After much fanfare and great expectations, Dubai introduced Burj Khalifa to the world as not only the worlds largest building, but a pinnacle of Dubai's wealth, power and prestige. The opening ceremony of Burj Khalifa was watched by millions, whose extravagance was unmatched. In order to further drive home the image of its massive size, Dubai invited two expert base jumpers, Omar Al Hegelan and Nasser Al Neyadi, to break the world record for highest jump from a man made structure.

There is even a mystery surrounding how many actual stories the building contains. People estimate that there are about 160, but only a select few really know and the secret is being kept tightly. As the West scour enviously, Dubai revels in its technological superiority.

That all changed today. In a totally unexpected move, the Burj Khalifa was closed to the public on Sunday. Those tourists that have travelled to Dubai in order to witness the view from its observation deck are left totally disappointed. This move, while not officially confirmed, is also leading people to speculate whether or not the Burj Khalifa will allow its first permanent residents to move in later this month.

Its owners have admitted to electrical problems in the observation deck, but these have been played down recently as mere trivialities. It is possible that the problems were underestimated, but it is difficult to know for sure.

There is also some talk of terrorism in the blogosphere, but this too is mere speculation and not worth putting too much emphasis on. In reality, until the owners come forth with an official press release, there is simply no way to know.

It seems that while the Emirates have the wealth, they don't seem to have the know how. There habit of rushing into things have left many disappointed. Their ridiculous effort of building Islands of the World has been nothing short of a disaster, while their Palm Island is doing only slightly better. It seems that the sheiks running Dubai should concentrate more on producing oil, and less on revolutionary structures.

Researchers at Toronto's York University examined six- and nine-month-old babies' reactions to a game in which an experimenter was either unable or unwilling to share a toy.

They found the babies could tell and "calmly accepted" when an experimenter was unable to share the toy for reasons beyond his or her control.

However, the babies averted their gazes and became agitated when it was clear the experimenter simply wouldn't share the toy.

"Babies can tell if you're teasing or being manipulative, and they let you know it," said lead author Heidi Marsh. "These results are exciting, as it's the first demonstration that used infants' social behaviour to successfully show that at six months, they comprehend the goals of our actions."

The study also found six-month-olds have a different way of expressing this awareness than nine-month-olds. The latter often banged their arms when the experimenter was intentionally withholding the toy, whereas the six-month-olds were more likely to frown.

The experimenters also used facial expressions to help convey whether they were unwilling or unable to share the toy.

Forty infants, including 20 boys and 20 girls, and their mothers participated in the study, called Six-and Nine-Month-Old Infants Discriminate Between Goals Despite Similar Action Patterns.

Next time when you are with a 6-9 month old baby, please remember that not being able to express themselves doesn't mean that you can tease or mock him/her.

Check the videos -

The normal telecast (as on Live TV) -

Zoomed to the banker -

The stage was set for an obvious firing of the banker but surprisingly, a new legion of his fans and Miranda Kerr, the model he was ogling, seem to have saved him.

Ke

And in an interview with Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper, Kerr said she would sign it.

"I am told there is a petition to save his job and of course I would sign it," she said.

It appears her pledge did the trick.

Kiely's employer Macquarie said it had completed an internal review of the events and action had been taken.

"He will remain an employee of Macquarie," the statement said.

"Macquarie and the employee apologise for any offence that may have been caused."

There are suggestions Mr Kiely was set up by a colleague who sent him the email containing the images for a joke.

It seems like he was opening attachments from his email and it is quite possible that some colleague played a harmless prank on him that went pretty harmful.

This is a crazy world, when a man cannot look at nude pictures of hot models at work. But shouldn't he be working instead?

Recently he swallowed 18 swords/stainless steel blades, each over 2 feet long, breaking his own record of 17.

The sword-eater said he started his dangerous hobby when he was 16 and had used different techniques to prepare his body, including stretching his throat with hoses.

Check his other performances too -

Please don't try any of this at home!

Japanese officials are seeking American counterparts' help to identify the victim.

The body, found inside of the door of the landing gear storage compartment on the Boeing 777, had no visible injuries except signs of frostbite.

The temperature in that part of the plane falls to about 58 degrees below zero during flight, officials said.

"Doctors say he probably froze to death and that he suffered a shortage of oxygen" at an altitude of more than about 30,000 feet, a police official said.

"We found no passport, no bag and no personal belongings," the official said. "If he carried any luggage, it must have all dropped out when the airplane opened up the hatch of the landing gear bay above the ocean before it landed."

This is not the first time when a man has been found in the landing gear compartment.

France has agreed to sell the Mistral helicopter carrier to Russia. The Russian Navy also has its eyes on three more similar vessels in the future.

The approval of the defense deal was announced Monday by Jacques de Lajugie, the international development director of Frances armaments board Delegation Generale pour lArmement (DGA). He added the possible addition of three more helicopter carriers has only been discussed on the technical level, not on the political.

Russias Navy voiced its intention to buy a helicopter carrier last year. The goal is to study the technology and tactical advantages of such a ship.

The French warship Mistral is the main candidate for the purchase, and she even paid a three-day visit to St. Petersburg in November so that top brass could examine it personally. However, the final decision has not yet been made and Russia is considering alternatives.

France currently has two vessels of this class deployed, which means additional warships will have to be commissioned if Russia wants an extra three. Some Russian Navy officials also speculated that the Mistral can go with a license to build similar vessels in Russian shipyards.

Hummmmm! That was not surprising to me and most on this side of the world but now lets see what good ole America prints about this predicament...

"NATO is not an enemy of Russia," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in an interview on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich.

Russia does not believe NATO:

President Dmitry Medvedev signed into approval his country's new military doctrine Friday. The doctrine identifies one of the "main external threats of war" as NATO's expansion east to Russia's borders, and it sees U.S. plans to create an anti-missile shield in Europe as a concern for national security. It also reaffirms Russia's right to use nuclear weapons if the country's existence is threatened.

Why is this? Because the lies run deep! Russia has learned what my Grandma always said, "Only believe half of what you are told, the other half is a lie!"

For Russia it will be a long time until she will believe anything the Wests says...

Windows to Russia!

The findings, published in the current issue of the journal Current Alzheimer Research, could lower expectations about the benefits of medical marijuana in combating various cognitive diseases and help redirect future research to more promising therapeutics.

Previous studies using animal models showed that HU210, a synthetic form of the compounds found in marijuana, reduced the toxicity of plaques and promoted the growth of new neurons. Those studies used rats carrying amyloid protein, the toxin that forms plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's victims.

The new study, led by Dr. Weihong Song, Canada Research Chair in Alzheimer's Disease and a professor of psychiatry in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, was the first to test those findings using mice carrying human genetic mutations that cause Alzheimer's disease -- widely considered to be a more accurate model for the disease in humans.

"As scientists, we begin every study hoping to be able to confirm beneficial effects of potential therapies, and we hoped to confirm this for the use of medical marijuana in treating Alzheimer's disease," says Song, a member of the Brain Research Centre at UBC and VCH Research Institute and Director of Townsend Family Laboratories at UBC.

"But we didn't see any benefit at all. Instead, our study pointed to some detrimental effects."

It looks like they injected mice with heavy doses of HU210, more commonly known as cannabinoid. The doses were from 100 to 800 times that which most marijuana smokers get. In the end there was no benefit, but some signs of greater plaque buildup.

What I want to know, where do I get my hands on cannabinoids?

Palestinians pelted Israeli Border Police with stones in Shuafat, near Jerusalem.

Police entered the Palestinian nest to arrest a few Arab criminals, but mostly to secure Jerusalem municipal workers due to come to Shuafat next morning. The municipality maintains Shuafats infrastructure even though its workers fear for their lives when they enter the neighborhood.

Palestinian behavior regarding municipality might seem bizarrely self-destructive until we recall Rabbi Kahanes words, It was our [Arab] desert, and now its your garden. Arabs will not sell their national pride for municipal services, and therefore we must expel them.

Samson Blinded

The Rehab singer is presently recording a new album.

According to sources, Fielder-Civils plans of threesome will be a nasty surprise for troubled Amy, who still calls him soulmate.

Fielder-Civil revealed his intention with a posted message for Gilleen Morris, the mother of his four-month-old son.

Are yo comin to St Lucia or not. Need to book flights, the Daily Star quoted him as stating on the mail.

He added: Who you bringing.. any sexy friends, as good lookin as you.. needs to look good for the photies!! Xx.

Also, a source said: Amy was absolutely desperate to have Blake join her in the Caribbean. The only problem is, hes planning on bringing another girl.

Another insider added: Amy is still head over heels in love with Blake and she hopes to convince him to go too.

Shes lonely without him and wants some sunshine and fun.

Meanwhile, Winehouses pals have criticized Fielder-Civil for being insensitive.

One said: He is absolutely shameless. Only he would concoct a plan to go on holiday with Amy and take another woman along in tow. Hes the lowest of the low.

Celebrity and World

Bank advisor David Kiely became an overnight online sensation after cameras captured him opening a series of emails containing photographs of Kerr while one of his colleagues, Martin Lakos, did a live television cross to Channel 7 news right behind him.

Victorias Secret model Kerr revealed she was relieved to know the stockbroker with Macquarie Private Wealth can forget worrying about losing his job.

Im actually very relieved he hasnt lost his job I would have felt terrible, otherwise. I hope he can relax this weekend after what Im sure has been a crazy week for him, the Daily Telegraph quoted her as saying.

She added: I am always in my underwear for Victorias Secret and that was a shoot for GQ. It was innocent. In my opinion, the photographs are elegant and classic and, for many years, women have done shoots similar to that.

Celebrity and World

The 23-year-old singer will reportedly accompany 77-year-old Richard Lugner to the super posh annual event Vienna Opera Ball.

But the actress, who has been in and out of rehab three times, will purportedly have to adhere to no booze rules as part of the deal.

Weve agreed to pull all the liquor from the mini bar in her hotel room and told staff they must not serve her alcohol, the Daily Star quoted Lugner as saying.

The four-times divorced tycoon was said to have spent a fortune in hiring leading ladies, including Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson and burlesque beauty Dita Von Teese, as his dates to one of his countrys most glittering events.

Celebrity and World

Sarah Palin's speech at the so-called National Tea Party Convention last night was interesting for many reasons. One of them is that Palin was forced to use crib notes scrawed on her hand.

The photo above, blown up from the photo below by The Huffington Post, clearly shows the evidence. The crib notes were used during a QA session at the convention, leading to the obvious conclusion that the questions and answers were known beforehand.

It's not hard to believe she would need to use crib notes. After all, this is a woman who didn't know Africa was a continent. It is, however, hypocritical since she recently criticized President Barack Obama over use of a teleprompter.

It does show that she's learned from the Katie Couric interview from last year: don't go in without knowing the answers, and make sure you have the answers around in case you forget them.

Watch a video, too:

Originally on SNAFU-ed

The habbit of closing things before an event even starts is also quite amusing. Schools were closed the night before Snowmageddon even began, businesses closed hours early without even a flake on the ground. The logic is understandable, but coming from a country where immense snowfalls happen regularly, with no preparation or means to fight it, this is interesting to watch.

After Snowmaggedon settled, it was a truly beautiful sight. Within 30 minutes of the last snowflake, the sun was out and shining bright. The next day was truly impressive as well. While the roads were terrible, impossible to properly navigate without all wheel drive, stores were open and people were out and about. This worst snowfall in DC's recent memory, , has ended and the panic was all for nought ... as they all end.

As I drove around the area, I was breathtaken by the beauty left in Snowmaggedon's aftermath. People were out shoveling, kids were playing in the streets and the snow left a puffy blanket of white everywhere. Below are some photos of the aftermath shot early this morning, some with comments on where they were taken.

Shady Grove in North Potomac, a generally Busy Street

This is a reasonably large intersection by Potomac Place Shopping Center

This is Interstate 270 by the Shady Grove exit. There is an inch of snow throughout most of it

In the end I have but one question, what will all those people do with a 2 month supply of milk?

This is nothing new, religion strives on deceiving its followers. If religions always told the truth, their followers were drop to like flies. In this case, however, they have stooped to an all new low.

For the third time in about 2 years, the Florida supreme court has allowed a gay couple, Vanessa Alenier and Melanie Leon, to adopt a child. This particular child has been cared for by this gay couple for some time, Vanessa Alenier happens to be related to the boy. When the religious, they like to go by Christians, caught wind of this they had a conniption. Immediately, the Florida Family Policy Council of Orlando spread pamphlets around their congregation, and beyond, to showcase the couple and demand the boy be put back into Foster care ... the stupidity just oozes from them. However, once you take a look at the couple, you may have second thoughts.

What is that? Are those even woman? How did those two manage to adopt a boy? Well, they didn't. God only knows who those two are, but they have nothing to do with this story what so ever, aside from the fact that these Religious freaks decided to showcase these two as the evil Lesbians that the boy needs to be rescued from.

However, the real couple is quite different. In all honesty, the fact that they are lesbians is shocking considering how absolutely beautiful they are. Introducing the real Vanessa Alenier and Melanie Leon.

Obviously these religious freaks couldn't post that picture, the men in their congregation would probably have to quickly leave to the bathroom to jerk off quickly. Come to think of it, the hypocrite who created the pamphlet is likely jerking off to this picture as we speak.

It kills me how hypocritical these Christian freaks actually are. As they go home and beat their children, they are likely thinking its ok because, "At least I'm not gay". This situation is a joke. If I were Vanessa Alenier or Melanie Leon, I would likely be seeking out a great lawyer for a defamation lawsuit. Or, better yet, if I am a great lawyer, I would find Vanessa Alenier and Melanie Leon to support them in said lawsuit.

J Street is now in talks over acquiring Brit Tzedek. A tiny pro-Arab organization with a staff of just five self-hating Jews, Brit Tzedek boasts of 48,000 volunteers, a few thousands of them for real. Acquisition of Brit Tzedek will provide J Street with local chapters throughout the United States.

Samson Blinded

For some strange reason, people take offense at getting a hand job with their coffee. I, for one, can't think of a better way to start the morning. Apparently, there seems to be something about the way in which the hand hand job is negotiated, but those are mere details.

This is another case where truth is stranger than fiction. The real story doesn't really involve a happy ending at all, but rather some guys asking for a 'little' fun.

Five bikini baristas in the area of Everett, Wash., are accused of charging customers up to $80 for a little something extra on the side of their java.

The baristas allegedly fondled, flashed and took photos for some extra cash at the drive-thru window, sometimes in the view of passing traffic.

Honestly, what's the big deal with Photos, a quick flash or a brief rub? Whats worse, the story likely happened in a much more devious way. For such trivialities, imagine what the people likely went through. All the pleading, the whining, or whatever. I am sure the officer, or random guy, didn't just say "Show me your tits for $10". It likely involved first being rejected for sex, than a blow ... eventually settling on something trivial.

I would like to hear the real story behind this, but it is unlikely. Prostitution has such a bad stigma amongst the religious, they will do whatever it takes to cause any damage.

So far, Shiite groups refrained from retaliating for various terrorist acts against them. The Sadr militia and other Iranian-backed groups show restraint to avoid prompting Americans to delay the withdrawal. But after August, they will act.

When quite everyone lauded the US Armys surge tactics, we said that the results would be short-lived.

Attacks on Shiites intensified somewhat after the Iraqi Shiite-led government banned 511 Sunni candidates from the elections over their connections with Saddam. Under American pressure, Iraqi judges overturned the ban, which leaves us wondering, are those people in the State Department really crazy? In the name of liberal democracy which does not exist in this part of the world, they assured a deadlocked parliament in Iraq. A proper solution would be to give Shia parts of Iraq back to Iran, allow independence to Kurdistan, and let Iraq persist as a Sunni state.

Samson Blinded

A few comments: considering that Sarah Palin, a woman in her 40's, did not know that Africa was a continent and not a country, it is obvious there's a good chance she would fail this test. Second, as a member of Mensa with a certified genius level IQ, I can't answer these, because my civics class was over 30 years ago.

And finally, what you need to be able to do to vote for a candidate is not understand the esoterics of the laws and information in that test. You need to be able to parse the rhetoric of candidates. That is something that many on the right, who still believe in "death panels," cannot doe.

Originally on SNAFU-ed

The star of Nickelodeons hit Zoey 101 has a 19-month-old daughter with Aldridge, reports Us magazine.

She made headlines in 2007 after her announcement that she was pregnant at the age of 16.

A year later, reports arrived that she and Aldridge were engaged.

Jamie Lynn gave birth to daughter Maddie Briann in June 2008 at a hospital in Mississippi, near her Kentwood, La., hometown.

Celebrity and World

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter ruled out foul play, concluding Murphy primarily died of pneumonia, with anaemia and multiple drug intoxication as contributing factors.

Winter further said the death could have been prevented had the Clueless star seen a doctor instead of relying on self-medication.

This death could have been preventable. Murphy was planning on seeing a doctor, but she unfortunately passed away before she did. This was a case of a person with pneumonia who was anaemic who was taking medication when she should have been getting medical treatment, the Telegraph quoted Winter as saying.

But Monjack told People magazine his wife was not that ill on the day she died.

She wasnt coughing up. Ive had pneumonia and coughed up handfuls of spittle. So yeah, everything surprised us, he said of the coroners findings.

Murphy died aged 32 on December 20 last year after collapsing at her Hollywood home.

Celebrity and World

Gerald Lee Mance, 60, of Morrison, admitted in court that he took a blank Illinois traffic accident report from the home of a friend who works as a law enforcement officer and used it to concoct a story about striking a deer so he did not have to attend the second day of a jury selection process Dec. 1, the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star reported Friday.

Mance said he faxed a copy of the falsified report to the district court clerk's office.

U.S. District Judge Frederick Kapala sentenced Mance to 30 days of home confinement followed by 90 days of probation and 100 hours of community service. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

Well, faking sickness or some radical behaviour might have been easier!

An Australian banking employee who became an Internet sensation after a video of an interview showing him in the background looking at a few racy images on the Internet was posted to YouTube, will keep his job.

Macquarie Bank said in a statement released on Friday: "He will remain an employee of Macquarie. Macquarie and the employee apologize for any offence that may have been caused."

While you might expect that the company might start looking into censoring the sites its employees are allowed to view, it turns out that the red-faced employee, David Kiely opened e-mails on Tuesday containing pictures of model Miranda Kerr. It wasn't about the Web; it was about inappropriate email.

Interestingly, many were interested in helping Kiely keep his job.
The financial website Here is the City News even set up a "Save Dave" page encouraging readers to email the PR department of Macquarie Bank to help save Kiely's job. The web campaign cited the following reasons:

Additionally, Kerr, a 26-year-old Australian-born model engaged to "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Orlando Bloom, tod news.com.au that "I am told there is a petition to save his job, and of course I would sign it."

You might expect Kiely's desk to be moved out of camera view. Watch the original video here:

Watch a report on the incident, which shows a close-up in which you can see his horrified realization of the incident.

Originally on SNAFU-ed

Looking at the condemnation of Iranian nuclear program coming from Europe, Netanyahu must be busy preparing for a strike on Iran, and does not want to alienate Syria further. But no doubt, at some point we would have a government which weighs a piece of paper with Syrias signature above land and will return the Golan Heights.

Samson Blinded

The couple, who practices faith healing, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide on Tuesday after prosecutors argued they failed in their duty to get medical help for their son, Neil, in June 2008.

Neil Beagley died of complications from a congenital urinary tract blockage. Doctors testified the he could have been treated up until the day he died.

If this isn't bad enough, the story gets worse.

His death came just months after the death of their granddaughter, Ava Worthington, who died under similar circumstances.

The 15-month-old passed away March 2008 of pneumonia and a blood infection. Like Neil, she was given oils and prayer instead of medicine.

The toddler's parents, Raylene and Carl Worthington, were acquitted of manslaughter last year. The trial tested a change in Oregon law in 1999 resulting from a public outcry over a series of child deaths among members of the Followers of Christ Church.

The stupid members of Followers of Christ Church are renown for doing just this. I don't know about you, but I think it is time to disband this church making it a crime for their followers to have children.

Headline stolen from Fark

The new car, which has been developed through Nick Wirths dveelopment team at Manor racing took tentative steps out onto the damp cold circuit in a momentous occassion met with raptuous applause and delight from the mechanics.

The team were originally scheduled to enter F1 under the Manor name before Richard Branson came in with sponsorship and funding in exchange for a large stake of the team.

After 10 challenging months, all the commitment and determination has finally paid off, said Nick Wirth, Virgins technical director.

Today was all about those tentative first few steps but the programme really gets underway tomorrow with a full day of on-track evaluation for both Timo and Lucas [di Grassi].

Timo Glock took the car out yesterday and new f1 driver Lucas di Grassi gets his hands on it today at the British based circuit.

F1 Fanatics

DiCaprio, 35, who has had an on and off relationship with Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli since 2005, has no plans to start a family yet.

Im not that old, my biological clock isnt ticking yet. Id like to leave it to fate if and when Im going to be a father. A part of me has too many professional plans to even seriously consider it, the Daily Express quoted him, as telling Germanys OK! Mag.

However, the Titanic Star admitted feeling broody when he sees the children of his relatives.

He said: When I see the children in my family though, the idea of having children doesnt seem too far-fetched.

Celebrity and World

The rocker has donated 312,500 pounds to the relief effort, reports the Daily Express.

He has handed over the cash to the American Red Cross.

Mayer has also allowed charity bosses to use The Heart of Life the song he performed on CNN TV special Haiti: How You Can Help in a new public service announcement.

Celebrity and World

NASA has recently teamed up with GM to build the latest in robotic technology, the Robonaut 2. Nicknamed R2 (no, it isn't followed by D2), this robot is a step above the rest. Each of its human like arms can lift 10 Kilograms, which I hear is substantially more than the competition can claim.

For NASA, this robot is the ideal 'assistant'. It can go places that humans wouldn't want to, and can perform many of the menial tasks that humans are currently doing, like standard maintenance operation on the International Space Station. But why would GM want a part in this? That should be obvious.

"For GM, this is about safer cars and safer plants," Alan Taub, GM's vice president for global research and development, said in a statement. "When it comes to future vehicles, the advancements in controls, sensors and vision technology can be used to develop advanced vehicle safety systems."Source: news.cnet.com

While this robot is still in the early stages, there is a great deal of potential. If they can lessen its weight and make it a standard piece of equipment on every mission, astronauts can spend more time on their scientific research and less on the mundane

The Senate Armed Services Committee will address the militarys Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy Tuesday the first time in 17 years the topic will be debated before a Senate committee.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen are slated to testify on the law, which bans openly gay Americans from serving in the military.

The hearing on Dont Ask, Dont Tell comes in the wake of Obamas State of the Union address last week, when he declared his desire to end the policy.

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. Its the right thing to do, Obama said.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin has said repeatedly he has never supported the controversial policy, and other senators have expressed their opposition to it as well.

The militarys Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy is an unjust, outdated and harmful rule that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women, said Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a statement. Ive been working with my colleagues in Congress and other leaders to overturn this wasteful and destructive policy. I am hopeful that President Obama will make this a top priority.

Some Republicans, however, question the timing of the administrations push to lift the ban.

In the middle of two wars and in the middle of this giant security threat, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) asked Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press, why would we want to get into this debate?

Personally, despite President Obamas claim of desire to end this policy, I sincerely doubt that anything will come of it. Its an election year, one that looks to be particularly grimly fought, and Obama no longer has enough political capital to make up for the hit that any incumbent would take for trying to repeal this law.

This is just a stageplay designed to pander to gays and the farther Left of the country and to give the Dems a chance to again paint the GOP as bigoted and obstructive.

To my mind that is a crying shame because Dont Ask, Dont Tell should be repealed. It is predicated upon unconstitutional ideas and, as such, should have been struck down by the Courts years ago. Sadly, they have to-date failed to do so, though the SCOTUS has not yet deigned to hear any case regarding it.

From the US Constitution, supposedly the highest law of the land:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

US Constitution, Second Amendment

That the right to bear arms was intended by our Founders to mean the right to bear arms in the common defense, i.e., serve in the military forces of America, can be deduced from the concerns over the original 2nd Amendment. The Constitution makes it quite clear that such a right exists for every American and it shall not be infringed.

Nowhere does it say, except for sodomites, which would have been the term used at the time.

Furthermore 10 U.S.C. 311 Militia: composition and classes states:

The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

Yet the 2nd Finding of Congress listed in 10 U.S.C. 654 flies directly in the face of both the 2nd Amendment and the US law which has formed the underpinning of military service in America since 1792.

(2) There is no constitutional right to serve in the armed forces.

It obvious to me that somebody is a piss-poor student of the law and the Constitution either myself or various members of Congress and the Courts because I sure as theres a Hell cant reconcile these things. I would that the error was mine but somehow I dont think it is this time.

This is one of those cases where Im so far to the Right that I arrive at the same decision as the Left, but for wildly different reasons. It is also a case where I part company from the GOP.

What to me is telling is that the opposition to letting gays openly serve in the military is that gays would harm unit cohesion. That is to say that homosexuals in military units would degrade the bonds of trust among individual service members that make the combat effectiveness of a military unit greater than the sum of the combat effectiveness of the individual unit members.

Even if true and Im unwilling to speculate upon that since Ive been out of the Service for too long to gauge things accurately that is an empirical effect, not a proper basis for interpreting the Constitution in a rights restrictive manner. As I have argued before, the US Constitution and the rights it enumerates trump inconvenient or negative effects caused by maintaining the free exercise of those rights.

Is there a Republican or a Conservative of any stripe out there who can explain to me how the actual arguments being used against homosexuals being allowed to exercise their rights serve in our military are categorically different than the arguments used by the Liberals against gun ownership or the recent Citizens United ruling?

Reflections From a Murky Pond

The event went sour when Russian government hinted that the conference wont take place. Naturally, the regime which did away with the major jewish oligarchs is not happy with muscle-flexing by the surviving second-tiers.

The conference will be moved to Jerusalem, but now many oligarchs will skip it to avoid Putins displeasure.

Samson Blinded

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who famously came out as supporting President Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign has offered his support to an Obama plan. That plan is to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

As the nations top military officer in the 1990s, Colin Powell opposed allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military. On Wednesday he switched gears, saying in a statement:

On Tuesday, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, told lawmakers that they supported President Obamas proposal to repeal the 1993 law. Admiral Mullen is the first Joint Chiefs chairman to ever take that position.

As noted on Tuesday, however, any change in the DADT policy would not come any time soon. Both Mullen and Gates told lawmakers that there would be a Pentagon review of up to a year to study how to implement any change before they expected Congress to act on repealing DADT.

Originally on SNAFU-ed

I hate to pass on the news but what I hear coming from China and Asia is not good and America has awakened a normally quiet semi-foe. China does not jest this time when she says, something that resembles, The Reciprocation's will not be pleasant!

So while the USA throws out her chest and says: China will adjust her currency, China will learn about trade laws, China will have Human Rights, China will help on Iran, China will not worry about arms sales to Taiwan and China don't worry that Obama will meet with Dali Lama no matter what you think!

China has a quiet disposition and the patience that America has no understanding about. China will wait for the right time and retribution will be much worse than a bunch of ill timed words that stir up trouble...

Besides Russia has not changed her mind and will not be backing these sanctions either. One thing about Russia is that they can express a worry without having to feel they must carry through after expressing that worry.

China and Russia are much too involved politically and financially with Iran just to turn their back on her. Also when America is seen as a bigger issue and threat to the world than Iran...

Funny thing: Seems like America has pissed Russia and China off on purpose in the last few weeks. Could they then feel free to blame Russian and China for an ensuing attack on Iran nuclear sites? With the huge build up of warships near Iran... (No Support, so we had to do it to ensure the safety of the world! All Russia and China's fault...)

Makes me go Hummmm!

Windows to Russia!

In exchange for ratting out enough people so that Canadian Police could arrest upwards of 150 people, the police gave Sylvain Boulanger $3 Million as well as complete immunity from prosecution, even after he openly admitted to numerous crimes himself as well as murder.

"The door was open, I come up on the side and I shoot. I hear 'Ow! Ow! Ow!' I see him there and in my head, he's dead. So I get out of there running," he told police in a videotaped conversation obtained by Radio-Canada.Source: www.cbc.ca

So, children, if you are going to live a life of crime, it is best to do so in a large group. After you get sick of doing it, say 20 years in, you can always rat out your friends. Learn from Sylvain Boulanger's example and you too can be given a $3 Million severance package. If you play your cards right, you may even get a little more.

On second thought, ratting out Hells Angels doesn't do much to improve your life expectancy.

The singer, who has previously dated Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson, said had the ace golfer not taken the vows, his exposed links with 19 alleged mistresses would not have landed him in trouble.

Tiger Woods problems come from him being married. The end. If Tiger Woods was single and he texted a girl and said I wanna wear your ass like a hat, why would that ever hit the news? the New York Daily News quoted Mayer as telling The Independent newspaper.

Mayer continued: I write a lot of dirty text messages to girls, and youve never seen any of them.

Why? Because if a girl brought a dirty text message from me to the newspapers, theyd say I dont have an angle here. Someone wants to wear your ass like a hat? Big deal. Hes 32 years old. Hes a single guy. If John Mayer has a wife and sends dirty texts, then we got a story.

Celebrity and World

The 24-year-old Pride and Prejudice star, who stars with Leonardo DiCaprio in her next movie Inception, is studying quantum science at the California Institute of Technology.

I got into physics through pop science and quantum science and ended up being such a quantum groupie, the Telegraph quoted her as telling Esquire magazine.

She added: I thought if I could learn quickly enough to try and get involved then that would be super-exciting.

The British beauty, engaged to South African-American physicist Elon Musk, further revealed she does not favour sex before marriage and plans to have a big family.

She said: The things I wanted to do from a very early age ie. get married and have children precluded a lot of guys my own age from wanting to have anything to do with me.

I was very upfront about it: Hi, Im Talulah I dont believe in sex before marriage, and I want to have 10 children.

Celebrity and World

As if, upon discovering the reality of her husband Mark Sanford's infidelity was not bad enough, Jenny Sanford reports in a new memoir that the South Carolina governor actually asked her advice with regards to his affair.

Jenny Sanford, as reported at HuffPo, writes in "Staying True" (to be released Friday) that Gov. Sanford wondered aloud whether he should follow his heart to Argentina to be with his mistress, Maria Belen-Chapur. He asked if he would regret not doing so. She wrote "Clearly those are thoughts I wish he had kept to himself."

Also, In an upcoming "20/20" interview with Barbara Walters, Jenny Sanford noted that Mark Sanford dropped the word "faithful" from the couple's wedding vows. As reported:

Originally on SNAFU-ed

If you are in Moscow, Russia and your name happens to be Julia Popova, you can then calmly walk home as if nothing happened. After getting home, be prepared for a few odd stares. When Julia arrived home, with said 6 inch blade protruding from her back, her parents were a little surprised.

When she got home her horrified parents rushed her to hospital where surgeons managed to remove the blade without damaging Julia's spine.

One medic said: "Shock had kicked in and her body prevented her from feeling any pain. She simply walked home without feeling the knife in her back."

Shock, huh? I could use a little of that now and again, especially if it can give me super powers like that. I would have guessed a little Vodka helped, but what do I know.

Interestingly enough, not a word of this in any Russian Press. Photoshop?

We reported earlier today that the team were sending equipment to Bahrain for the race, and now they are off testing with their new driver, Williams refugee Kazuki Nakajima. Their other drivers identity is much harder to define, some speculating it will be Sebastien Bourdais or even Antonio Pizzonia.

Their website showed us a glimpse into their offices, a beaming Zoran Stefanovic with Mike Coughlan, the disgraced McLaren designer who stole Ferrari designs in 2007 and led into the Spy-Gate scandal which Formula One has never really recovered from.

The new car has a chassis number of S-01 and is powered by a former Toyota V8 unit, despite being re-badged will still be maintained by Toyota Motorsport Europe, where Stefan GP are basing their initial operations.

Rumour circulating the testing paddock is that Campos Meta, and possibly US F1 are in trouble paving the possibile way for Stefan into Formula One, but it isnt that simple, they cant just walk into the paddock and say Hi everyone, were here and we want to race. The early 1990s showed us that not everyone can run an F1 team, and I think I am right in saying we do not want another Andrea Moda!

F1 Fanatics

The launch was supposed to be broadcast live, but a major technical glitch left fans and reporters sat watching a black screen, and the joke was most certainly on Virgin who beamed about their car being designed exclusively on computers and they couldnt even get a video stream working.

Nevertheless we finally saw the new car which is quite a looker, in a black and red livery quite similar to the former Midland F1 cars of 2006.

The sponsors are there, which makes a change to some of the more recent launches.

Today is a very proud day for everyone involved with Virgin Racing, however on this occasion, where the car is the star, I want to pay tribute to all the amazing people at Wirth Research who deserve so much of the credit for the VR-01, said designer Nick Wirth.

Putting together an F1 team, assembling an engineering group and designing a new car from scratch is an epic task in the timeframe we have been working to.

I have been fortunate to have worked with the very best designers in F1 and I am well aware of exactly what it takes to be successful in this sport. When you see what the existing teams have achieved using the conventional but proven design approach, it is unsurprising that there is a great deal of scepticism about our all-CFD approach.

But we are competing in a sport that is undergoing significant change having come face to face with todays harsh economic realities. Under resource restriction, convention will become too costly and necessity really will be the mother of invention. I have absolute belief in the digital design process and the opportunity to put the all-CFD approach to the test at the highest level to demonstrate that this could be the way for the future of F1 is very, very exciting.

Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi will be driving the car, originally bought into F1 under the Manor moniker and now known as Virgin from Richard Bransons business group.

F1 Fanatics

In the vastness of space, comets collide all the time. However, the likelihood of the Hubble Telescope capturing this on film is immensely slight. The only thing that is even rarer than this is the Hubble Telescope capturing an alien space craft.

Needless to say, however rare, all likelihood points to the fact that this is a comet collision. UCLA investigator David Jewitt explains:

Disappointed? Don't be, this is a rare shot none the less. There is no doubt that aliens exist out there somewhere, but the likelihood of capturing their space ship on camera while it is doing an earth fly by is ... well ... ridiculous.

Cmon, no way. Obama cannot even decide on bombing North Korean and Iranian nuclear facilities which pose clear and present danger of nuclear terrorism, and are we to believe that he would wipe out Tehran or Pyongyang with millions of people allegedly held hostage by their regimes? A minute silence in the UN, a month of sanctions, thats it.

On other hand, Israel would be perfectly safe to attack Iranian underground laboratories with tactical nuclear weapons.

Samson Blinded

It is fun to watch the Western world get their faces all twisted up in a tissy when Russia does things that are considered bad and evil by Western standards. Even when it is the West that helps do these evil things...

What am I talking about?

The proposed sale of the French navy's 23,700-ton Mistral-class amphibious assault ship to Russia by a NATO country, France!

This seems to me to be more of a chess game tactic by Putin to obtain a vessel. The actuality is Russia does needs the ship to be able to enhance the fleet and give helper blueprints to produce her own assault ships of said design.

But that said: If Russia does not obtain such a ship, it still will not prevent a future development of said assault ships. So Putin sees a way to increase the Navy now - not later - but in the end run, it will all be the same results...

The West tries to play the issue of a weak Navy by Russia who needs this assault ship to help her! Russia has played well on that part and recently released a statement that riled up America:

Putin has made a chess move...

Putin is playing on the several little known facts:

One, that Germany is a powerhouse of an exporter to Russia. France has caught this idea that Russia can be a good safe customer and is trying to enter the market to get her share of the pie.

Two, he is also playing the NATO issue of enhanced relations and closer ties!

Three, he is playing on the fact that 1000's of French workers need the sale because the building shipyards are getting close to reducing the work force. There are no orders for these ships and Russia actually has suggested three ships to be bought. That means years of work for French employees...

Russia is not an enemy of Europe, in fact the opposite is true. Russia is a friend to Europe and the more that America gets shoved aside (due to lessoning influence) the more pronounced Europe will see a good Russia! (Is that possible?)

Six Republican senators from America, including John McCain (Ariz.), wrote a letter in December to the French ambassador in Washington, Pierre Vimont, complaining that the sale would be inappropriate because it would suggest that France approves of Russia's conduct, which the letter called increasingly aggressive and illegal. (Lions, Tigers and Elephants - Oh My!)

Just maybe France does approve! Has America stopped to think about that?

I have thought about it and it is none of my American beeswax if Russia wants to buy an assault ship....

Windows to Russia!

Willis, 54, who showcased his invention on February 1, had to fight the urge to laugh after the bizarre underpants exploded and left two holes below the front pockets of his trousers during the demonstration.

Itll liven up any party or any business meeting. Available in briefs, boxers or boxer-briefs for 19.95 dollars Stand back and learn. When were at the lab we like to say, 3, 2, 1!, the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

The actor then coolly sat back down and drenched his crotch with water.

Im like the circus. No elephants, no nothing, just the tent, he added.

Celebrity and World

The Brazilian underwear model called off their relationship over age and busy schedule issues, reports The Daily Star.

Newspaper Chicago Sun-Times alleges, It not only was totally amicable, but it was Luz who initiated the split.

Apparently, the 23-year-old Brazilian realized their age difference (shes 51) and overall lack of mutual interests nixed a long-term relationship.

Madonna started seeing Luz after they met at a December 2008 photoshoot for W magazine.

Just weeks before the singer had finalized her divorce with director Guy Ritchie.

Celebrity and World

However, this latest spy trouble between Russia and Ukraine is turning into a joke. Not so much the spying, but the information regarding the spying. While it is hard to find what Ukraine did to Russia in Western Press, the Ukrainian statement has been released ... and it is hilarious.

Ukraine said that the five alleged Russian spies were caught possessing a camera concealed inside a pen, other espionage equipment and $2,000 (1,250) - a reported bribe for a Ukrainian contact.Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A camera in a pen is a nice touch, but $2000? $2000? Really? A whole $2000? Who was he planning to bribe, a local police officer? I am not sure who is the idiot, the Ukrainian official that reported this number or the media agency reporting it.

Just for some background info on Ukrainian bribes, $2000 wasn't enough to get MY PERSONAL BELONGINGS out of the port in Odessa. That is the standard DWI bribe. If you are caught with Marijuana, $2000 'might' buy your way out. So, $2000 to bribe a Ukrainian official is about as laughable as trying to hand an American police officer $5to get out of a speeding ticket.

I have no doubt that a Russian spy had money on him, but believe me that it was FAR MORE than $2000. $200,000, maybe ... but possibly even more. If I had to guess, they probably played the 'cop' game where they confiscate $200,000, $100,00 makes it to the police station, $20,000 makes it to the evidence room and $2000 is recorded.

It looks like that may have been the case. Google's latest 'leak' seems to be an upcoming competitor to Apple's tablet, the Google Tablet. There is no official name, release date, or even a definite yes/no as to whether it is being built, but there are pictures ...

This tablet will likely run the Chromium operating system, Google's open source Chrome project operating system, and it looks like it can be a solid competitor in the tablet market ... something that the iTampon can't quite claim (as a general aside, I would prefer Microsoft's crappy tablet to the iTampon any day).

The Chromium site offers the following description of the theoretical tablet.

The images are all concept images, but they definitely look like a step up from apple's iTampon.

An advertisement aimed at kick-starting declining Austrian Army recruitment has been shelved after complaints of sexism. The ad showed young women chasing a tank for a "joy-ride." In order to do so, they passed up a macho-looking Audi driver.

While the Army was all for the ad, saying "Our clip is so dorky it's brilliant," Judith Goetz, in charge of feminist issues at the Austrian Students' Union, said: "It is totally archaic to show such an obviously sexist video when women are part of the Austrian military."

A "loose translation" from the YouTube video follows:

Audi Driver: hey Girls, wanna go for a spin in my fast ride?
Girls: ehh not sure, there's not even enough space for all of us
Soldier: wazzup girls, in the mood for a joyride?
Girls: *yaaaaay*
Soldier: join the army if you wanna drive a tank
Soldier2: jump in, starting engine
Audi Driver: hey, what about the spin?
Girl: forget it, I want to drive something big
Narrator: the Austrian Armed Forces offer unique opportunities for young people who are at least 18, everything else is just everday life

Originally on SNAFU-ed

Stefan GP bought out the assets of the former Toyota F1 team, including their 2010 development chassis and designs and 2.4l V8 engines. Some suggest that the team may work out of the Toyota Motorsport factory in Cologne, Germany.

However Stefan took one oversight the entry. That entry was given back to Sauber who re-formed out of the burning wreck of the BMW team. Undeterred by a lack of entry, Stefan have dropped continual hints about competing in 2010, but say they will spend the season testing before entering in 2011.

Stefan Grand Prixbecomes the first team in F1 history who did send a 40 foot container full of equipment to the race in Bahrain without having entry for 2010 season, said a statement issued by the team.

F1 Fanatics

America's meddling in Ukrainian politics is nothing new, and in fact a common practice for all world powers. The American elections have been likewise greatly influenced by foreign powers, albeit a completely illegal practice. There is little doubt that the Clintons received immense backing by the Chinese government.

Politics is a dirty game in which those with more power are always trying to instill their views on those with less. The more money, the more power ... and hence American dominance. Ukraine just happened to get caught up in another one of America's failed attempts at purchasing influence.

The Washington Times is currently running a great article in this direction by Doug Bandow entitled A Champion at Meddling [link]. I can't say that I agree with it completely, but I don't want to take away from it by only citing the pieces that I like. The story is copied in full below.

Five years ago, Western governments and nongovernmental organizations did their best to support Ukraine's so-called Orange Revolution, which propelled Viktor Yushchenko into the Ukrainian presidency. But Mr. Yushchenko's performance in office was a disaster; in last month's presidential election, he finished in fifth place with a dismal 5.4 percent. His failure serves as a stark reminder of the risks when Washington intervenes in foreign politics.

Ukraine was one of many lands absorbed by both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The collapse of the latter enabled Ukraine to win its independence.

But the break was never clean. Nearly one-fifth of Ukrainians are ethnic Russians. They make up a majority in the Crimea, which contains Russia's Sevastopol naval base.

Moreover, Ukrainian politics have been marred by corruption, vote fraud, brutal infighting and violence. Despite the Manichean prism through which Westerners tend to view foreign political contests, most leading Ukrainian politicians appear to be shades of gray rather than black and white.

In the December 2004 poll, Washington-backed Mr. Yushchenko had his own big-business allies, just like Viktor Yanukovich, who was attacked for being a tool of financial oligarchs. Moreover, Mr. Yushchenko was allied with financial baroness Yulia Tymoshenko.

Although Mr. Yushchenko was more obviously pro-Western than Mr. Yanukovich, in practice, the differences were smaller than advertised. Even the latter advocated membership in the European Union, and Mr. Yushchenko never found public or political support for his plan to join NATO.

Finally, Mr. Yushchenko proved to be one of the least competent politicians ever elected head of state. Despite the initial euphoria of more liberal and Western-leaning elites at Mr. Yushchenko's victory, Ukrainian politics quickly turned into a national soap opera.

Mr. Yushchenko quickly turned on Mrs. Tymoshenko, even accusing her of treason. In the meantime, the economy stagnated, reform halted, relations with Russia deteriorated, and the Ukrainian people grew frustrated.

In the latest vote, Mr. Yanukovich finished first with about 35 percent compared to Mrs. Tymoshenko's 25 percent. She still could win the runoff on Feb. 7, but the Orange Revolution is dead. For those outside Ukraine, at least, it doesn't matter much who becomes Ukraine's next president.

It especially does not matter to America.

Looks like Georgia is having some media issues. It seems that the West Media is turning away from Sassy. I have been watching this develop for sometime and has accelerated since the EU report on the Georgian War:

Then with in a week Georgia has had two TV stations taken off the airwaves:

Also this one earlier:

I really think that Sassy and his ex Ukraine President - Buddy need to just go to another country and live happily forever after on the billions of dollars they stole from Georgia and Ukraine... (Maybe America?)

Windows to Russia!

Ed Meyer, Noas business manager, said he may call Combs, who previously dated the singer for over two years, to the witness stand as part of the proceedings over Noas attempt to release a video he shot of the star when they were married.

The legal team for the actress won an injunction blocking the release on the grounds that the video was private and personal.

Ojanis footage is not a sex tape. In addition to kissing women, there are points where shes lap dancing Ojani [and others]. All with her clothes on. We're trying to establish that its not a sex tape and therefore usable in Ojanis movie, the New York Post quoted Meyer as saying.

Jay Lavely, Lopezs lawyer, said: Ed Meyers comments are false and ridiculous. Ms. Lopez will be completely vindicated on her claims in this matter.

Celebrity and World

Vilanch said he informed the couple about the nostril camera before former Mrs. Pitt went onstage.

I went to Brad and Angelina, who were sitting in the front row, and warned them they had the nostril cam planted on the floor underneath them, looking up, the New York Post quoted Vilanch as saying.

Mostly, they were not delighted about the angle, because nobody looks great from there. They knew there would be reaction shots of them, and they knew Aniston was going to be on.

They were more bothered about the nostril cam. Brad asked, Any chance we could kick it and break it?, he added.

Celebrity and World

The probe would be strictly forbidden under religious guidelines. Its members commit a high crime of informing gentiles on Jewish transgressions the crime which would certainly lead to more Israel-bashing. The haters will reason that Israel hides many more cases of using white phosphorus than it acceded to. In Jewish religious law, the crime is punishable by death.

Who needs the truth? What was a problem for the commission to confirm that IDF had used white phosphorus shells properly, for lighting purposes only?

IDF prosecution had opened a total of 36 criminal cases connected to Gaza war. Were yet to hear about a single criminal case opened by Hamas against its fighters.

Samson Blinded

The car isnt the most easy on the eye, and has a very complex front wing but interestingly does not run with a shark-fin tail wing which we have seen so often already. the rear does in fact look fairly similar to the Ferrari F10 (which is leading the morning test times), so that should be some comfort for old Ferrari man Michael Schumacher.

Check out the photos below of the new machine!

F1 Fanatics

Up until now, Toro Rosso, who joined F1 in 2006, have used and shared car parts with major backer Red Bull. However with the ban on customer cars, they have been forced to go it alone the TR5 is the product of that. And my, it looks lovely!

Toro Rosso have always had a nice paint scheme, in my personal opinion I think it looks better than the one on the RBR itself. the junior team faces a tough test with two good drivers hauling the Ferrari powered machine around, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

2010 is a landmark year for Scuderia Toro Rosso as the new regulations demand that we go it alone in terms of designing and building our car in-house, said team boss Franz Tost.

After four years of working in collaboration with Red Bull Technology, the TR5 is the first car that is one hundred percent down to our own endeavours.

Creating the necessary infrastructure to tackle this task has been our biggest challenge, possibly more difficult than actually producing the car itself. We have taken on an additional eighty staff and expanded our facility to accommodate them, including a Machine Shop to increase our production capacity.

In addition, we have commissioned a wind tunnel in Bicester, England, which we bought from Red Bull. It will take time for the highly skilled team we have assembled to learn to work together as efficiently as possible.

Making predictions for the coming season is a dangerous trap, but if pushed, I would say we must aim to finish in the top eight in the Constructors Championship, while giving our young drivers everything they need to improve, as well as optimising our infrastructure in order to be as competitive as possible in 2010 and beyond.

F1 Fanatics

I have written about the concept that "Russia plays Chess and America plays Checkers!" This is nothing new to you if you have followed my blog for years.

I found an article that plays that same theme. The problem with the article is that it is a Western scare tactic article. When you read it it is heavily swayed to a bias against Russia. It does touch upon truths about both sides and their techniques of playing the game. It relies heavily upon the evil Russian and bringing back the "cold war theme!"

When the cold war issue is brought up, it is always in the style of how Russia has not changed from the Soviet Union...

The one thing that J. R. Nyquist tries to push across is that Russia is so much worse than America or Europe. Also that Europe and America are helping to push Russia back to a dictatorship by their lack of policy! (Roll eyes at this point...)

I read this article and in between the lines it says very clearly: Europe and America are no better and no worse than Russia! He defends Europe with a contradictory statement such as

But not to leave America out of the limelight,

I will expand this last statement above one step farther: Americans are in the same boat as the Europeans and Russian buys off American politicians. - Medvedev said before that Russia will buy You! (meaning America) Everyone thought he meant buy up all the companies - Not hardly!

America and Europe is as corrupt as Russia! Russia uses the power of greed to control. Does that make Russia bad? (America did it to Russia.. have we forgotten?)

Seems to me that this article is talking about America and Europe as if they are alcoholics and Russia is the Vodka! America and Europe want that vodka so bad that they take it at any price. I learned along time ago that you can not blame the liquor for no one forces you take a drink...

One last thought on this subject:

If this is true then why does America continue to antagonize China? Looks like a big storm brewing in the future on trade wars with China.

Maybe China will take Russia up on her offer...

Windows to Russia!

PS: Blame it all on Russia.

The golden pair showed a united front when they enjoyed a night out together at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday in Los Angeles, reports Us magazine.

This was the pairs first public appearance together in more than a month.

The couple showed up at the star-studded event so that Pitt, 46, could present an award to his Inglourious Basterds director, Quentin Tarantino.

A source tells UsMagazine.com that they were more affectionate than usual.

They would whisper in each others ears and laugh, the source says. They looked really happy.

However, sources have revealed that the couple spent last weekend apart and have been having trouble because Jolie feels she is shouldering the parental burden of their six kids, Maddox, 8, Pax, 6, Zahara, 5, Shiloh, 3, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 18 months.

Anglie felt like Brad wasnt pulling his weight, an insider told Us.

Celebrity and World

The 20-year-old won best country album for Fearless. She also received best country song and best female country vocal performance, both for the track White Horse.

She also picked up the coveted album of the year title, reports Radaronline.com.

Meanwhile, Beyonce Knowles awards included song of the year and best RB vocal performance, both for Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).

She also won best traditional RB vocal performance award for At Last.

The winners of 52nd Annual Grammy Awards are:

Best Female Country Vocal Performance: Taylor Swift, White Horse

Best Male Country Performance: Keith Urban, Sweet Thing

Best Country Performance By Duo or Group With Vocals: Lady Antebellum, I Run To You

Best Country Song: Liz Rose Taylor Swift, White Horse

Best Rap Solo Performance: Jay-Z, D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Crack A Bottle

Best Rap Song: Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Run This Town

Best Rap Album: Eminem, Relapse

Best Female RB Vocal Performance: Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Best Male RB Vocal Performance: Maxwell, Pretty Wings

Best RB Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: Jamie Foxx T-Pain, Blame It

Best Traditional RB Vocal Performance: Beyonce, At Last

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: Jason Mraz Colbie Caillat, Lucky

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: Jason Mraz, Make it Mine

Best Song Of The Year: Beyonce, Single Ladies

Best Country Album: Taylor Swift, Fearless

Best New Artist: Zac Brown Band

Best Record of The Year: Kings of Leon, Use Somebody

Best Dance Recording: Lady Gaga

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Beyonce, Halo

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Jay-Z, Rihanna Kanye West, Run This Town

Album Of The Year: Taylor Swift, Fearless

Celebrity and World

The new car is painted in a radical yellow and black livery, quite stunning and one that harks back to the old days of Renault F1 cars. it is a move away from the white and orange of the previous title sponsors ING and a clear move away from the sky blue liveries used when Renault were sponsored by Mild Seven.

Sponsorship is a big sticking point with this car, because like the Sauber there arent many sponsors to mention, with many teams now looking thin on the ground the advertisers. Clearly many firms thinking that the economic recession was a signal that sponsorship was not necessarily the best method of spending cash. Perhaps 2011 will see more advertisers.

Robert Kubica will be joined at the team, as expected but only confirmed today with Vitaly Petrov, a highly rated youngster who was runner up in the GP2 series last year. Petrov will be the first ever Russian Formula One driver.

The start of a new Formula 1 season is always a time of great anticipation, said new team boss Eric Boullier.

For Renault, this is particularly true of the 2010 season as we begin a new era for the team.

With a new structure in place, new drivers, and new colours, there is a lot to be excited about and a lot to look forward to in the year ahead.

Setting objectives is never easy, but its clear that we have high ambitions for 2010 as we aim to take Renault back to the front of the grid. However, this is not going to happen overnight and our ambition is to make this journey one step at a time.

The R30 should be a competitive, strong and reliable car and weve opted for an aggressive development strategy. The factories in Enstone and Viry have been working flat-out during the long winter months to ensure that we begin the new season in the best shape possible. These factories have been successful in the past and they havent forgotten how to win in Formula 1.

F1 Fanatics

The car retains a BMW Sauber style paint job with a majority white finish and bits of navy and a tiny streak of red, but so far the team possesses no sponsors of note. Hopefully this will change before the season opener in Bahrain in 6 weeks time. Another thing which we hope will change is the name, at the moment the team are still known as BMW Sauber F1, but Im sure Peter Sauber, and Ferrari their engine supplier would like that name adjusted.

The car features an uncharacteristically high nose, but once again it is a long one clearly a 2010 common feature. the car has a beautifully sculpted rear, and features a shark-fin wing like the one on the McLaren albeit a little shorter. The Sauber is probably, in my mind, the most visually pleasing of the 2010 cars so far, but it remains to be seen whether it will be fast.

Willy Rampf, technical director was bouyant.

The development of the BMW Sauber C29 has seen the team build on the experience gained last year and the improvement in performance over the final third of the season. However, the new regulations banning refuelling during the race and stipulating a reduced width for the front tyres have required significant changes to the cars design.

Owner Peter Sauber was happy with progress, admitting it has been a frantic chase to the grid.

The last few months have been very intense for us, said Sauber. First we had to battle to secure the survival of the team and then we focused on putting a strong set-up in place for the future.

The technical preparation of the 2010 car has continued uninterrupted and according to plan since the spring of 2009, despite all the turmoil. We have a long tradition of bringing together an up-and-coming youngster and an experienced campaigner as a driver combination and its an approach that has brought us a lot of success.

The drivers for 2010 are talented rookie Kamui Kobayashi, and 38 year old perennial McLaren test driver Pedro de La Rosa who says he never expected to get another shot at racing.

At last I can feel like a proper racing driver again, he said. Ive really missed the competition out on the track. At the same time, though, Ive learned a lot technically and on the systems side, and now I want to bring that knowledge to the team.

The car will be on track testing from tomorrow, along with most of the other teams in Valencia. Renault launch their new car, the R30 this afternoon.

F1 Fanatics

No way Karzai can make such a bold offer without American approval. Any agreement with Taliban will bring them into the government, and soon after American withdrawal they will castrate Karzai as mojahedeen did to the Soviet puppet Najibullah.

Samson Blinded

Originally on SNAFU-ed

It looks a fairly radical bit of design, and with the new rules surrounding no refuelling, the actual car is 10cm longer than before. It sports a longer pointy nose like the Ferrari, and in a similar fashion to how we expect the Williams to look too.

The rear of the car is where it gets interesting however, with the shark fin being a big part of rear aerodynamics, the long fin stretching right back to the rear wing and attaching in a similar fashion to the end of last seasons Red Bull design. It must be said the McLarens rear exhaust outlets are a thing of beauty.

Sporting the now traditional chrome paintwork, and adorned with Vodafone commericals it is similar to the McLarens of recent year; the team opting to stick with silver paint despite Mercedes Benz reducing their share in the team and starting their own competitor, now just an engine supplier like Renault to Red Bull. Johnnie Walker, Aigo and Mobil 1 have stuck along as sponsors, but Santanders presence on the cars has dropped considerably down to small logos and a bit of advertising on the race suits following their departure to Ferrari.

The launch was held at Vodafones headquarters further affirming the standing between the company and team and was the first chance to see Jenson Button in McLaren uniform, his helmet is particularly suited to the teams colours.

It was Alexander Graham Bell who said preparation is key to success and we have prepared for this season more comprehensively than ever before, said team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

As team principal I am honoured to represent this great team, but I am one small part of a group of dedicated and fantastic people.

A great team and a competitive car can only succeed with the best drivers. Neither of our drivers need much of an introduction because between them they have won the past two world championships. We are thrilled this year to have Lewis and Jenson represent the team on track. Both drivers are winners and they want to win this year.

Every year of F1 racing throws up a unique set of regulation challenges, and 2010 is no exception. We have designed a car that exploits the double diffuser concept.

We look forward to an exciting championship with many new and notable faces and at least one older one. We remain proud partners of Mercedes-Benz, but we must be at our best to beat the works team.

Our goal is clear and we aim to win.

New boy Jenson Button was happy and eager to get behind the wheel.

It looks pretty amazing, stood here looking at it, said Button. I cannot wait to take a step back and have a better look. I always thought Vodafone McLaren Mercedes put a car together properly and meticulously. For me it looks great.

After last year you think about what you have achieved and it goes through your mind the road to becoming world champion, but after that you soon start forgetting because you are concentrating on 2010 and the new challenge.

Ive been to a few events and award ceremonies and they bring back memories. To see number one on the car here is special, but we need to forget about last year. It will always be in the back of my mind, but we need to start focusing on the future and this is the future.

F1 Fanatics

When a good reader of our blog gave me a link to this fighter jet. I usually take that as a hint to post something about it. :) His link was from BBC, but BBC does not let me use their videos and RIA does. In fact RIA wants you to use their videos. So without farther due...

The actor said it was fun to hit the bottle with the director of the film Quentin Tarantino and the Troy star.

Oh, hes a fine drinking buddy. Between Brad and Quentin, I would die of alcohol poisoning on day two if I had to keep up with those guys! Us magazine quoted Levine as saying.

He added: Brads just about the coolest guy. Everything rolls right off his back.

Levine was present at the Sundance Film Festival to promote his new film Drones.

Celebrity and World

Almost a total of 12000 Australians are using www.learnnavi.org to master the 1000 listed words.

US designer Sebastian Wolff who has set up the site said he had vastly underestimated interest in the language.

Having anticipated no more than a few hundred visitors, the website is getting 15,000 daily visitors, 70 per cent of them new, the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, a mountain China has reportedly been named after the movie.

Celebrity and World

According to Hollywood Reporter, the helmer plans to revisit an abandoned project about a Roman emperor that was ruined by Americans, hinting that the film may be a remake of Caligula.

The plot revolves around the life of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, popularly known as Caligula.

The earlier film starring Helen Mirren was in collaboration between Brass and the Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione.

However, they fell out over the final cut, with Guccione secretly adding a number of explicit sexual scenes in post-production, reports the BBC News.

The shooting of the new film, the first 3D film to be made in Italy, is scheduled to begin in May.

Celebrity and World

Reasons -

Small Breasts - on the grounds that such images could be construed as child pornography, even where those publications comply with American law and keep certification that performers are over 18.

Female ejaculation - on the incredible grounds that the depictions are a form of urination which is banned under the label of golden showers in the Classification Guidelines and/or Female ejaculation is an abhorrent depiction. Notably here male ejaculation is completely legal under the same guidelines, attracting an X rating in Australia.

The Australian Sex Party argues that There are over one million sites featuring female ejaculation and for Australia to be banning depictions and discussion of this important issue, takes us back into the Victorian era where they didnt even believe that women could have orgasms.

Millions though doesnt start to get close to the number of sites that could potentially be banned with this change. Under Australian law, any site linking to a site that has been refused classification is also refused classification, so something as simple as a series of swapped links on a porn site which shows neither small breasts or female ejaculation would be banned. Then if its a general site with one small breasted performer, out comes the ban hammer as well, and that takes us to tens of millions of adult sites.

The addition of so many sites makes a mockery of the filtering trial undertaken last year, that only considered the ACMA Blacklist in one example, and a filtered list of tens of thousands of sites. Notably the second broader test showed internet speeds did slow down relative to the number of sites to be filtered; take that out to the millions or tens of million and the proposed National Broadband Network will be Dialup Plus vs anything the Government is promising.

Deprived Aussies can try our Made in America sites!

Check the advertisement -

It looks like a case a plain discrimination, but the Mancrunch.com might get more profit from the story!

Full Story from MSNBC

A Clark County undersheriff said he was just following his instincts when he found more than $1 million during a traffic stop.

Undersheriff Daniel Knowles stopped a vehicle last week on U.S. 54 just outside of Minneola and became suspicious of the driver.

Knowles searched the car and found a hidden compartment with the money packed inside. He said the money smelled like marijuana. The total amount was $1,017,183.

Paperwork has been filed with the Clark County Attorney's office to begin the asset forfeiture process.

The Drug Enforcement Agency is helping to investigate the incident. The names of the people in the car have not been released.

Headline stolen from Fark

T-50 is reportedly a reengineered version of the American F/A-22. While puritans might decry Russian habit of stealing foreign designs from Kalashnikoff to T-50, this is a cost-efficient policy.

It would probably take at least five years for Russians to introduce the first squadrons of T-50, about the same time required for F/A-22 delivery to Israel. T-50 is rumored to be offered for export at $50 to 70 million, which would be a quarter to a half of F/A-22 price. Certainly, Russia will be more forthcoming than the US administration in allowing Jews to install our own avionics into the jets. Spending a few billion for Russian jets will do more to stop S-300 sales to iran and S-400 to Syria than any diplomatic pressures.

As usual, the Russian copy will be less reliable than the American original and will have the engine problems that plague Sukhois currently manufactured models, yet they are suprasuffcient for any of IAFs operations against Muslims.

Samson Blinded

Have some facts and figures dug up on the web about the Nord Stream pipeline. Looks like this pipeline has huge help by Germany and Germany seems to have a vested interest in selling gas to other countries...

Poland, Belarus and Ukraine are left out in the cold and by warrant of their actions over the years. These three countries have show less than a desire to work with Russia when it comes to transportation of energy reliably. The transit money is a huge part of their budgets and without this money, many social and growth programs will be hurt.

One is forced to wonder if any of these myrmidons of the Left will have enough courage of their convictions to complain about King Barack in the same or at least similar manner?

Now, even after paying for what we spent on my watch, well still face the massive deficit we had when I took office. More importantly, the cost of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will continue to skyrocket. Thats why Ive called for a bipartisan fiscal commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. This cant be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline.

Now, yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So Ill issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans.

King Barack Hussein Obama
2010 State Of The Union Address

On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, the US Senate declined to approve and pass a bill that President Obama wanted passed into law. His response was, on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 the next day to boldly and very publicly declare that he would defy and bypass the entirety of the Legislative branch of the US government and create his desired fiscal commission by Executive Order.

King Barack indeed! I guess hes been listen the filth, Valerie Jarrett, too much and has decided to take power and rule.

If the Left actually had any principles, there would be outrage over this. There wont be though since the Left has very few, if any, principles.

Reflections From a Murky Pond

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows is scheduled for release in two parts on Nov. 19 and July 15, 2011.

According to Hollywood Reporter, the studio is also planning to convert the remake of Clash of the Titans into 3-D.

The 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz might also get a 3-D treatment, reports the New York Post.

Meanwhile, JK Rowlings wizard boy has beaten every TV show, film and song as well as YouTube and Facebook to land the title of greatest entertainer of the decade.

To come up with a top 100 list of the things that have kept people entertained, American magazine Entertainment Weekly looked at films, TV shows, albums, books, characters, dresses, music videos and trends.

It said: Harry Potter lives in our memories more vividly than any other character weve read or seen on screen this decade.

Celebrity and World

According to Showbizspy.com, the former Friends star who was married to Brad Pitt from 2000 2005 has paid a six figure lump sum to top matchmaking agency Kelleher International who played matchmaker to other stars like Paula Abdul.

Jen is desperate to finally hook up with a man who will be faithful and true to her, News.com.au quoted an insider as saying.

Shell pay a million bucks if she has to find the right guy. One thing I guarantee you is that shell never take Brad back, no matter how much he begs her to reconcile", the insider added.

Celebrity and World

People are working on scripts right now, the New York Post quoted him as saying.

On being asked who would he like to play his role, the 61-year-old singer chose Depp.

Hes one of the few actors who knows about rock n roll who does a really good English accent, he added.

Celebrity and World

Fox News reporter Major Garrett made a major mistake last night when, while Tweeting away during the State of the Union address, he tweeted this:

The only problem with that is the URL-shortened link above takes you to a site advertising Las Vegas escorts. See below:

Later, he posted:

Right, bit.ly did it. Sorry, that's not true, and you know it, Major. What happened was that you had an escort site open in another tab and you accidentally copied it to bit.ly to shorten it. Now let's see, when's the next time you're visiting Vegas?

Originally on SNAFU-ed

Like al Zaidi, Cohen had been indicted for criminal assault though his shoes posed regrettably no threat to Beinisch and he only expressed his political opinion. In Jewish, like in Arab tradition, taking off someones shoe, much more throwing it, is an extreme offense.

Samson Blinded

No, Kirsten was not being treated for frown lines but for cerebral palsy (one of the conditions for while Botox can be prescribed). The girl was born with severe cerebral palsy, and Botox, best known as a face-lift-in-a-syringe, can relax contorted muscles and sometimes help young patients walk without surgery.

Kirsten died from pneumonia is November 2007. Kirsten's mom believes that Botox injection was responsible for her daughter's increased severity of seizures, difficulty swallowing, and in the end death from pneumonia.

Botox is well known for treatment of facial wrinkles like frown lines, etc. It can also be prescribed for other purposes like cerebral palsy.

The drug uses botulinum toxin, a powerful poison, to block neural communications, allowing muscles that produce worry lines or gnarled limbs to relax. A few injections smooth wrinkles, while larger doses are required to relax arms and legs.

Kristen died in November 2007 of respiratory failure and pneumonia, according to her death certificate. Experts hired by Dee Spears say Botox weakened muscles that controlled her breathing and swallowing, leading to respiratory failure and pneumonia.

Kristen's death came more than a year before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered the labels warning of the drug's potential to cause botulism symptoms, including "potentially life-threatening swallowing and breathing difficulties and even death."

At the same time, the agency required Allergan to notify physicians that the toxin could spread beyond the injection site and to prepare a patient guide saying that it was not known whether Botox was safe for children or for other patients whose conditions it had not been approved to treat.

Spears alleges that Allergan knew problems had been reported at least two years before Kristen died. What's more, she alleges, Allergan encouraged Kristen's pediatrician to treat cerebral palsy patients with Botox and helped with his training.Source: www.latimes.com

Interestingly, in the Jan. 26 issue of Neurology, new guidelines were given for using Botox for cerebral palsy.

The guidelines, which stem from a review of available research on drug treatments for cerebral palsy, also said that botulinum toxin type A, nicknamed Botox, is generally safe but does pose some risk.

"In reviewing this drug for treatment of spasticity in children, the [U.S.] Food and Drug Administration is investigating isolated cases of generalized weakness following use of botulinum toxin type A for spasticity," Dr. Mauricio R. Delgado, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and lead author of the guidelines, said in a news release from the academy.

The guidelines also recommend consideration of the drug diazepam for short-term treatment of spasticity, although generalized side effects have been linked to its use. Another drug, tizanidine, might also be considered but carries a risk of liver toxicity, according to the guidelines.

Delgado and his colleagues also looked at several other drug treatments but concluded there wasn't enough evidence to make a recommendation.

"There is an urgent need for more research to establish the effectiveness of the current treatments for generalized spasticity and to find additional, safer and more effective medications," Delgado said.

So, can Botox kill you?

The drug can potentially cause botulism symptoms leading to death. Botulism symptoms in Adults may include -

As the disclaimer says, yes, the drug can cause death - "potentially life-threatening swallowing and breathing difficulties and even death."

Tesco might be one of the first grocery store in the world to start a dress code. The dress code states - footwear must be worn at all times and no nightwear is permitted. If you don't follow it, you will be kindly escorted out of the store by a security guard.

A store spokesman said: We do not have a strict dress code but we don't want people shopping in their nightwear in case it offends other customers.

We're not a nightclub with a strict dress code, and jeans and trainers are of course more than welcome.

We do, however, request that customers do not shop in their PJs or nightgowns.

'This is to avoid causing offence or embarrassment.

The spokesman said they were unaware of any other Tesco store in the UK putting up similar signs to ban nightwear.Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

The Italian team are pinning all their hopes on the car to win the world title following a largely disappointing 2009. With Kimi Raikkonen gone, the team now have Fernando Alonso, a driver they have been pursuing for some time.

The car looks fresh and has some features seen on more successful 2009 cars, such as the nose rumps from the Red Bull RB5. As the afternoon shakedown was cancelled due to weather, we will not know how competitive the car named the F10 will be until Valencia next week.

The F10 also benefits from the new Ferrari paint scheme with swathes of white on the red for new sponsor Santander. The Spanish bank is toning down operations with McLaren as it moves to Ferrari. It is also likely to be the last time we see the Marlboro bar codes on the Ferrari, now relegated only to the engine cover, as the tobacco firms sponsorshop deal ends in 2011.

This championship will be very important for us, said team boss Stefano Domenicali. The last championship, for different reasons, was not very positive, that is why we are dealing with this one looking to be competitive and this is what Ferrari deserves to have.

He added: We have two new drivers, why two new drivers? Fernando Alonso, is a twice world champion and we will say after the second one he will have a third one. He already appears among the big champions in F1, it is the right moment for him, for us, he wants to be successful and we want to repeat what the team concept is in our group.

Felipe, we are talking of a new version of Felipe, but after such a dramatic championship like last year with the accident in Hungary and such a fantastic season, Felipe has all the assets to prove that he is a very successful one, he can prove that he wants to restart his pathway that destiny interrupted it in Hungary. Good luck to both of them.

Fernando Alonso was very upbeat on the arrival of the F10.

This is the first time for me, the first presentation for Ferrari, and it is a big emotion for me, said Alonso.

I want to thank the whole team because they have worked really hard in the last few months to create this dream, this new car, and I want to thank sponsors and partners as they have worked hard and there is a lot of passion.

We are ready to take this challenge and the responsibility to bring it to 100 per cent of its potential. Felipe and I will be a very strong team and we hope we will make all the Ferrari supporters around the world very proud to see this car winning the championship.

F1 Fanatics

The actor, who played Will Turner in the films, said he wants to do different roles.

I think Will is sort of swimming around with the fish at the bottom of the ocean, the Daily Star quoted him as saying.

He added: I had a great time making those movies. I just really wanted to do different things.

However, he is keen to see Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow once again.

He said: I think its going to be great. Whatever Johnny does, I think its fantastic.

Bloom also feels that Nine and Chicago filmmaker Rob Marshall, who will direct the next pirate flick, should be able to do a great job.

He added: I think hes (Marshall) an amazing director. I think it will be a very interesting fit, because Johnny is musical anyway and Im sure that something really beautiful will come out of it.

Celebrity and World

Contactmusic reports, a source told Life Style magazine, Brad and Angelina had a meeting with a top law firm in L.A. in December, where they worked out terms of a legal document similar to a pre-nup.

The couple signed the document in early January. They agreed to share their money and assets and custody of their six children, all of whom would live with Angelina in the event of their parents break-up.

They didnt talk to the lawyer about splitting, nor was that ever mentioned at the meeting. Brad and Angelina arent splitting right now.

Celebrity and World

Andrea Purse, a friend of Elizabeth Edwards, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the couple has separated. She released a statement on behalf of the 60-year-old mother of four that said, "Elizabeth is moving on with her life and wants to put this difficult chapter behind her." Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The separation seems to come after longtime Edwards' aide Andrew Young revealed more about Edwards' affair and son with the mistress in his new book "The Politician" Elizabeth's separation also came a week after Edwards' announcement that he is the father of the baby.

John Edwards publicly declared last week that he was the father of the child with Rielle Hunter, who worked as a videographer before his second presidential campaign in 2008.

Young's book details how Edwards went to great lengths to hide the affair. In excerpts from an ABC News interview, Young said that Edwards asked him to find a doctor who might fake a paternity test and asked him to steal a diaper from the baby, now almost 2, to determine whether it was really his. He also claims that the married couple sought to politicize her cancer diagnosis.

The statement released on behalf of Elizabeth Edwards said she will not engage in a dialogue on "false charges" in the book.

"Based on the limited portions of the book that have been made available, it is clear it contains many falsehoods and exaggerations," she said.

John, what were you thinking?

More pictures -

It looks like an oversize iPhone or iPod touch (as expected) and will seem to cater to both Apple fans and people who liked to have an iPhone kind of device but wanted a larger screen size.

Sarah Rodriguez, aka Wolfie Blackheart, is being brought up on charges of decapitating a dog after pictures of her holding the dogs head were spread across the internet. She claims that the dog was already dead and she wanted to keep the head ... uh, yeah, keep the head. It turns out that this dog got lost, and it was her favorite, so she wanted its ... head ... to remember it by.

If you think thats strange ...

I severed the head, boiled the head, Wolfie said. People make the mistake of hacking the spine, which will fracture the skull.

She added, You also have to put (the head) outside for the brains to leak out.

Oh, so thats what I was doing wrong. Thanks for clearing things up Wolfie. It turns out, Wolfie has some experience in this matter.

I would never kill a canine, she said. I am a canine.

Lisa Rodriguez, Wolfies mom, said she supports her daughters career goal.

I say, Dont sever heads in front of me, she said. She usually does it in the woods.

Wolfie cares lovingly for two huskies in the backyard.

Her room is a cluttered den plastered with posters of anime characters and howling wolves. On a high shelf, she collects heads, including the cleaned skulls of a coyote, ram and wild boar.

When a car ran over Pixie her best friend Wolfie cut off the chihuahuas tiny head, cleaned it and placed it in a jar.

I get requests on cats and stuff, she said.

Well, the authorities aren't all that pleased. While Wolfie claims she is innocent, and strangely enough I believe her, it looks like this is going to be a long battle. To make matters worse, Wolfie Blackheart suffers from Tourettes syndrome. This should make court all the more interesting to follow. Being a complete wackjob never bides well in court.

Headline stolen from Fark

Finally, she stated that therapy has help him overcome his "compulsions." As she said, "he no longer has those compulsions. "

Watch the video:

Originally on SNAFU-ed

Interestingly, McDonalds rules state staff cannot give away products to staff, family and friends. And by giving the extra slice of cheese, the hamburger turned into a more expensive cheeseburger.

The judge said McDonalds had acted too severely in sacking the woman. 'The cost of a slice of cheese is not comparable to a severe step such as redundancy,' Nos quoted the judge as saying.

In addition, the branch manager had not asked the woman to explain her actions, nor had it taken any steps against the colleague who asked for the burger. It is unclear from the reports if the hamburger was actually paid for.

The sacked worker will not be reinstated but was awarded 4,500 in compensation - equivalent to five month's wages plus holiday pay and interest, Nos said.

I wonder if a slice of cheese is worth $6,000 but McDonald's still maintains that she broke rules that justify her getting sacked.

Millepied, 32 the New York City Ballet danceris choreographing the Closer star in her new movie, The Black Swan.

And reports suggest that Natalie was the reason behind Millepieds break up with his girlfriend of three years.

Theyve been dating since the fall, although she told friends that she hasnt gone public with it because she was waiting to see if things got serious, the New York Post quoted a source as saying.

But the real reason she was quiet about things is that Ben had a live-in girlfriend of three years when they met. She was a ballerina at the American Ballet Theater. She had been talking about marrying him and was blindsided by the split. She moved out right after New Years Eve, added the source.

A spokeswoman for Portman said: We have no comment about her personal life.

Celebrity and World

Engadget has leaked some new pictures and these seem to be possibly the real ones. Check them below. The second picture shows it with an iPhone, to show the size differences - Tablet seems to be 9 to 10 inches in diagonal as claimed earlier.

Name rumor - Apple owns iSlate and iPad names. I personally like iSlate better, but let us see the real name.

Another couple of hours to go!

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition:

Subsidiarity
Pronunciation: ,s?b-si-d?-er-?-t?, s?b-,si-
Function: noun
Date: 1936

Definition(s):

Simply put, subsidiarity is the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary, or secondary and lesser, function and perform only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level. Among other things it is the foundational concept underlying the 10th Amendment to US Constitution.

This concept should be a touchstone for Americans in the 2010 Congressional elections and in any state and local elections that may arise in the upcoming months. While not the only issue that Americans should consider when choosing a political candidate, subsidiarity should be one of the key issues analyzed when making those choices.

At the local, district, and state levels Americans need to look for candidates that will step up to the plate and take action and responsibility, ones willing to fight to take power back from higher, more centralized authority and hold it in trust for the People that they serve. At the federal level Americans need to look for candidates that will relinquish those improper powers currently co-opted and/or seized by the federal government back to the states.

Frankly, most of the current ills inflicted upon America are because we, the People, have allowed the federal government to take too much power unto itself, power that rightly belongs to the the people of states and the local municipalities. That can be corrected, but it will take work and the upcoming elections are a good place to start.

Subsidiarity In 2010 learn it, love it, vote for it.

Reflections From a Murky Pond

The behavior is normal for Arab MKs. Ahmed Tibi met with Arafat several times. After the Oslo negotiations started, he kept meeting with Arafat and Abu Mazen on behalf of Peres.

When Israeli government openly negotiations with Syria over surrendering the Golan Heights a high crime in the Israeli law, it is somewhat hypocritical to prosecute Arab MKs for a lesser offense.

Samson Blinded

Minardi, who sold his team in 2001 to Australian businessman Paul Stoddart, has had no previous political experience but hopes to use his sporting experience to win the town over. He already has the backing of the centre-right ruling parties and is well liked in the town which now houses the Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 factory.

Minardi told Il Resto del Carlino: Its been a difficult decision. Im 62 and Ive never been interested in politics.

Ive always lived in the sporting world, but that teaches you many things. Ive made this decision now because I know Im unconditionally supported, and Im stepping into politics because Ive understood that Faenza is going through extremely difficult times.

I know people at national level and I think I can use that in favour of my hometown. I will not campaign against anyone. I will have to change the way I work, but work doesnt and has never scared me. I will bring a team of young professionals: Id like to bring to politics a method I used in sport. My slogan is Faenza races again.

F1 Fanatics

The game titled, My Minx, also allows young girls to give contraceptives and morning after pills to their online avatars.

Players dress their virtual minxes in lingerie and other revealing clothes and can buy orphans named after the adopted children of celebs including Madonna and Ewan McGregor.

The adoption clinic in a virtual Style City includes children called Pax, Maddox and Zahara, after Jolies children.

These children have the same ages and nationalities as Jolies, with the three-year-old Maddox, said to be Cambodian and fond of eating cockroaches.

The five-year-old Vietnamese Pax is called a fan of noodles, and four-year-old Zahara from Ethiopia is called a guinea pig eater.

Once the adoption fee is paid, players give their new children designer gear and try and sell image rights for them to celeb mags.

Players are challenged to outdo rival minxes by hoarding more adoptive children.

The game developed by north London firm Blighty Arts also allows players take their minxes binge drinking and clubbing as they try to seduce men.

Minxes, who succeed in one night stands, have access to virtual condoms and morning after pills.

Gamers can design their own lingerie brands and handbag ranges as they play to create the most stylish minx.

There is no age restriction on the game and players running out of virtual cash can top up their accounts by sending text messages costing 1.50pounds each or use PayPal.

My Minx was unveiled shortly before Christmas and has already boasts of 20,000 members as young as seven.

However, the game has come under fire from parents groups.

There are more than enough pressures on children to grow up already. We dont need any more, the Telegraph quoted Andy Hibberd, spokesman for parents rights group Parentkind, as saying.

Hibberd continued: Their parents will not have any idea that they are playing this game and the children will fail to appreciate its irony.

Having them getting virtual condoms or morning after pills will not make them any less promiscuous.

Hibberd added: As regards child adoption, this game encourages them to think that they dont need to worry about morals or ethics. It is all just a bit of fun.

It is sending out all the wrong messages and the only reason its creators have made it is to make money.

But Blighty Arts director Christopher Evans says the game is pure entertainment.

He said: It is nonsense to suggest our game is a bad influence on young children.

We try to protect children too much from the real world for too long in this day and age. They cannot be wrapped up in cotton wool.

We should let them grow up making their own decisions about the games they play.

Evans added: The game teaches children about the world while poking fun at celebrity adoptions.

Every time they turn on the TV they will see the likes of Madonna adopting African children anyway.

The contraceptives and morning after pills are only one part of the game and we are not encouraging young girls to take them, just reflecting real life.

Celebrity and World

The Hollywood Hills house, built in 1920, is complete with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a bar area. A cave is built into the foundations.

The house oozes character, News.com.au quoted a source, as saying.

The insider added: Brad has had his eye on it for some time but he decided now was the right time to buy because he wanted a place to call his own.

He needs somewhere quiet that doesnt have memories of Angie where he can be alone and think about what he does next.

According to one report, Jolie gave up on Pitt because of his laddish lifestyle. American sources say the pair had been trying desperately to avoid a split since the last 12 months.

Pitt and Jolie are already believed to be talking to lawyers about splitting their 332 million dollar fortune and sharing the custody of their six children.

However a family source said: Brad is desperately trying to cling on to the wreckage of the relationship as he is still very much in love with Angelina and believes they can make it work.

And Pitts mum Jane is trying her best to save the relationship.

The insider added: Jane wants what is best for her son and grandchildren and Angie has agreed to meet her. She has stuck at her own marriage and worked with families for 30 years trying to keep them together.

Celebrity and World

Melinda Duckett appeared on her talk show in 2006 with regards to her 2 year son who went missing. Instead of helping her, Grace grilled the woman, accusing her of hiding something. Duckett allegedly got so affected by the interview that she shot and killed herself the day the taped interview was scheduled to air. Grace and CNN are being sued by Melinda Duckett's family blaming her and the show for inflicting emotional distress on the 21-year-old Florida mother during an appearance on her talk show. Check her suicide note here.

Now, since the tables have turned Grace doesn't want her deposition to be videotaped.

By keeping video cameras out, Grace's lawyers argue they would avoid "annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, and undue harm should the videotape be released prior to trial for purposes unrelated to the litigation," according to the emergency motion, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Ocala.

U.S. Magistrate Gary Jones is expected to rule on Grace's request before Thursday. If Jones permits the deposition to be videotaped, Grace's lawyers, Judith Mercier and Charles Tobin, want the recording to be kept private.

Grace is scheduled to be deposed at 9 a.m. Thursday in Atlanta by lawyer Kara Skorupa. Grace declined comment through CNN spokeswoman Janine Iamunno.

Lawyer Kara Skorupa found the depositions "ironic" as we all do, especially looking at her show's "Caught on Tape" specials for depositions.

I really hope that this case stops (or at least discourages) news anchors and talk hosts to grill people into distress, embarrassment, depression and even suicide.