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Four arrested after Kabul hotel attack
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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9 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [7] 
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Barney busted
Seems this intrepid WSP trooper got a bit too creative in trying to catch / entrap speeders in southern Washington. A quick check of WA RCWs showed him to be in violation of at least 4. And this is after a rash of cop impersonaters were arrested in Seattle recently.
Read the article (BTW, it is no longer on the on-line paper's 'front page')
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 01/16/2008 14:32 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  For a sec methought 'twas BARNEY MILLER or BARNEY RUBBLE!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/16/2008 19:03 Comments || Top||

#2  The cop had illegal plates on the unmarked patrol car? Where's Gomer Pyle when you need him? "Citizen's arrest! Citizen's arrest!"
Posted by: GK || 01/16/2008 20:52 Comments || Top||

#3  They arrested that loveable, taxpayer-funded purple dinosaur?
Posted by: Mike || 01/16/2008 21:25 Comments || Top||


Watch what you put on trailer hitches
RICHMOND, Va. - It's one thing to dangle fuzzy dice from a rear view mirror, but decorating a trailer hitch with a large pair of rubber testicles might be a bit much in Virginia.
Who knew?!
State Del. Lionel Spruill introduced a bill Tuesday to ban displaying replicas of human genitalia on vehicles, calling it a safety issue because it could distract other drivers.
Not me. I'd never look. Really. Certainly not.
Under his measure, displaying the ornamentation on a motor vehicle would be a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $250.

He said the idea came from a constituent whose young daughter spotted an example of the trail hitch adornment and asked her father to explain it. "'I didn't know what to tell her,'" Spruill said the constituent told him before Spruill vowed to stop such displays.
Suggested reply: "Well honey, there's bulls and there's cows ..."
"I said, 'Sir, I'm going to be a laughingstock, but I'm going to do it,'" he said.
And we're going to laugh ...
The Virginia General Assembly has some experience with offbeat bills. Three years ago, it drew widespread attention with an unsuccessful effort to outlaw baggy pants worn so low they expose underwear.

Spruill, 61, said the indignity of the "droopy drawers" debate wouldn't deter him. He said he won't hesitate to bring a set of $24.95 trailer testicles with him for a legislative show-and-tell. "I'm going to do it," Spruill told a handful of reporters after Tuesday's House session adjourned. "I'm going to bring them out here and show them to you till they tell me to stop."
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/16/2008 10:16 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ah wants wun fer mah mersaydees!
Posted by: Britnay || 01/16/2008 11:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Tacky and stupid looking - I agree. Worth the taxpayer's $$$ to legislate? - methinks not. Do they have the no talking on cell phones while driving law in VA? If not, then they need to start there before this.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/16/2008 12:17 Comments || Top||

#3  I've seem um' 'round here. I thought they were funny. These prudes need to get a life.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 01/16/2008 12:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Talkin' to Erk here we decided the next time we're driving up 81 into Vaginia we would wrap our balls in a Big Orange Jockstrap so as not to offend.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 01/16/2008 12:32 Comments || Top||

#5  Usualy I see these plastic "Balls" on huge six wheel Diesel Pickups, it definately says "Male Truck". (Big Bull)
I think they're appropiate, they say "No girly truck here".
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/16/2008 15:32 Comments || Top||

#6  displaying replicas of human genitalia on vehicles,

Who says these are "Human", they're way too big to be "Human".
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/16/2008 15:34 Comments || Top||

#7  Hell, in the 1950s, Cadillac made cars with teats on the grill.
People would look and shake their heads. 'Isn't she beautiful' they would say.
Posted by: wxjames || 01/16/2008 15:40 Comments || Top||

#8  "Baggy pants worn so long they expose underwear" > Wel-l-l, various Netters this week have complained about AMY WINEHOUSE + COURTNEY LOVE being too thin to wear same, or anything else for that matter.

*FARK.com CATS > WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/16/2008 19:02 Comments || Top||

#9  Ah, yes....

Hold onto your wallets and your sanity - the Legislature is in Session.

But at least in Virginia the time they have to do damage is limited (60 days for long session - this year; 30 days for short session - last year/next year).

Doesn't stop them from trying, though.... :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 01/16/2008 22:15 Comments || Top||


Mike Nifong Files for Bankruptcy
We definitely need a 'schadenfreude' pic.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/16/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Paybacks are a b*tch.

Sympathy meter reading....ZERO.
Posted by: anymouse || 01/16/2008 0:54 Comments || Top||

#2  The Smoking Gun has a copy of the Summary of the bankrupty filing here.
Posted by: GK || 01/16/2008 1:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Paging Al Sharpton to the white courtesy phone! A friend in need urgently needs yo' 'sistance!

While we're waiting with bated breath for Al to answer the urgent page, I'd like to know just where the heck is this scum ba$tard Nifong getting over $12,000/month in current income?

Reverend Al may be a bit slow coming to the aid of a true friend here because he is too busy whipping his braindead followers into a frenzy and beating off over some cute looking race-neutral reporter who inadvertantly used the heretofore not-known-to-be proprietary word lynchTM in the same sentence with some successful guy who by chance mind you happens to be part non-race-neutral. Not that it makes any difference in this case. I'm sure Al would rush to defend anyone under these circumstances whether they were non-race-neutral or not.

You would think Al would be incredibly conflicted considering that this aforementioned successful individual is basically the antithesis of the kind of host he usually drains of his life-energy in order to remain among the living.

Well, it's been long enough now and no answer. Sorry, Nifong. You're of no further use, so apparantly Al's left you to hang! -----8^P

Next time: Try ethics. And if not, learn to go after kids of parents with lesser means.
Posted by: gorb || 01/16/2008 5:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Let me know when he applies for welfare. I'll be happy then.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 01/16/2008 6:54 Comments || Top||

#5  I love how his house is worth $232K but he owes his secured creditors (I read that as 1st & 2nd mortgages) are at $303K.

I'd like to know just where the heck is this scum ba$tard Nifong getting over $12,000/month in current income?

About 1/2 of it is his pension of $5,000 per month.
Posted by: Raj || 01/16/2008 8:11 Comments || Top||

#6  He gets a pension??? Boy, am I glad I don't live in Durham County.
Posted by: Rambler || 01/16/2008 13:29 Comments || Top||

#7  F*ck you Nifong. Everything that's wrong w/lawyers. Hope you have to go to a soup kitchen for 3 hots a day. Less than you deserve for trying to destroy innocent kids' lives in order to further your own pathetic career. (No offense meant to any ethical counselors that freqeunt this site.)
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/16/2008 13:33 Comments || Top||

#8  Let's see.....all that's missing is the Big Disease™. Calling a Voodoo Doctor to a White Courtesy Telephone....
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/16/2008 18:17 Comments || Top||

#9  Is there a chapter for intellectual and moral bankruptcy?
Posted by: Iblis || 01/16/2008 18:56 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Britney finally relevant: Considering conversion to Islam and more kids
Posted by: Beau || 01/16/2008 18:10 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Moving to PAKISTAN???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/16/2008 20:40 Comments || Top||

#2  She had less issues when she was the virgin popstar. Perhaps she should reconsider her lifestyle.

Sad but if she was a real musician she could plumb the depths of her problems by writing lyrics and poems. As it is I have no idea if she has any songwriting talent.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/16/2008 21:11 Comments || Top||

#3  It would be an improvement.
Posted by: Mike || 01/16/2008 21:23 Comments || Top||

#4  She's a train wreck that's fun to laugh at but man, do I feel for her kids.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/16/2008 22:37 Comments || Top||


Army wife on Deal or No Deal tonight!
Well, at least it's better than American Idol! And the audience will be all military! So show some love to the Deal and get their numbers up for this show! Show them what honoring the military can do for you!

The wife of a soldier serving in Afghanistan will appear tonight on NBC’s hit game show, “Deal or No Deal,” in a special episode devoted to military spouses.

The show, hosted by Howie Mandel, will air 8 p.m. Central Standard Time and feature an audience of military members and spouses.

The contestant, Shequila Farrelly, 39, is the wife of Staff Sgt. Patrick Farrelly, who is currently serving in Afghanistan on a military transition team attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Riley, Kan.

Shequila Farrelly said she was selected from an estimated 10,000 people who turned out for casting last year in Oklahoma City, Okla.

“You had 30 seconds to sell yourself,” she said. “They didn’t ask you any questions. You just had to tell them the wildest and craziest stories about yourself.”

Farrelly said she recalled a story about family trip to Atlantic City, N.J., including one night when she won—then lost—$1,500 in the slot machines. She said she also shared other experiences from her 17-year marriage.

“I threw everything I had at them,” she said. “I probably talked for 10 minutes, literally.”

After being invited on the show, Farrelly said show producers peppered her with questions about her life and interests.

“Everything I talk about is military-related — duty stations, people you meet, how wives have to support each other,” she said. “We’re an important part of the mission and sometimes people forget about those things.”

Farrelly said NBC flew the family, including their two children, Patrick, 14, and Nadya, 13, to Los Angeles for taping in November. The family spent a couple of days prior to filming strolling down Hollywood Boulevard, visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Venice Beach, and mugging for pictures with Batman and Wonderwoman.

The day of the show, Farrelly said she wasn’t nervous. She said she was thrilled to meet Mandel and the show’s models.

Farrelly said contractual obligations prevented her from disclosing how much money she won. But she said she got a chance to meet one of her favorite daytime TV personalities: Ellen Degeneres, who made a surprise guest appearance.

And in another surprise, Brig. Gen. Dana J. H. Pittard, the commanding general of Fort Irwin and the National Training Center, presented her with an award for her volunteerism and for being a dedicated military spouse.

“It was the most amazing, insane, rollercoaster ride ever,” Farrelly said. “I couldn’t believe it. Money was secondary to all the other things.”
Posted by: Sherry || 01/16/2008 17:35 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I couldn't play that game because I am too greedy to stop. If its there, I want it all.
Posted by: Jomose Bourbon9209 || 01/16/2008 17:55 Comments || Top||

#2  That's 7:00 CST --- in Austin that is
Posted by: Sherry || 01/16/2008 19:29 Comments || Top||

#3  I didn't realize you had the same show in the US. I quite like it. Watching people battle statistical randomness somehow appeals to me.
Posted by: phil_b || 01/16/2008 20:52 Comments || Top||


Tourist pamphlet spoilt by nose picking girl
A council's attempt to promote a tourist attraction has been undermined by an unfortunate picture, say critics.

A leaflet extolling the elysian beauties of Thornham Walks - a 12-mile footpath network in Suffolk - has a picture of a young girl picking her nose.

Andrew Stringer, a Green councillor, says that "it does not represent our youth in the best light" and wants the "amateurish" pamphlet to be withdrawn.
It's a cultural thing. The councillor is being culturally insensitive. Off with 'is 'ed.
A Mid Suffolk District Council spokesman admitted: "It's not the best photograph", but added: "They wanted a real picture, not a typical staged one.
They needed to specify "no nose picking " in the request for photos flyer. It is not staged.
"It's a real picture and shows children in their Easter outfits.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/16/2008 14:45 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hey, kids will be kids the world over. Makes it kinda homey in a way.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/16/2008 15:18 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder how many people noticed it before they pointed it out? Probably, like, none?
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/16/2008 15:50 Comments || Top||

#3  let em see the youtube of the current Australian PM
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2008 18:47 Comments || Top||


Austria Court: Chimp Is Not a Person
With the wisdom of Solomon...
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — A chimpanzee cannot be declared a person, Austria's Supreme Court has ruled, activists said Tuesday. An animal rights group had sought to have the chimp, Matthew Hiasl Pan, declared a person in hopes of gaining guardianship of the animal.
Don't worry, Matthew. This isn't over yet.
Oooo-ooooo-ooooo-ooooo-aaaaa-aaaaaa-aaaaaa...

The shelter where Matthew has lived for 25 years is going bankrupt, threatening to leave him homeless.
Hey, buddy? Ya got a banana?
Donors have offered to help support him, but under Austrian law, only a person can receive personal gifts. The Vienna-based Association Against Animal Factories sought to have him declared a person and petitioned to be appointed Matthew's trustee.
We'll do stuff for him. Like, manage his bank accounts and...manage his bank accounts. Y'know, stuff like that...
But the high court upheld a September ruling by a judge in the town of Wiener Neustadt rejecting the petition, the group said Tuesday.
Ummmmmm, boys and girls? He's a monkey. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but...he's a monkey.
The rights group said it would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Would probably have a better chance if they take it to the European Court of Chimpanzee Rights, but it's Europe, so who knows...
Matthew and another chimp at the shelter, Rosi, were captured as babies in Sierra Leone in 1982 and smuggled to Austria for use in pharmaceutical experiments. Customs officers intercepted the shipment and turned the chimps over to the shelter. Organizers said they may set up a foundation to collect donations for Matthew, whose life expectancy in captivity is about 60 years. But they argue that only personhood will ensure that he isn't sold outside Austria.
...along with all those nice donations.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/16/2008 12:06 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'll finally get some sleep now that's been settled.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/16/2008 13:35 Comments || Top||

#2  "The shelter where Matthew has lived for 25 years is going bankrupt, threatening to leave him homeless."

A homeless animal huh? That has to be the most assnine* concept I've heard in a long time.
*My apologies to all my equine brothers and sisters for comparing them to an Associated Press reporter.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 01/16/2008 14:17 Comments || Top||


Don't send in the clowns
LONDON (Rooters) - Bad news for Coco and Blinko -- children don't like clowns and even older kids are scared of them.

The news that will no doubt have clowns shedding tears was revealed in a poll of youngsters by researchers from the University of Sheffield who were examining how to improve the decor of hospital children's wards.

The study, reported in the Nursing Standard magazine, found all the 250 patients aged between four and 16 they quizzed disliked the use of clowns, with even the older ones finding them scary.

"As adults we make assumptions about what works for children," said Penny Curtis, a senior lecturer in research at the university. "We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable."
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/16/2008 11:51 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "There is nothing more frightening than a clown after midnight" -- Lon Chaney
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/16/2008 12:36 Comments || Top||

#2  You could make a lot of money if you could hook up a Clowns vs. Mimes card on the Ultimate Fighting Curcuit...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/16/2008 13:58 Comments || Top||

#3  ...and isn't that John Wayne Gacy?
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/16/2008 13:59 Comments || Top||

#4  You can't really do better than john wayne gacy Jr, scary-clown-wise.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/16/2008 14:19 Comments || Top||

#5  Don't bother, they're here in the Congress.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/16/2008 14:22 Comments || Top||

#6  So, if a tree falls in the woods, and kills a mime or a clown, will people care?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/16/2008 18:19 Comments || Top||

#7  see:
a) IT by Stephen King, and
b) The Congress elected in 2006
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2008 18:51 Comments || Top||

#8  A clown is only as good = believable as his or her routine - KIDS CAN EASILY DETECT WHEN A CLOWN IS HAPPY, OR CYNICAL. No amount of makeup, face impersonation, or good skits etc. can hide a poor or non-believable attitude.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/16/2008 19:37 Comments || Top||

#9 
#8 A clown is only as good = believable as his or her routine - KIDS CAN EASILY DETECT WHEN A CLOWN IS HAPPY, OR CYNICAL. No amount of makeup, face impersonation, or good skits etc. can hide a poor or non-believable attitude.
Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-01-16 19:37


Incredible! A profound, and non-obscure, comment by Joe.
Posted by: Ptah || 01/16/2008 21:53 Comments || Top||


Pupils discover their teacher in 'shocking soft-porn' advert on YouTube
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/16/2008 10:35 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Man, I hope Headteacher Andrew Chicken ain't in any pr0n movies.
Yikes...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/16/2008 10:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Headteacher Andrew Chicken said the school were looking into the case

Mr. Chicken has that, 'Yes, I've been looking for that for months' look on his face.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/16/2008 10:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, he does look like a jolly, contended pervert, doens't he?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/16/2008 11:01 Comments || Top||

#4  But again, so do I (and I am, too).
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/16/2008 11:02 Comments || Top||

#5 
Got it bad got it bad got it bad
I'm hot for Teacher
Posted by: Mike || 01/16/2008 13:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, at least she still is teaching them something.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/16/2008 15:36 Comments || Top||

#7  "The video ... lasts almost two minutes and shows three simulated sex scene"

She works fast, doesn't she?

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 01/16/2008 15:38 Comments || Top||

#8  The internet is making it impossible to have had an interesting life and then go on.
Soon it will be impossible to ever turn over a new leaf. The scarlet "A" will follow you to the grave.
Posted by: 3dc || 01/16/2008 20:19 Comments || Top||


Cruise scientology video leaked
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/16/2008 10:26 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  narcissisctic personality disorder on display straight out of the DSM. With a hint of megalomania.

Remember kids: Uncle Ron Hubtard said Thetans stick to bad kids, and Xenu is out to get you! And you know its true because Hollywood stars like Travolta and Cruise say it is!
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/16/2008 11:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Cruise is a high school dropout, btw.
Posted by: lotp || 01/16/2008 11:30 Comments || Top||

#3  The leak must be intentional. Scientology has a long history of immediately suing anyone who posts their stuff. No lawsuit = this is an ad sponsored by "church."
Posted by: Iblis || 01/16/2008 12:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Uncle Ron Hubtard said Thetans stick to bad kids

I thought he said napalm sticks to kids. Or am I confusing El Ron with somebody else?
Posted by: SteveS || 01/16/2008 13:38 Comments || Top||

#5  Cruise is not playing with a full deck. The guy's a screwball with a lot of money. Scientology is a religion? Since when?
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/16/2008 14:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Naplam, Thetans, bah! All the same thing to a master Scientologist overlord that has self delusions about having a superior intellect.
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/16/2008 15:43 Comments || Top||

#7  Charles Manson was a Scientologist

link

there, nuff said
Posted by: Jan || 01/16/2008 16:29 Comments || Top||

#8  Years ago a friend of mine summed up Scientology and similar 'cults' of which there have been quite a number over the years,

"They turn insecure, unaware morons into secure, unaware morons."
Posted by: phil_b || 01/16/2008 16:41 Comments || Top||

#9  In fact I think he said "Self-assured unaware morons."
Posted by: phil_b || 01/16/2008 16:42 Comments || Top||

#10  Thanks for the Manson link. Duly noted that: Manson took over 150 hours of Scientology courses, rejected it as too crazy, and then went on to murder a whole bunch of people.
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/16/2008 17:53 Comments || Top||

#11  "Blessed are the cheesemakers? What the hell does that mean?"
Posted by: Hupoluck Forkbeard9817 || 01/16/2008 18:06 Comments || Top||

#12  Want to make easy money? The Scientawfuls buy up "e-meters" that ex-cultists peddle on E-Bay, so if you have one you can name your price. They don't want the public to know that these are basically detectors of galvanic skin reactions to verbal questioning. It would be unfair to compare that product to the devises used by Polygraphers, because the Hubbard-gizmos are primitive, worthy of testing frogs.

As for Cruise, his last movie - "Lions for Lambs" - was one of the biggest flops of 2007. He is on the way to has-been status.
Posted by: Jomose Bourbon9209 || 01/16/2008 18:08 Comments || Top||

#13  I lost a buddy in college to these scam artists/nuts. They are no better than the Krishnas, who, at least don't steal EVERYTHING from you. Damning with faint praise
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2008 19:22 Comments || Top||


Update on Tim Blair
Tim has posted this on his website:

*WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE* Results of Monday’s CAT scan are in. There is no spread of the malignancy; zip, zero, zilch. It’s entirely localised. Medical science may disagree, but I think credit should go to readers and fellow bloggers. Your thoughts and prayers have eerie powers.

Massive thanks to all.
Posted by: Mike || 01/16/2008 06:27 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cool!
Posted by: Raj || 01/16/2008 8:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Thank God.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/16/2008 9:00 Comments || Top||

#3  And CAT scans.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/16/2008 9:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Not familar with Tim Blair but glad he got a good report. I had to deal with prostate cancer less than two years ago. Still dealing with it. Prayers and good thoughts are always appreciated by those diagnosed with the big "C."
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/16/2008 18:16 Comments || Top||

#5  prayers and best wishes for ya, JQC. Blair, like you, is a good guy and deserves the same
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2008 19:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Noone deserves cancer. Lots of people deserve justice, but random illness isn't justice.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/16/2008 19:58 Comments || Top||

#7  And he's up to 711 comments on his original post (from Monday).

The boy has a following....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 01/16/2008 20:01 Comments || Top||


Europe
Sarkozy's 10-year-old son receives death threats
The 10-year-old son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has received death threats, the interior minister said Tuesday. Michele Alliot-Marie confirmed French media reports that Louis Sarkozy, the youngest of the French leader’s three sons, received several threatening phone calls on a cell phone registered to his mother, former first lady Cecilia Sarkozy. “It’s absolutely shocking and revolting,” Alliot-Marie told Europe-1 radio. “There are people who are unbalanced, who think they’re clever, who want to blackmail (people) and use these kinds of methods.” A report on the Web site of newsweekly Le Point said two men, aged 21 and 22, would be tried next month for allegedly having placed the calls. Alliot-Marie did not refer to those or other details in the Le Point report, and they could not immediately be confirmed. Le Point’s Web site said one of the suspects, an employee of French cell phone operator Orange, obtained in August a copy of the company’s celebrity client list, which gave Cecilia Sarkozy’s number. He passed the number on to a friend, a firefighter, who spoke to Louis Sarkozy on several occasions, the report said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Classy.
If I'm reading this right, and one of the suspects 'is' a firefighter, send him out this way. I'm sure there are many real firefighters stateside who would just love to talk about threatening any kid.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/16/2008 12:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Concur, you threaten a little kid you need to get beat the f*ck up.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/16/2008 13:50 Comments || Top||

#3  He is still not proven guilty. Now once he is...
Posted by: JFM || 01/16/2008 15:11 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
12 arrested for watching obscene films
The capital police on Tuesday arrested 12 people for allegedly watching øbscene films at an Internet cafe in the jurisdiction of Aabpara Police Station.

On receiving information that some youngsters were watching øbscene films, a police team raided the Internet cafe situated in the Sitara Market and arrested 12 people, including the owner of the Internet cafe, police sources said.

They said the Internet cafe had been sealed off and an FIR was registered against the arrested people.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Don't worry. When they go to trial it will be discovered the government won't have any evidence because the police there have a tendency to hose down the crime scene as soon as the swarm mostly dies down.
Posted by: gorb || 01/16/2008 5:17 Comments || Top||


Home Front Economy
It's about the Behavior Stupid!
(Edited because of length - check out the whole thing at the link & especially the associated videos w/the links if you truly want to laugh)
Middle-class reality check: The 'essential' indulgences
It's not food and rent that are busting our budgets, say experts. It's those little luxuries -- the lattes, the pedicures, the flat-screen TVs -- that we now consider basic needs.

It's a familiar complaint of the middle class: We can't afford our lives. (I'm in the middle class hopefully getting more upward mobile w/in the next couple years - I can't afford the life I want, *BUT*, I do more then afford the life I have & all I need for me and my family. At 34 I've already eclipsed my parents at the same age, not saying that to be snarky but to make a point that I have executed the principles they learned through trial and error & have been enriched by it. I.E. - completing college before my military career and pursuing more during, leading a clean life style, embracing fiscal self-discipline, being competent in my profession, spirit, self-reliance and more than a bit of stoicism)

Rising housing and health-care costs and tricky tax burdens have put the squeeze on us, making it harder than ever to imagine a golden retirement.

But experts say otherwise. Rather, it's that our standard of living has changed so much in the last decades that our "essentials" are no longer that -- so when times get tight, it's hard to find a way to cut back.

My mother would raise an eyebrow at my bimonthly $200 hair highlighting, my $28-per-week coffee fix and my new dependency on $10 organic, grapefruit-scented hand wipes. And, yes, they fall outside the category of true essentials -- a place to live, food to eat, clothes to keep out the chill.
My Grandfather, God rest his soul, a WWII Vet and a close observer of the opression would turn in his grave to see all these "poor people" that cannot afford health care on their cell phones, watching flat screens, and turning on the A.C. in their new car.But the reality is that, to me, they're bare necessities.

"Our standards have just skyrocketed," says Dennis Gilbert, sociology department chairman at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. "If you look in newspapers, the images we see to tell us what's normal are very upper-class images.

"Twelve hundred square feet used to be considered a standard-size house for a family," he adds. "Not anymore. The expectations and standards have changed."

A rising standard of living shouldn't be cause for concern -- and when we can afford these little luxuries, no problem.

But the truth is that many in the middle class spend when they should save -- on iPhones, on designer sunglasses, on flat-screen TVs -- and in many cases buy beyond their means. Bottom line: We're just not saving enough. Spending diary: Where does the money go?

The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that, as of the summer of 2007, our personal savings rate was just 0.5%, compared with 9% 25 years ago. That is one of many signs Americans are living too close to the edge. The Mortgage Bankers Association, a trade group, reports that more than 5% of all mortgage loans were delinquent in the second quarter of 2007, while consumer spending remained fairly steady.
Choices, Choices, Choices. Needs vs. Wants
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/16/2008 15:25 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The new poverty line is determined as living with only a basic cable package.
Posted by: Capsu78 || 01/16/2008 19:59 Comments || Top||



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Wed 2008-01-16
  Four arrested after Kabul hotel attack
Tue 2008-01-15
  PRC, Islamic Jihad to attend Hamas-sponsored conference in Syria
Mon 2008-01-14
  Attack on luxury Afghan hotel kills guard, militant: ISAF
Sun 2008-01-13
  Bissau extradites al Qaeda suspects to Mauritania
Sat 2008-01-12
  Militant threat on Eiffel Tower intercepted
Fri 2008-01-11
  Lahore suicide kaboom kills at least 20, injures 80
Thu 2008-01-10
  40,000 pounds of US bombs hit 38 Qaeda 'safe havens'
Wed 2008-01-09
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Tue 2008-01-08
  Chadian planes bomb rebels in Sudan
Mon 2008-01-07
  Arab FMs urge immediate Leb presidential election
Sun 2008-01-06
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Sat 2008-01-05
  Fatah al-Islam sez they're infesting Ein el-Hellhole
Fri 2008-01-04
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Thu 2008-01-03
  Baquba Awakening Council leader killed by cross-dressing suicide squeegeeman
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