother, Connie Weber, told the St Petersburg Times newspaper.
The family told the newspaper they had noticed a strange smell from her room but had blamed it on rats.
They told the paper their daughter's light weight and petite frame may have contributed to her death.
"She's a little thing," her mother reportedly said. "And the bookcase is 6ft tall and solid. And she couldn't get out."
I'm not sure about the police where you live but if I report a missing person, I'm pretty sure they'll ask the question, 'Have you looked in their room?' and how long does it take to notice a foot sticking out from behind a bookcase?
Just think, if they'd only shopped at IKEA (where no bookcase is solid) the tragedy would never have happened.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
From the BBC:
Human species 'may split in two'
Humanity may split into an elite and an underclass, says Dr Curry
Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.
Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.
The human race would peak in the year 3000, he said - before a decline due to dependence on technology.
People would become choosier about their sexual partners, causing humanity to divide into sub-species, he added.
The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.
Race 'ironed out'
But in the nearer future, humans will evolve in 1,000 years into giants between 6ft and 7ft tall, he predicts, while life-spans will have extended to 120 years, Dr Curry claims.
Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.
Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.
However, Dr Curry warns, in 10,000 years time humans may have paid a genetic price for relying on technology.
Spoiled by gadgets designed to meet their every need, they could come to resemble domesticated animals.
Receding chins
Social skills, such as communicating and interacting with others, could be lost, along with emotions such as love, sympathy, trust and respect. People would become less able to care for others, or perform in teams.
Physically, they would start to appear more juvenile. Chins would recede, as a result of having to chew less on processed food.
There could also be health problems caused by reliance on medicine, resulting in weak immune systems. Preventing deaths would also help to preserve the genetic defects that cause cancer.
Further into the future, sexual selection - being choosy about one's partner - was likely to create more and more genetic inequality, said Dr Curry.
The logical outcome would be two sub-species, "gracile" and "robust" humans similar to the Eloi and Morlocks foretold by HG Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine.
"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is a possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology reducing our natural capacity to resist disease, or our evolved ability to get along with each other, said Dr Curry
I like the sound of the bigger penises & pert breasts but I do suspect that the 'dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures' are already with us.
Human species 'may split in two'
Humanity may split into an elite and an underclass, says Dr Curry
Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.
Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.
The human race would peak in the year 3000, he said - before a decline due to dependence on technology.
People would become choosier about their sexual partners, causing humanity to divide into sub-species, he added.
The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.
Race 'ironed out'
But in the nearer future, humans will evolve in 1,000 years into giants between 6ft and 7ft tall, he predicts, while life-spans will have extended to 120 years, Dr Curry claims.
Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.
Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.
However, Dr Curry warns, in 10,000 years time humans may have paid a genetic price for relying on technology.
Spoiled by gadgets designed to meet their every need, they could come to resemble domesticated animals.
Receding chins
Social skills, such as communicating and interacting with others, could be lost, along with emotions such as love, sympathy, trust and respect. People would become less able to care for others, or perform in teams.
Physically, they would start to appear more juvenile. Chins would recede, as a result of having to chew less on processed food.
There could also be health problems caused by reliance on medicine, resulting in weak immune systems. Preventing deaths would also help to preserve the genetic defects that cause cancer.
Further into the future, sexual selection - being choosy about one's partner - was likely to create more and more genetic inequality, said Dr Curry.
The logical outcome would be two sub-species, "gracile" and "robust" humans similar to the Eloi and Morlocks foretold by HG Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine.
"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is a possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology reducing our natural capacity to resist disease, or our evolved ability to get along with each other, said Dr Curry
I like the sound of the bigger penises & pert breasts but I do suspect that the 'dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures' are already with us.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
China acts on funeral strippers
From the BBC:
Five people have been detained in China for running striptease send-offs at funerals, state media say.
The once-common events are held to boost the number of mourners, as large crowds are seen as a mark of honour.
But the arrests, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, could signal the end of the rural tradition.
Local officials have since ordered a halt to "obscene performances" and say funeral plans have to be submitted in advance, Xinhua news agency said.
The arrests, in Donghai county, followed striptease acts at a farmer's funeral, the agency said.
Two hundred people were said to have attended the event, which was held on 16 August.
The Beijing News said the event was later revealed by a Chinese TV station. The leaders of five striptease troupes were held, it said, including two involved in the farmer's funeral.
"Striptease used to be a common practice at funerals in Donghai's rural areas to allure viewers," Xinhua agency said.
"Local villagers believe that the more people who attend the funeral, the more the dead person is honoured."
As well as ordering an end to the practice, officials have also said residents can report "funeral misdeeds" on a hotline, earning a reward for information.
Now I know what I want at my funeral, no 'I Did It My Way' and cucumber sandwiches for me.
From the BBC:
Five people have been detained in China for running striptease send-offs at funerals, state media say.
The once-common events are held to boost the number of mourners, as large crowds are seen as a mark of honour.
But the arrests, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, could signal the end of the rural tradition.
Local officials have since ordered a halt to "obscene performances" and say funeral plans have to be submitted in advance, Xinhua news agency said.
The arrests, in Donghai county, followed striptease acts at a farmer's funeral, the agency said.
Two hundred people were said to have attended the event, which was held on 16 August.
The Beijing News said the event was later revealed by a Chinese TV station. The leaders of five striptease troupes were held, it said, including two involved in the farmer's funeral.
"Striptease used to be a common practice at funerals in Donghai's rural areas to allure viewers," Xinhua agency said.
"Local villagers believe that the more people who attend the funeral, the more the dead person is honoured."
As well as ordering an end to the practice, officials have also said residents can report "funeral misdeeds" on a hotline, earning a reward for information.
Now I know what I want at my funeral, no 'I Did It My Way' and cucumber sandwiches for me.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Filipino 'dwarf' judge loses case
From the BBC:
A Philippines judge who said he consulted imaginary mystic dwarves has failed to convince the Supreme Court to allow him to keep his job.
Florentino Floro was appealing against a three-year inquiry which led to his removal due to incompetence and bias.
He told investigators three mystic dwarves - Armand, Luis and Angel - had helped him to carry out healing sessions during breaks in his chambers.
The court said psychic phenomena had no place in the judiciary.
The bench backed a medical finding that the judge was suffering from psychosis.
'Dwarf dalliance'
The Manila trial judge had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the complaint and return him to the bench, after being sacked in April.
"They should not have dismissed me for what I believed," Mr Floro told reporters after filing his appeal in May.
The judge said he had made a covenant with his dwarf friends that he could write while in a trance and that he had been seen by several people in two places at the same time.
Judge Floro reportedly changed from blue court robes to black each Friday "to recharge his psychic powers".
In a letter to the court he said: "From obscurity, my name and the three mystic dwarves became immortal."
However, the Supreme Court said dalliance with dwarves would gradually erode the public's acceptance of the judiciary as the guardian of the law, if not make it an object of ridicule.
How does Judge Floro's interaction with his three dwarves differ from an American Supreme Court judge asking God for guidance?
Answers on a postcard please.
From the BBC:
A Philippines judge who said he consulted imaginary mystic dwarves has failed to convince the Supreme Court to allow him to keep his job.
Florentino Floro was appealing against a three-year inquiry which led to his removal due to incompetence and bias.
He told investigators three mystic dwarves - Armand, Luis and Angel - had helped him to carry out healing sessions during breaks in his chambers.
The court said psychic phenomena had no place in the judiciary.
The bench backed a medical finding that the judge was suffering from psychosis.
'Dwarf dalliance'
The Manila trial judge had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the complaint and return him to the bench, after being sacked in April.
"They should not have dismissed me for what I believed," Mr Floro told reporters after filing his appeal in May.
The judge said he had made a covenant with his dwarf friends that he could write while in a trance and that he had been seen by several people in two places at the same time.
Judge Floro reportedly changed from blue court robes to black each Friday "to recharge his psychic powers".
In a letter to the court he said: "From obscurity, my name and the three mystic dwarves became immortal."
However, the Supreme Court said dalliance with dwarves would gradually erode the public's acceptance of the judiciary as the guardian of the law, if not make it an object of ridicule.
How does Judge Floro's interaction with his three dwarves differ from an American Supreme Court judge asking God for guidance?
Answers on a postcard please.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Wank Week looks at the 20-a-day men
Steve Busfield
Monday July 24, 2006
MediaGuardian.co.uk
Channel 4 has confirmed another show in its "Wank Week" season - a documentary about compulsive masturbators.
Independent producer Spun Gold has been commissioned to make the one-hour programme following two men trying to kick their habit.
The as-yet unnamed show is the second programme in the themed week to be unveiled, following MediaGuardian.co.uk's revelation last week that Channel 4 is to broadcast a documentary about a mass masturbation for charity, given the working title "Wank-a-thon".
One of the participants in the new show - who says he masturbates 20 times a day - has already been cast, but the producer is seeking a second male for the programme.
The compulsive masturbators will be filmed hearing about different ways to cut down, focusing particularly on methods used in the US.
The documentary has been commissioned by the Channel 4 head of entertainment, Andrew MacKenzie.
· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857
Different ways to cut down?
Do you stop suddenly, wear a patch over 'one eye', or poke little holes in it?
Steve Busfield
Monday July 24, 2006
MediaGuardian.co.uk
Channel 4 has confirmed another show in its "Wank Week" season - a documentary about compulsive masturbators.
Independent producer Spun Gold has been commissioned to make the one-hour programme following two men trying to kick their habit.
The as-yet unnamed show is the second programme in the themed week to be unveiled, following MediaGuardian.co.uk's revelation last week that Channel 4 is to broadcast a documentary about a mass masturbation for charity, given the working title "Wank-a-thon".
One of the participants in the new show - who says he masturbates 20 times a day - has already been cast, but the producer is seeking a second male for the programme.
The compulsive masturbators will be filmed hearing about different ways to cut down, focusing particularly on methods used in the US.
The documentary has been commissioned by the Channel 4 head of entertainment, Andrew MacKenzie.
· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857
Different ways to cut down?
Do you stop suddenly, wear a patch over 'one eye', or poke little holes in it?
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Church school drops Imagine from concert
Press Association
Thursday July 20, 2006
The Guardian
A Church of England school dropped John Lennon's song Imagine from a concert because it was not felt to be "an appropriate song to perform publicly", it emerged yesterday.
Pupils at St Leonard's primary school in Exeter were planning to perform Imagine at a recent concert but it was replaced by another song after a teacher expressed concern.
Headteacher Geoff Williams said: "We are a church school and we believe God is the foundation of all we do. As such we did not feel that Imagine was an appropriate song to perform publicly." The lyrics of the song begin: "Imagine there's no heaven."
I always wondered how long it would take them to notice.
Press Association
Thursday July 20, 2006
The Guardian
A Church of England school dropped John Lennon's song Imagine from a concert because it was not felt to be "an appropriate song to perform publicly", it emerged yesterday.
Pupils at St Leonard's primary school in Exeter were planning to perform Imagine at a recent concert but it was replaced by another song after a teacher expressed concern.
Headteacher Geoff Williams said: "We are a church school and we believe God is the foundation of all we do. As such we did not feel that Imagine was an appropriate song to perform publicly." The lyrics of the song begin: "Imagine there's no heaven."
I always wondered how long it would take them to notice.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
From today's Independent:
Saudi press told to stop printing pictures of women
By Daniel Howden
Published: 18 May 2006
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has told the country's newspapers to stop publishing pictures of women as they could lead young men astray.
The move surprised some observers as the absolute monarch has sought to portray himself as a quiet reformer since taking the throne last year in the ultraconservative country.
All media in the kingdom are either owned by the state or run by it, but in recent months some Saudi newspapers have published pictures of women, always with the hair covered and only their face showing. The images of women wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf were used to illustrate stories connected to women's issues, including the right to vote and drive, both of which are withheld. The Saudi embassy in London declined to comment on the apparent ban.
The King reportedly told editors in a meeting this week that publishing a woman's picture was inappropriate. "One must think, do they want their daughter, their sister, or their wife to appear in this way? Of course, no one would accept this," the newspaper Okaz quoted King Abdullah as saying. "Young people are driven by emotion and the spirit, but the spirit can go astray. So I ask you to go easy on these things," the King reportedly said.
Saudi press told to stop printing pictures of women
By Daniel Howden
Published: 18 May 2006
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has told the country's newspapers to stop publishing pictures of women as they could lead young men astray.
The move surprised some observers as the absolute monarch has sought to portray himself as a quiet reformer since taking the throne last year in the ultraconservative country.
All media in the kingdom are either owned by the state or run by it, but in recent months some Saudi newspapers have published pictures of women, always with the hair covered and only their face showing. The images of women wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf were used to illustrate stories connected to women's issues, including the right to vote and drive, both of which are withheld. The Saudi embassy in London declined to comment on the apparent ban.
The King reportedly told editors in a meeting this week that publishing a woman's picture was inappropriate. "One must think, do they want their daughter, their sister, or their wife to appear in this way? Of course, no one would accept this," the newspaper Okaz quoted King Abdullah as saying. "Young people are driven by emotion and the spirit, but the spirit can go astray. So I ask you to go easy on these things," the King reportedly said.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Last week the BBC interviewd the wrong man on a news programme:
From the Guardian.
BBC brings back wrong Guy to News 24
John Plunkett
Tuesday May 16, 2006
Goma: interviewed by Karen Bowerman on News 24 last week
A week after he was mistaken for an IT expert with a similar name, Guy Goma was back on News 24 today in an interview almost as painful as his original appearance.
Mr Goma's aborted interview with business presenter Karen Bowerman, who thought she was talking to Guy Kewney, will go down as one of the most embarrassing cock-ups in BBC News history.
But Mr Goma, who had turned up at the BBC for a job interview, proved he could see the funny side by returning to News 24 today.
"I was very shocked. I just thought, 'Keep going'," said Mr Goma, a university graduate from Congo. He said he was "still waiting for the result" of his interview to become an IT assistant.
Unfortunately, News 24 presenters Simon McCoy and Carrie Gracie appeared about as sure of themselves today as Bowerman had last week.
"Is there anyone else you would like to impersonate?" asked Gracie. Misunderstanding the question, Mr Goma replied: "Yes, I really want to work at the BBC."
And when Mr Goma mumbled a reply to McCoy's query whether "EU membership for Bulgaria and Romania is a good thing," Gracie asked: "Do you have an opinion on everything?" Mr Goma, understandably, was lost for words a second time.
Mr Kewney, the IT expert and founder of newswireless.net whom the BBC thought it was interviewing, also made a belated appearance on the news channel today.
Mr Goma, whose first language is not English, apologised to Mr Kewney.
McCoy also apologised to both men and to viewers for the bungle, which he said he hoped would not be repeated.
You can see the original broadcast here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCzaeeaHTi4&search=bbc
From the Guardian.
BBC brings back wrong Guy to News 24
John Plunkett
Tuesday May 16, 2006
Goma: interviewed by Karen Bowerman on News 24 last week
A week after he was mistaken for an IT expert with a similar name, Guy Goma was back on News 24 today in an interview almost as painful as his original appearance.
Mr Goma's aborted interview with business presenter Karen Bowerman, who thought she was talking to Guy Kewney, will go down as one of the most embarrassing cock-ups in BBC News history.
But Mr Goma, who had turned up at the BBC for a job interview, proved he could see the funny side by returning to News 24 today.
"I was very shocked. I just thought, 'Keep going'," said Mr Goma, a university graduate from Congo. He said he was "still waiting for the result" of his interview to become an IT assistant.
Unfortunately, News 24 presenters Simon McCoy and Carrie Gracie appeared about as sure of themselves today as Bowerman had last week.
"Is there anyone else you would like to impersonate?" asked Gracie. Misunderstanding the question, Mr Goma replied: "Yes, I really want to work at the BBC."
And when Mr Goma mumbled a reply to McCoy's query whether "EU membership for Bulgaria and Romania is a good thing," Gracie asked: "Do you have an opinion on everything?" Mr Goma, understandably, was lost for words a second time.
Mr Kewney, the IT expert and founder of newswireless.net whom the BBC thought it was interviewing, also made a belated appearance on the news channel today.
Mr Goma, whose first language is not English, apologised to Mr Kewney.
McCoy also apologised to both men and to viewers for the bungle, which he said he hoped would not be repeated.
You can see the original broadcast here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCzaeeaHTi4&search=bbc
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Premature ejaculation.
Is something I don't normally suffer from, however (see previous log with terribly amusing Mafia joke):
Berlusconi resigns as Italian PM
The focus is switching to the president and his successor
Silvio Berlusconi has formally resigned as prime minister of Italy, paving the way for Romano Prodi to form a new government of the centre-left.
Four weeks after an election that he lost. All I can say is, 'about bloody time'
Is something I don't normally suffer from, however (see previous log with terribly amusing Mafia joke):
Berlusconi resigns as Italian PM
The focus is switching to the president and his successor
Silvio Berlusconi has formally resigned as prime minister of Italy, paving the way for Romano Prodi to form a new government of the centre-left.
Four weeks after an election that he lost. All I can say is, 'about bloody time'
Friday, April 28, 2006
To follow on from yesterdays blog:
John Prescott’s lover had secret flings with THREE other men working in Westminster, we can reveal.
“She used to hang out with government chauffeurs who drove limos for ministers. She got involved with a couple of them but they soon fizzled out.”
Another pal added: “Tracey has a huge appetite for men — it’s almost insatiable.
“Her boyfriend may be upset about her affair with John Prescott but he’s only heard the half of it.
“She was a maneater and Whitehall was her hunting ground.”
I should own up & say this is from the Sun 'newspaper' but the use of language just made me smile, particularly 'Whitehall was her hunting ground.'
The phrase "I've been betrayed by one of the most powerful men in the UK."
In the original article was what caught my eye in the first place.
John Prescott’s lover had secret flings with THREE other men working in Westminster, we can reveal.
“She used to hang out with government chauffeurs who drove limos for ministers. She got involved with a couple of them but they soon fizzled out.”
Another pal added: “Tracey has a huge appetite for men — it’s almost insatiable.
“Her boyfriend may be upset about her affair with John Prescott but he’s only heard the half of it.
“She was a maneater and Whitehall was her hunting ground.”
I should own up & say this is from the Sun 'newspaper' but the use of language just made me smile, particularly 'Whitehall was her hunting ground.'
The phrase "I've been betrayed by one of the most powerful men in the UK."
In the original article was what caught my eye in the first place.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Prescott confesses to affair
Press Association Wednesday April 26, 2006 9:13 AM
The pair began working together when Ms Temple was appointed as Mr Prescott's Assistant Private Secretary, with special responsibility to organise his diary. She had previously worked as a personal diary secretary for former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam, and was said to be close friends with the Labour MP who died of cancer last year.
The divorcee lives in Bordon, Hampshire, with lorry driver Barrie Williams, 46.
Mr Williams told the Mirror: "I feel sick. I can't believe the woman I wanted to marry has slept with John Prescott. I've been betrayed by one of the most powerful men in the UK."
This is a photo of Mr Prescott, I'm with Mr Williams, I can't believe any women would sleep with him.
Press Association Wednesday April 26, 2006 9:13 AM
The pair began working together when Ms Temple was appointed as Mr Prescott's Assistant Private Secretary, with special responsibility to organise his diary. She had previously worked as a personal diary secretary for former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam, and was said to be close friends with the Labour MP who died of cancer last year.
The divorcee lives in Bordon, Hampshire, with lorry driver Barrie Williams, 46.
Mr Williams told the Mirror: "I feel sick. I can't believe the woman I wanted to marry has slept with John Prescott. I've been betrayed by one of the most powerful men in the UK."
This is a photo of Mr Prescott, I'm with Mr Williams, I can't believe any women would sleep with him.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Italian election.
The front page of the Independent summed it all up for me.
What really made me smile was the bastards suggestion that as the result was so close that they should form a 'grand alliance', a la Germany. Do you think that if the result had gone the other way he would have suggested it? I don't bloody well think so.
Anyway, that's one less mad right wing loon running a country only another hundred or so to go.
On a personal note regarding the Independent, last weekend they offered a free CD & book, entitled 'Learn German in 6 weeks.' As I've now lived in Germany for 6 years and haven't progressed beyond 'zwei bier bitte', I've got a friend to stick them in the post to me. So I reckon by June I'll be sprechen die deutsch, like a native.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Whiny child will be an adult Tory, says study
From today's independent.
By David Usborne in New York
Published: 24 March 2006
Depending on your political predilections, you have double reason to be worried if you find your school-age child tends to be the whiny, sit-at-the-back-of-the-class kind. You had better get the child's confidence level up a notch or you may have a future conservative in your nest.
A study by Professor Jack Block of the University of California at Berkeley should be sufficient warning. He has been specialising in this area for years and his conclusions are clear: the boys and girls who are resilient, smooth and sure of themselves end up liberal in their older years.
The research, in the latest Journal of Research into Personality, does not exactly say that Dick Cheney, the Vice President, must therefore have been the most tiresome wimp in school. Or that Al Gore won the school popularity contest. But it comes close. "The whiny kids tended to grow up conservative, and turned into rigid young adults who hewed closely to traditional gender roles and were uncomfortable with ambiguity," the professor found after selecting 90 children for his experiment and following their development over two decades to adulthood.
"The confident kids turned out liberal and were still hanging loose, turning into bright, non-conforming adults with wide interests. The girls were still outgoing, but the young men tended to turn introspective."
I have done some research & unearthed a section of an old school report that might prove interesting.
Pupil........... A Hitler
Class 5 B
Subject
History. Made no attempt to study Napoleon's Moscow campaign.
Art. Painting, very good at the undercoat but a bit sloppy with the artexing.
Religion. I think, I detected a certain dislike of the Jewish faith.
Geography. The only country he could identify on a map of Europe was Poland.
PE. Football. A more than useful right winger.
Cricket. When bowling, he has no trouble keeping his arm straight but he suffers from the occasional no ball.
Writing. All a bit of a struggle.
From today's independent.
By David Usborne in New York
Published: 24 March 2006
Depending on your political predilections, you have double reason to be worried if you find your school-age child tends to be the whiny, sit-at-the-back-of-the-class kind. You had better get the child's confidence level up a notch or you may have a future conservative in your nest.
A study by Professor Jack Block of the University of California at Berkeley should be sufficient warning. He has been specialising in this area for years and his conclusions are clear: the boys and girls who are resilient, smooth and sure of themselves end up liberal in their older years.
The research, in the latest Journal of Research into Personality, does not exactly say that Dick Cheney, the Vice President, must therefore have been the most tiresome wimp in school. Or that Al Gore won the school popularity contest. But it comes close. "The whiny kids tended to grow up conservative, and turned into rigid young adults who hewed closely to traditional gender roles and were uncomfortable with ambiguity," the professor found after selecting 90 children for his experiment and following their development over two decades to adulthood.
"The confident kids turned out liberal and were still hanging loose, turning into bright, non-conforming adults with wide interests. The girls were still outgoing, but the young men tended to turn introspective."
I have done some research & unearthed a section of an old school report that might prove interesting.
Pupil........... A Hitler
Class 5 B
Subject
History. Made no attempt to study Napoleon's Moscow campaign.
Art. Painting, very good at the undercoat but a bit sloppy with the artexing.
Religion. I think, I detected a certain dislike of the Jewish faith.
Geography. The only country he could identify on a map of Europe was Poland.
PE. Football. A more than useful right winger.
Cricket. When bowling, he has no trouble keeping his arm straight but he suffers from the occasional no ball.
Writing. All a bit of a struggle.
Overall. I have never met a more whiny child and he should really do something about his appearance, has he really only got brown shirts?
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Gunned down: the teenager who dared to walk across his neighbour's prized lawn.
Extracts from an article in today’s Guardian:
Julian Borger. Washington Wednesday March 22, 2006
The Guardian
The 911 call.
Charles Martin called the emergency services operator after attacking Larry Mugrage. This is a transcript:
Martin. I've been being harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up. Kid's just been giving me a bunch of shit, making the other kids harass me and my place, tearing things up.
Operator. OK, so what'd you do?
Martin. I shot him with a goddamn 410 shotgun twice.
Operator. You shot him with a shotgun? Where is he?
Martin. He's laying in his yard.
Mr Martin gunned down Larry Mugrage, his neighbours' 15-year-old son. The teenager's crime: walking across Mr Martin's lawn on his way home. Mr Martin opened fire from his house and then, according to the police, walked up to the wounded boy and pulled the trigger again at close range, killing him.
Larry Mugrage, a popular hard-working and clever schoolboy, added his name to a high and persistent death toll. A child is killed by a gun every three hours in America. According to the latest statistics, nearly 1,000 children under 19 are shot dead every year. Another 800 use guns to commit suicide, and more than 160 die in firearm accidents.
Forty per cent of American households own guns, but those guns are 22 times more likely to be involved in an accidental shooting, or 11 times more likely to be used in a suicide, than in self-defence. On average, more than 80 Americans are killed by gunfire every day.
Mr Martin had every right to his .410 (11mm) bore shotgun. Ohio does not require anyone buying any firearm to have a permit. Nor does the state require gunowners to have a licence, although some inner city municipalities have stricter rules. Most state legislatures considering gun legislation are seeking to relax the remaining controls. Last year, Florida introduced a law giving its citizens the right to "stand their ground" and open fire, even in a public place, if they feel threatened, and the gun lobby is trying to pass a bill in the state that would allow workers to bring guns into their workplace with or without their employer's consent.
Guns in America.
32.6% of adults keep guns in or around their home, according to a 2002 survey. An estimated 40% own a gun
30,136 people were killed by firearms in the US in 2003; 730 of these were accidental
1.3m rifles were manufactured in the US in 2004; as well as an estimated 294,000 revolvers; 728,500 pistols; and 732,000 shotguns. Only 132,500 of these weapons were exported
Taking into account the above, I believe it’s the duty of all non Americans to get behind the NRA, because by my reckoning. If we could get the number of gun owners up to 100%, this would reduce the number of Americans in the world by about 70,000 each year.
Extracts from an article in today’s Guardian:
Julian Borger. Washington Wednesday March 22, 2006
The Guardian
The 911 call.
Charles Martin called the emergency services operator after attacking Larry Mugrage. This is a transcript:
Martin. I've been being harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up. Kid's just been giving me a bunch of shit, making the other kids harass me and my place, tearing things up.
Operator. OK, so what'd you do?
Martin. I shot him with a goddamn 410 shotgun twice.
Operator. You shot him with a shotgun? Where is he?
Martin. He's laying in his yard.
Mr Martin gunned down Larry Mugrage, his neighbours' 15-year-old son. The teenager's crime: walking across Mr Martin's lawn on his way home. Mr Martin opened fire from his house and then, according to the police, walked up to the wounded boy and pulled the trigger again at close range, killing him.
Larry Mugrage, a popular hard-working and clever schoolboy, added his name to a high and persistent death toll. A child is killed by a gun every three hours in America. According to the latest statistics, nearly 1,000 children under 19 are shot dead every year. Another 800 use guns to commit suicide, and more than 160 die in firearm accidents.
Forty per cent of American households own guns, but those guns are 22 times more likely to be involved in an accidental shooting, or 11 times more likely to be used in a suicide, than in self-defence. On average, more than 80 Americans are killed by gunfire every day.
Mr Martin had every right to his .410 (11mm) bore shotgun. Ohio does not require anyone buying any firearm to have a permit. Nor does the state require gunowners to have a licence, although some inner city municipalities have stricter rules. Most state legislatures considering gun legislation are seeking to relax the remaining controls. Last year, Florida introduced a law giving its citizens the right to "stand their ground" and open fire, even in a public place, if they feel threatened, and the gun lobby is trying to pass a bill in the state that would allow workers to bring guns into their workplace with or without their employer's consent.
Guns in America.
32.6% of adults keep guns in or around their home, according to a 2002 survey. An estimated 40% own a gun
30,136 people were killed by firearms in the US in 2003; 730 of these were accidental
1.3m rifles were manufactured in the US in 2004; as well as an estimated 294,000 revolvers; 728,500 pistols; and 732,000 shotguns. Only 132,500 of these weapons were exported
Taking into account the above, I believe it’s the duty of all non Americans to get behind the NRA, because by my reckoning. If we could get the number of gun owners up to 100%, this would reduce the number of Americans in the world by about 70,000 each year.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Police reveal how Bush can't wave and pedal at same time
By Arifa Akbar
Published: Independent Newspaper 27 February 2006
Extract from the police report:
"At about 1800 hours the President approached the junction at speed on the bicycle. The road was damp at the time. As the President passed the junction at speed he raised his left arm from the handlebars to wave to the police officers present while shouting 'thanks, you guys, for coming'.
"As he did this he lost control of the cycle, falling to the ground, causing both himself and his bicycle to strike [the officer] on the lower legs. [The officer] fell to the ground, striking his head."
The report goes on to divulge how the President skidded five metres along the road, after knocking down the constable, who was off duty for 14 weeks after the accident.
It reads: "The President continued along the ground for approximately five metres, causing himself a number of abrasions. The officers ... then assisted both injured parties." The injured officer received a phone call of apology from President Bush while he was on his way to Perth Royal Infirmary, where he was treated for damage to his ankle ligaments and issued with a pair of crutches. The cause was officially recorded as: "Hit by moving/falling object."
The 'can't wave & pedal' line is a variation of what Lyndon B Johnson said about another US President., Gerald Ford.
"Jerry Ford is so dumb that he can't fart and chew gum at the same time.”
Unfortunately the media changed the fart to walk to save the delicate US public from exposure to such a crude word, yes the same delicate flowers that nearly had a mass coronary after being exposed to one of Janet Jackson's nipples.
And you wondered why they voted for the cycling clown twice.
By Arifa Akbar
Published: Independent Newspaper 27 February 2006
Extract from the police report:
"At about 1800 hours the President approached the junction at speed on the bicycle. The road was damp at the time. As the President passed the junction at speed he raised his left arm from the handlebars to wave to the police officers present while shouting 'thanks, you guys, for coming'.
"As he did this he lost control of the cycle, falling to the ground, causing both himself and his bicycle to strike [the officer] on the lower legs. [The officer] fell to the ground, striking his head."
The report goes on to divulge how the President skidded five metres along the road, after knocking down the constable, who was off duty for 14 weeks after the accident.
It reads: "The President continued along the ground for approximately five metres, causing himself a number of abrasions. The officers ... then assisted both injured parties." The injured officer received a phone call of apology from President Bush while he was on his way to Perth Royal Infirmary, where he was treated for damage to his ankle ligaments and issued with a pair of crutches. The cause was officially recorded as: "Hit by moving/falling object."
The 'can't wave & pedal' line is a variation of what Lyndon B Johnson said about another US President., Gerald Ford.
"Jerry Ford is so dumb that he can't fart and chew gum at the same time.”
Unfortunately the media changed the fart to walk to save the delicate US public from exposure to such a crude word, yes the same delicate flowers that nearly had a mass coronary after being exposed to one of Janet Jackson's nipples.
And you wondered why they voted for the cycling clown twice.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
From the BBC:
US court backs hallucinogenic tea
A small US congregation can use hallucinogenic tea as part of its rituals to connect with God, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The unanimous decision is court's first religious freedom case since Chief Justice John Roberts was appointed.
The hoasca tea is considered sacred to members of the group, O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal.
In its ruling, the court said the government must allow the use of the tea under religious freedom laws.
Mr Roberts wrote that federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the tea.
However, the justices sent the case back to a federal appeals court, which could consider more evidence.
Controlled substance
The administration of President George W Bush had argued that the tea was illegal and potentially dangerous.
Members of the group believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.
The brewed tea, made from two plants that grow in the Amazon, contains dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a controlled substance banned under federal drug laws.
About 130 members of a Brazil-based church were involved in long-running dispute with federal agents, who seized their tea in 1999.
Finally, a religion I could go with.
US court backs hallucinogenic tea
A small US congregation can use hallucinogenic tea as part of its rituals to connect with God, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The unanimous decision is court's first religious freedom case since Chief Justice John Roberts was appointed.
The hoasca tea is considered sacred to members of the group, O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal.
In its ruling, the court said the government must allow the use of the tea under religious freedom laws.
Mr Roberts wrote that federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the tea.
However, the justices sent the case back to a federal appeals court, which could consider more evidence.
Controlled substance
The administration of President George W Bush had argued that the tea was illegal and potentially dangerous.
Members of the group believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.
The brewed tea, made from two plants that grow in the Amazon, contains dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a controlled substance banned under federal drug laws.
About 130 members of a Brazil-based church were involved in long-running dispute with federal agents, who seized their tea in 1999.
Finally, a religion I could go with.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
From the Sunday Times:
“Every day I have a coffee enema. I really love them. I might even be a bit addicted, because they provide this wonderful capsule of time to read or just get some space. I use organic coffee – Fair Trade of course. You can buy a special enema blend which isn’t drinkable, but I usually use Guatemalan, which is. ” GINNY FRASER ‘A Life in The Day’.
Not a lot you can add to that.
“Every day I have a coffee enema. I really love them. I might even be a bit addicted, because they provide this wonderful capsule of time to read or just get some space. I use organic coffee – Fair Trade of course. You can buy a special enema blend which isn’t drinkable, but I usually use Guatemalan, which is. ” GINNY FRASER ‘A Life in The Day’.
Not a lot you can add to that.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Anyone who remembers a Jasper Carrot routine in the 70's in which he read out insurance claims, will appreciate the following:
Road risks: falling frozen squirrels, colliding zebra and flying kebabs
Rupert JonesTuesday February 7, 2006The Guardian
A walk on the wild side is one thing, but now motorists are discovering it's a jungle out there. Frozen squirrels, amorous cows and rowdy zebra are among the hazards drivers face on Britain's roads, according to the UK's biggest insurer, Norwich Union, which yesterday revealed that freak incidents involving animals top the list of bizarre motor claims.
The company has compiled a list of the "ten weirdest claims" it received last year, and at the top of the list was: "A frozen squirrel fell out of a tree and crashed through the windscreen on to the passenger seat."
In second place was: "The car was parked, when a reindeer fell on the bonnet." The others were:
"As I was driving round a bend, one of the doors opened and a frozen kebab flew out, hitting and damaging a passing car."
"A herd of cows licked my car and caused damage to the paintwork."
"A zebra collided with my car when I was at a safari park."
"While I was waiting at traffic lights, a wasp went down my trouser leg, which made me hit the accelerator and prang the car in front."
"I couldn't brake because a potato was lodged behind the brake."
"My parked car was hit by a bull which had escaped from an agricultural show."
"A cow jumped on my quad bike."
"As I came over a hill, I hit a cow in the middle of the road, which then hit the bonnet and shattered the windscreen with its rear end" (the cow survived).
Many moons ago, I nearly had a car accident; I jumped into my car after forgetting to do up the laces of my trainers. Unknown to me they were caught in the door, I only discovered this when I tried to move my foot to brake, luckily I looked down, saw what had happened, so I opened the door, freed my foot and broke. I would have hated to send in an insurance claim with that on it.
Road risks: falling frozen squirrels, colliding zebra and flying kebabs
Rupert JonesTuesday February 7, 2006The Guardian
A walk on the wild side is one thing, but now motorists are discovering it's a jungle out there. Frozen squirrels, amorous cows and rowdy zebra are among the hazards drivers face on Britain's roads, according to the UK's biggest insurer, Norwich Union, which yesterday revealed that freak incidents involving animals top the list of bizarre motor claims.
The company has compiled a list of the "ten weirdest claims" it received last year, and at the top of the list was: "A frozen squirrel fell out of a tree and crashed through the windscreen on to the passenger seat."
In second place was: "The car was parked, when a reindeer fell on the bonnet." The others were:
"As I was driving round a bend, one of the doors opened and a frozen kebab flew out, hitting and damaging a passing car."
"A herd of cows licked my car and caused damage to the paintwork."
"A zebra collided with my car when I was at a safari park."
"While I was waiting at traffic lights, a wasp went down my trouser leg, which made me hit the accelerator and prang the car in front."
"I couldn't brake because a potato was lodged behind the brake."
"My parked car was hit by a bull which had escaped from an agricultural show."
"A cow jumped on my quad bike."
"As I came over a hill, I hit a cow in the middle of the road, which then hit the bonnet and shattered the windscreen with its rear end" (the cow survived).
Many moons ago, I nearly had a car accident; I jumped into my car after forgetting to do up the laces of my trainers. Unknown to me they were caught in the door, I only discovered this when I tried to move my foot to brake, luckily I looked down, saw what had happened, so I opened the door, freed my foot and broke. I would have hated to send in an insurance claim with that on it.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Going postal.
I'm sure we all know the phrase, it basicaly means that an ex employee goes to work and then proceeds to massacre his former workmates, it is very popular in the US.
Yesterday saw an addition to the long list.
Jan. 30, 2006 - A female ex-postal worker opens fire at a mail processing plant near Santa Barbara, Calif., killing six people before committing suicide, authorities say.
List of Some Deadly Post Office Shootings Tuesday January 31, 2006 3:01 PM By The Associated Press Some shootings at post offices:
April 17, 1998 - Maceo Yarbough III, a 27-year-old letter carrier, fatally shoots a post office clerk in Dallas after they argue in a break room. He is found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.
Sept. 2, 1997 - Jesus Antonio Tamayo, a 21-year postal veteran, leaves his counter at a Miami Beach, Fla., post office, gets a gun from his car, walks back in and critically wounds his ex-wife and a friend, who were waiting in line. Tamayo, 64, then goes outside and kills himself.
July 9, 1995 - Bruce William Clark walks up to his boss in a processing center in City of Industry, Calif., pulls a handgun from a paper bag and shoots him to death. Clark, 58, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced in 1996 to 22 years in prison.
March 21, 1995 - Christopher Green, 29, a former postal worker burdened with `a mountain of debt,'' kills four people and wounds another during a holdup at the Montclair, N.J., post office. Green was sentenced to life in prison in September 1995.
May 6, 1993 - Postal worker Larry Jasion kills one and wounds two at the post office garage in Dearborn, Mich., before killing himself.
May 6, 1993 - Fired postal employee Mark Richard Hilbun kills his mother, then walks into a post office in the Dana Point community near Los Angeles and shoots two workers, killing one. He was convicted of murder, attempted murder and other felonies and sentenced to life in prison.
Nov. 14, 1991 - Fired postal worker Thomas McIlvane kills four supervisors and wounds five employees at a post office in Royal Oak, Mich., and then killed himself.
Oct. 11, 1991 - Joseph M. Harris, a fired postal worker, kills a former supervisor and her boyfriend at their home in Wayne, N.J., then goes to the Ridgewood post office where he kills two mail handlers as they arrive for work. He was sentenced to death and was on death row when he died in 1996 after suffering a seizure in his cell.
Aug. 10, 1989 - Postal worker John Merlin Taylor of Escondido, Calif., shoots and kills his wife at their home, then drives to the Orange Glen post office, where he shoots and kills two colleagues and wounds another before killing himself.
But this is the shooting that coined the phrase:
Aug. 20, 1986 - Patrick Henry Sherrill, a part-time letter carrier in Edmond, Okla., kills 14 people in the post office there before taking his own life. Sherrill had a history of work problems and faced the possibility of being fired.
And don't forget, as the NRA say, 'It's not guns that kill people, it's people', although I think in these instances an ex postie armed with a mail sack and a franking machine might have caused slightly less damage.
I'm sure we all know the phrase, it basicaly means that an ex employee goes to work and then proceeds to massacre his former workmates, it is very popular in the US.
Yesterday saw an addition to the long list.
Jan. 30, 2006 - A female ex-postal worker opens fire at a mail processing plant near Santa Barbara, Calif., killing six people before committing suicide, authorities say.
List of Some Deadly Post Office Shootings Tuesday January 31, 2006 3:01 PM By The Associated Press Some shootings at post offices:
April 17, 1998 - Maceo Yarbough III, a 27-year-old letter carrier, fatally shoots a post office clerk in Dallas after they argue in a break room. He is found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.
Sept. 2, 1997 - Jesus Antonio Tamayo, a 21-year postal veteran, leaves his counter at a Miami Beach, Fla., post office, gets a gun from his car, walks back in and critically wounds his ex-wife and a friend, who were waiting in line. Tamayo, 64, then goes outside and kills himself.
July 9, 1995 - Bruce William Clark walks up to his boss in a processing center in City of Industry, Calif., pulls a handgun from a paper bag and shoots him to death. Clark, 58, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced in 1996 to 22 years in prison.
March 21, 1995 - Christopher Green, 29, a former postal worker burdened with `a mountain of debt,'' kills four people and wounds another during a holdup at the Montclair, N.J., post office. Green was sentenced to life in prison in September 1995.
May 6, 1993 - Postal worker Larry Jasion kills one and wounds two at the post office garage in Dearborn, Mich., before killing himself.
May 6, 1993 - Fired postal employee Mark Richard Hilbun kills his mother, then walks into a post office in the Dana Point community near Los Angeles and shoots two workers, killing one. He was convicted of murder, attempted murder and other felonies and sentenced to life in prison.
Nov. 14, 1991 - Fired postal worker Thomas McIlvane kills four supervisors and wounds five employees at a post office in Royal Oak, Mich., and then killed himself.
Oct. 11, 1991 - Joseph M. Harris, a fired postal worker, kills a former supervisor and her boyfriend at their home in Wayne, N.J., then goes to the Ridgewood post office where he kills two mail handlers as they arrive for work. He was sentenced to death and was on death row when he died in 1996 after suffering a seizure in his cell.
Aug. 10, 1989 - Postal worker John Merlin Taylor of Escondido, Calif., shoots and kills his wife at their home, then drives to the Orange Glen post office, where he shoots and kills two colleagues and wounds another before killing himself.
But this is the shooting that coined the phrase:
Aug. 20, 1986 - Patrick Henry Sherrill, a part-time letter carrier in Edmond, Okla., kills 14 people in the post office there before taking his own life. Sherrill had a history of work problems and faced the possibility of being fired.
And don't forget, as the NRA say, 'It's not guns that kill people, it's people', although I think in these instances an ex postie armed with a mail sack and a franking machine might have caused slightly less damage.
Monday, January 30, 2006
An extract from today’s Independent newspaper
Special Branch 'altered official log' to cover up fatal Menezes blunder
By Maxine Frith
Published: 30 January 2006
A leaked copy of the report obtained by the News of the World said the IPCC found that the undercover surveillance team saw Mr Menezes coming out of a house in Tulse Hill and, according to a first draft of a police control room log, identified him as Hussein Osman, a suspect in the July 21 attacks. Commander Cressida Dick, the Scotland Yard officer responsible for the firearms team, then instigated Operation Kratos, the anti-terrorist strategy that permits suspected suicide bombers to be shot.
The IPCC report found that 10 hours after the shooting, by which time it was known the dead man was innocent, the Special Branch team attended a debriefing meeting in which they were allowed to make alterations to the log. A line in it was changed from saying the team said Mr Menezes "was Osman" by the insertion of the word "not" - passing the blame to the Scotland Yard team.
The amendments were supposed to be signed and accompanied by an explanation, but this was not done, in an apparent attempt to pass off the revised log as the original. According to the newspaper, the IPCC report concludes: "This looks like an attempt to try to distance Special Branch from the decision [to shoot Mr Menezes]."
Well there you go, we’ve all done it, a small cock up at work, change the story a little a bit & Bob’s your Aunties live-in-lover, some other poor sod cops the blame.
The slight trouble in this case, is that this cock up led to Mr Menzes getting seven bullets in his head and no chance to use his ‘super saver’ season ticket.
How on earth did the idiot who added the ‘not’ expect to get away with it?
Special Branch? Obviously not that special, unless special is being used in the same way that certain children are referred to as having ‘special’ needs.
The audacity and stupidity of people who are put into positions of power never fails to amaze.
Special Branch 'altered official log' to cover up fatal Menezes blunder
By Maxine Frith
Published: 30 January 2006
A leaked copy of the report obtained by the News of the World said the IPCC found that the undercover surveillance team saw Mr Menezes coming out of a house in Tulse Hill and, according to a first draft of a police control room log, identified him as Hussein Osman, a suspect in the July 21 attacks. Commander Cressida Dick, the Scotland Yard officer responsible for the firearms team, then instigated Operation Kratos, the anti-terrorist strategy that permits suspected suicide bombers to be shot.
The IPCC report found that 10 hours after the shooting, by which time it was known the dead man was innocent, the Special Branch team attended a debriefing meeting in which they were allowed to make alterations to the log. A line in it was changed from saying the team said Mr Menezes "was Osman" by the insertion of the word "not" - passing the blame to the Scotland Yard team.
The amendments were supposed to be signed and accompanied by an explanation, but this was not done, in an apparent attempt to pass off the revised log as the original. According to the newspaper, the IPCC report concludes: "This looks like an attempt to try to distance Special Branch from the decision [to shoot Mr Menezes]."
Well there you go, we’ve all done it, a small cock up at work, change the story a little a bit & Bob’s your Aunties live-in-lover, some other poor sod cops the blame.
The slight trouble in this case, is that this cock up led to Mr Menzes getting seven bullets in his head and no chance to use his ‘super saver’ season ticket.
How on earth did the idiot who added the ‘not’ expect to get away with it?
Special Branch? Obviously not that special, unless special is being used in the same way that certain children are referred to as having ‘special’ needs.
The audacity and stupidity of people who are put into positions of power never fails to amaze.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
From the BBC.
Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza
An Australian couple who picked up an odd-looking fatty lump from a quiet beach are in line for a cash windfall.
Leon Wright and his wife took home a 14.75kg lump of ambergris, found in the innards of sperm whales and used in perfumes after it has been vomited up.
Long lusted-after due to its rarity, ambergris can float upon the oceans for years before washing ashore on beaches.
Worth up to $20 a gram, Mr Wright's find on a South Australian beach could net his family US$295,000 (£165,300).
A Whale story with a happy ending, unlike, poor old Wally, (Wallyena, as the Whale was a female) who fell off her perch half way up the Thames.
Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza
An Australian couple who picked up an odd-looking fatty lump from a quiet beach are in line for a cash windfall.
Leon Wright and his wife took home a 14.75kg lump of ambergris, found in the innards of sperm whales and used in perfumes after it has been vomited up.
Long lusted-after due to its rarity, ambergris can float upon the oceans for years before washing ashore on beaches.
Worth up to $20 a gram, Mr Wright's find on a South Australian beach could net his family US$295,000 (£165,300).
A Whale story with a happy ending, unlike, poor old Wally, (Wallyena, as the Whale was a female) who fell off her perch half way up the Thames.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Study: Most College Students Lack Skills
Friday January 20, 2006 7:02 AM
By BEN FELLER
AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than half of students at four-year colleges - and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges - lack the literacy to handle complex, real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers, a study found.
The literacy study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the first to target the skills of graduating students, finds that students fail to lock in key skills - no matter their field of study.
The results cut across three types of literacy: analyzing news stories and other prose, understanding documents and having math skills needed for checkbooks or restaurant tips.
Without ``proficient'' skills, or those needed to perform more complex tasks, students fall behind. They cannot interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.
``It is kind of disturbing that a lot of folks are graduating with a degree and they're not going to be able to do those things,'' said Stephane Baldi, the study's director at the American Institutes for Research, a behavioural and social science research organization.
Why does the above not surprise me?
I have visited the US on several occasions & I have worked with Americans for several years. Whilst I’ve found the majority of Americans quite pleasant, I have also found them to be lacking in general knowledge of the world around them but the really worrying thing about the above article is that it relates to college students, what are the Americans who haven’t attended college like?
Friday January 20, 2006 7:02 AM
By BEN FELLER
AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than half of students at four-year colleges - and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges - lack the literacy to handle complex, real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers, a study found.
The literacy study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the first to target the skills of graduating students, finds that students fail to lock in key skills - no matter their field of study.
The results cut across three types of literacy: analyzing news stories and other prose, understanding documents and having math skills needed for checkbooks or restaurant tips.
Without ``proficient'' skills, or those needed to perform more complex tasks, students fall behind. They cannot interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.
``It is kind of disturbing that a lot of folks are graduating with a degree and they're not going to be able to do those things,'' said Stephane Baldi, the study's director at the American Institutes for Research, a behavioural and social science research organization.
Why does the above not surprise me?
I have visited the US on several occasions & I have worked with Americans for several years. Whilst I’ve found the majority of Americans quite pleasant, I have also found them to be lacking in general knowledge of the world around them but the really worrying thing about the above article is that it relates to college students, what are the Americans who haven’t attended college like?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Just to follow up on the previous blog.
I forgot to mention one other point that made the whole story even more ironic:
Clarence Ray Allen was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 12.38am (0838GMT) at San Quentin State Prison, less than an hour after his 76th birthday ended at midnight.
Do you think they baked him a cake?
I forgot to mention one other point that made the whole story even more ironic:
Clarence Ray Allen was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 12.38am (0838GMT) at San Quentin State Prison, less than an hour after his 76th birthday ended at midnight.
Do you think they baked him a cake?
Execution today for blind, deaf man in wheelchair
AP
Published: 17 January 2006
The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a 76-year-old convicted killer who argued that he was too old and feeble to be executed.
The ruling cleared the way for Clarence Ray Allen - legally blind, nearly deaf and in a wheelchair - to be executed by injection today for a triple murder he ordered from behind bars to silence witnesses to another killing.
Allen went to prison for having his teenage son's 17-year-old girlfriend murdered for fear she would tell police about a grocery-store burglary. While behind bars, he tried to have witnesses in the case wiped out, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to death in 1982 for hiring a hit man who killed a witness and two bystanders.
The Supreme Court has never set an upper age limit for executions or created an exception for physical infirmity.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Supreme Court and a federal appeals court previously refused to spare Allen's life.
Allen's final meal was chicken from KFC, a buffalo steak, whole milk, sugar-free pecan pie and black walnut ice cream.
Now, I’m sure that Mr Allen is not a nice man and he certainly did commit the acts of which he is convicted but what is the point in executing him? What good will it serve?
There tends to be three reasons put forth by people who support state executions.
One it stops the person re offending, two it acts as a deterrent and thirdly they get all biblical, an eye for an eye etc.
In this instance, I hardly think that a deaf blind man in a wheelchair is a danger to anyone and as for a deterrent, how many times has a Father ordered the murder of his teenage son’s girlfriend friend and then followed up by hiring a hit man to murder a witness? Not many I bet but if ever I’m in that situation, the execution of Mr Allen will certainly make me think twice.
And the eye for an eye, argument? I omitted a sentence from the original piece:
Allen's heart stopped in September, but doctors revived him and returned him to San Quentin Prison's death row.
Why? It looks to me that God was trying to tell the State of California something or at least trying to save them the cost of a lethal injection and the price of a KFC meal.
AP
Published: 17 January 2006
The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a 76-year-old convicted killer who argued that he was too old and feeble to be executed.
The ruling cleared the way for Clarence Ray Allen - legally blind, nearly deaf and in a wheelchair - to be executed by injection today for a triple murder he ordered from behind bars to silence witnesses to another killing.
Allen went to prison for having his teenage son's 17-year-old girlfriend murdered for fear she would tell police about a grocery-store burglary. While behind bars, he tried to have witnesses in the case wiped out, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to death in 1982 for hiring a hit man who killed a witness and two bystanders.
The Supreme Court has never set an upper age limit for executions or created an exception for physical infirmity.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Supreme Court and a federal appeals court previously refused to spare Allen's life.
Allen's final meal was chicken from KFC, a buffalo steak, whole milk, sugar-free pecan pie and black walnut ice cream.
Now, I’m sure that Mr Allen is not a nice man and he certainly did commit the acts of which he is convicted but what is the point in executing him? What good will it serve?
There tends to be three reasons put forth by people who support state executions.
One it stops the person re offending, two it acts as a deterrent and thirdly they get all biblical, an eye for an eye etc.
In this instance, I hardly think that a deaf blind man in a wheelchair is a danger to anyone and as for a deterrent, how many times has a Father ordered the murder of his teenage son’s girlfriend friend and then followed up by hiring a hit man to murder a witness? Not many I bet but if ever I’m in that situation, the execution of Mr Allen will certainly make me think twice.
And the eye for an eye, argument? I omitted a sentence from the original piece:
Allen's heart stopped in September, but doctors revived him and returned him to San Quentin Prison's death row.
Why? It looks to me that God was trying to tell the State of California something or at least trying to save them the cost of a lethal injection and the price of a KFC meal.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Toxic waste creates hermaphrodite Arctic polar bears
In the Independent, from an article by David Usborne in New York
Wildlife researchers have found new evidence that Arctic polar bears, already gravely threatened by the melting of their habitat because of global warming, are being poisoned by chemical compounds commonly used in Europe and North America to reduce the flammability of household furnishings like sofas, clothing and carpets.
There is also evidence that compounds similar to the PBDEs have contributed to a surprisingly high rate of hermaphroditism in polar bears. About one in 50 female bears on Svalbard has both male and female sex organs, a phenomenon scientists link directly to the effects of pollution.
"The Arctic is now a chemical sink," declared Colin Butfield, a campaign leader for the Worldwide Fund for Nature, which last month indicated that killer whales in the Arctic were also suffering from elevated levels of contamination with fire retardants as well as other man-made compounds. "Chemicals from products that we use in our homes every day are contaminating Arctic wildlife."
In the Independent, from an article by David Usborne in New York
Wildlife researchers have found new evidence that Arctic polar bears, already gravely threatened by the melting of their habitat because of global warming, are being poisoned by chemical compounds commonly used in Europe and North America to reduce the flammability of household furnishings like sofas, clothing and carpets.
There is also evidence that compounds similar to the PBDEs have contributed to a surprisingly high rate of hermaphroditism in polar bears. About one in 50 female bears on Svalbard has both male and female sex organs, a phenomenon scientists link directly to the effects of pollution.
"The Arctic is now a chemical sink," declared Colin Butfield, a campaign leader for the Worldwide Fund for Nature, which last month indicated that killer whales in the Arctic were also suffering from elevated levels of contamination with fire retardants as well as other man-made compounds. "Chemicals from products that we use in our homes every day are contaminating Arctic wildlife."
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
I found this article a bit of a worry:
From todays Independent newspaper:
Britons in debt to the tune of £1.13 trillion
* 66,000 people predicted to go bust this year; * Average household debt is £7,650 (exc. mortgage); * Two-thirds of EU credit card debt is British; * One in five students owes at least £15,000; * 40% of women keep debt secret from partners; * Half of all heavy debtors suffer from depression
Apparently the British government believes that this is an acceptable level of personal debt & is sustainable.
Maybe I have a longer memory than Blair & Brown but I remember a similar scenario in the late 80's, early 90's, where the whole thing went horribly wrong & ended with negative equity, suicides & the unelectability of the Tory Party.
To quote Charles Dickens:
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and six pence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds and six pence, result misery.
David Copperfield, 1849
From todays Independent newspaper:
Britons in debt to the tune of £1.13 trillion
* 66,000 people predicted to go bust this year; * Average household debt is £7,650 (exc. mortgage); * Two-thirds of EU credit card debt is British; * One in five students owes at least £15,000; * 40% of women keep debt secret from partners; * Half of all heavy debtors suffer from depression
Apparently the British government believes that this is an acceptable level of personal debt & is sustainable.
Maybe I have a longer memory than Blair & Brown but I remember a similar scenario in the late 80's, early 90's, where the whole thing went horribly wrong & ended with negative equity, suicides & the unelectability of the Tory Party.
To quote Charles Dickens:
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and six pence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds and six pence, result misery.
David Copperfield, 1849
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