Many Americans claim to believe that the answer to all these questions is yes, all men are equal.

Indeed, answer is contained within the single most quoted line from our Declaration of Independence and has been used many times as a rationale for changing our nations laws.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

The very wording of this declaration, combined with what we know of the Founding Fathers theologies and philosophies, sets forth the inherent equality of all of Man as a matter of Natural Law.

But, if this is case, one would be forced to accept the bad along with good. Whether it is merely peoples belief that all men are inherently equal or a fact of Natural Law that they are, in fact, equal in both propensity for nobility and for ignominy then one should expect roughly similar results and responses any stimulus that is applied to a group people, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, or creed.

That being the case, why do so many people in America believe that domestic aid programs will achieve any better results than the bulk of both private (NGO) and governmental foreign aid programs have achieved in the many decades of their existence?

Foreign Aid Failure

Truly, if the aim of aid was and is to better the lot in life of its recipients, then the trillions of dollars Americans have given in aid to the impoverished of countless nations has been largely a failure. With the fewest of exceptions it has not achieved that goal. It may have kept a great many from dying but it has not let them live, but merely to exist dependent upon the largess of Americans.

Does anyone reading this post have an example of a circumstance when foreign aid has had a long-term positive effect that resulted in the recipients no longer needing the aid?

In some cases, such as AIDS relief in Uganda, foreign aid actually made things far worse. Foreign aid, focused on treatment instead of prevention and containment has actually ended up killing more people than would have died without it.

Domestic Corollary

There are, of course, obvious direct corollaries between foreign aid and domestic social programs, both in methodology and in efficacy. This stands to reason; people in America who are interested in such things have found a singular premise and formula for providing aid to the poor, and have applied it to both foreign and domestic targets.

Welfare, Medicaid, SCHIP, WIC, Food Stamps, and a plethora of other Social Programs are essentially domestic variations of the same programs we deploy as part of foreign aid. They are all based solely upon keeping people alive and do not make provisions for actually improving the recipients situation.

American Exceptionalism

Do people truly believe that our domestic aid programs will have different and better outcomes than our foreign aid programs have had? Wouldnt such a belief just be an example of the philosophy of American Exceptionalism something which so many of the people who favor the continuance of these programs describe as self-serving, jingoistic, and based upon a myth?

Aside from some thought or belief that Americas poor are somehow different and better than the poor of other countries, how can people expect subsistence aid to have any long-term positive effect and remediation of the recipients situations when it has failed to do so in other countries time after time.

Conclusion Opinion

Im left with having to choose between two disparate conclusions either the proponents and supporters of Americas various subsidies for the poor base their support on something other than actually improving the lives and situations of those poor, or the proponents and supporters of Americas various subsidies for the poor believe in American Exceptionalism and, therefor, do not believe that a man is man and that all men were created equal.

Reflection From a Murky Pond

IAF bombing raids are ludicrous: there is no conceivable sense to bomb two tunnels out of 400. More importantly, IAF bombs them in a way to minimize Palestinian casualties. Since IAF refrains from bombing the Egyptian end of the tunnels, smugglers run there in case of attack and survive.

Egypt employs a more fearful tactics of flooding the tunnels, so that smugglers die which frightens them a lot and drives many people out of this business.

Samson Blinded

He will be discussing The Future of Cinema with Bollyoods megastar Aamir Khan (Lagaan) in a conclave in a five star hotel in capital New Delhi, watched by few hundred over a dinner. Lasting about 90 minutes and ending around 09-30 pm, it will include questions from the attendees also. Aroon Purie, Editor-in-Chief of Indias leading newsmagazine India Today, will chair the session.

Describing Oscar winner Camerons movies, Conclave says: movies speak the language of immense courage and deep spirituality. His female heroes are fearless and all powerful, his men learn the power of conviction. It talks about Camerons dropping out of college to drive a truck for the local school districtselling the script of The Terminator to Hemdale Films for one dollar on the condition that he could direct it.

India Today Conclave 2010 whose theme is New Decade: Great Expectations, is being organized by The India Today Group at Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi on March 12 and 13.

This decade holds great expectations for India and the world, Aroon Purie, Group Chairman, says.

Speakers on other topics at the Conclave include ruler of Dubai, Indias key Government ministers, Cisco CEO, Google President of Global Sales, author Salman Rushdie, yoga expert Swami Ramdev, Harvard economics professor, Ford Motor CEO, Facebook co-founder, Godrej President, goal keeper of Indian hockey team, actors Ranbir Kapoor and Asin Thottumkal.

Celebrity and World

The Godfather of Soul was placed in a temporary crypt at his daughter Deannas South Carolina home, while a public mausoleum was being considered.

However, illegitimate daughter, Pettit, has alleged that the remains of the I Got You hitmaker are no longer there.

She insists that it has been misplaced to avoid her carrying out an autopsy to reveal the true cause of his death.

My daddys body has disappeared. I have no clue where it was taken but I need to know where it is, the Mirror quoted Pettit as saying.

She added: Im convinced his death was suspicious and I want those responsible brought to justice. The only way to do that is to exhume his body and have an autopsy.

I cannot understand why one was never conducted, especially as his death seemed so mysterious. It was common knowledge daddy took illegal drugs until his death.

He was also hooked on various prescription painkillers. At the very least there were enablers who helped cause his death.

Rumours were once abuzz that Brown had buried some of his 120million pound fortune in his 62-acre estate in South Carolina.

Pettit said: There were reports he may even have been beaten up before he died, perhaps by someone looking for money on his property.

Brown had died of an alleged heart attack following a bout of pneumonia on 25th December 2006 at the age of 73.

Celebrity and World

The beauty said she did not approve of the Who Says hitmaker calling her sexual napalm.

Normally you'd think someone you care about would keep those details to himself. It was definitely a compliment, in a way, the Daily Star quoted her as saying on The Late Show with David Letterman.

She added: I don't really want people to know that about me. I'm like the good girl, then that happened He gave away my game.

(But) I will always care about him. I think hes a great person, a great musician, but I was very disappointed by the article.

Mayer had apologized to Simpson after his comments created a buzz.

Celebrity and World

A UK man lost all of his teeth at the age of 22 because of his heavy drinking, which included 24 cans of beer a day.

Nicky Welfare, who ironically enough, lives off of public assistanceon unemployment compensation of nearly $91 weeklywas able to get free dentures paid for by tax payers.

He may not have any teeth, but Id still hit it! Hey, no teeth? You thinking what Im thinking? He could land lucrative work really fast if he takes notes from HBOs Hookers on the Strip. NO TEETH is a great marketing tool! Theres no reason for someone that good looking to go hungry or thirsty.

His lack of teeth and winning drinking habits were used as a defense during a court hearing yesterday as he faced charges on driving while banned. The judge invoked his suspended sentence jail term (four months) on a previous charge and urged him to call Alcoholics Anonymous. Ladies, hes single!!!!!

Via Tabloid Prodigy

An idea that needed to happen. A companion on your bedside table, desk, table, counter, or wherever you store and charge your cell phone. This silverware dude is fitted to hold an iPhone, but can also hold various phones, iPods, music players, and all sorts of handheld tech gear.

If you want one, these fun iPhone stands are available for $30 each from Etsy.

Kozar Cool Blog

55-year-old Charles Bentley broke into the First Christian Church and used the electronic equipment in the church to watch pornography (and possibly jerk off).

Police allege 55-year-old Charles Bentley broke into the First Christian Church on Thursday. After gathering items from around the building, he is believed to have gone to the basement to spend the night.

Police summoned to the church Friday by staff, found Bentley trying to haul away a garbage can filled with food, kitchen utensils, clothes, electronic equipment and a 26-inch flat-screen television.Police Cmdr. Mike Brennan said Bentley used the electronic equipment to watch pornographic movies that were found on him when he was arrested.

Bentley probably thought that is better to commit the sin there, so that he can ask for forgiveness right away!

What do you guys think?

Abbas explained his refusal by the alleged Israeli plans to build in Ramat Shlomo.

Of course, the terrorist have a right to refuse the negotiations which are futile, anyway. But why Israeli government continues tax transfers to support his regime?

Samson Blinded

Officials in Pecica (Romanian village town near Hungary) have found the answer. They have installed 10 road signs around popular nightspot areas in the town. The signs are bright red in color which show a person crawling on their knees while clutching a glass in one hand with the Romanian phrase "Cetateni Turmentati" (in English - Attention - Drunks) under it.

The mayor of the town, Peter Antal, got his inspiration from a town in Germany which installed similar signs.

He said officials took action after a despairing number of accidents in the town, which has a population of about 13,000, caused by drunken revellers, with some even resulting in fatalities.

He said it was not motorists fault but blamed the towns pedestrians, many of whom were not able to look out for themselves as they walked around the town, which is more than 300 miles west of the Romanian capital Bucharest.

"We are a border town and have lots of cars thundering through here all the time," he told local media.

"But we also have a very vibrant nightlife and the two don't mix.

We have to target the drivers because by the time they get to this state, the pedestrians are beyond caring.

He added: In recent years some traffic accidents (have) resulted, in some cases, even with deceased (people).

We have thought about different options (on how) we can stop this and we decided that first step was to mount these signs.

We must warn drivers that sometimes people who have little control over their actions can suddenly appear in the road.

I wonder the effectiveness of these signs. Does it mean that you yield if you see a drunk pedestrian? And how do you distinguish between a drunk and sobre one?

Would you like them installed in your city?

The exact incidence happened with David Cerda from Dallas, Texas.

I woke up to texts and phone calls, went out to Facebook and people were talking about it on Facebook, Cerda said.

His mom, Maria Cerda, was flooded with phone calls and people dropping in to console her.

A lady was telling me she was fixing to bake a cake, and I said, 'No, don't; David is not dead,' she said.

It seems like one of David's acquaintances had mental issues and had submitted the obituary. Despite strict policies, Dallas Morning News never checked if it was genuine or not.

The Dallas Morning News says this fell through the cracks. "We are deeply sorry that we did not catch this falsified submission, and are checking into the source," the paper said in a statement. "We have apologized directly to Mr. Cerda and have also run an apology in today's newspaper. We are reviewing our fact-checking procedures to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the Obituaries." The Dallas Morning News said they do not just print any death notice that comes their way; they confirm the information with a family member and even call the funeral home to make sure it's legitimate. Source: www.wfaa.com

At least David is alive and can refute the claim.

Bachelor Toby, who works for Halifax bank in Stockport, admits most of his friends are doubting Thomases at the story but insists it is true.

He said: "Its a crying shame that no-one believes me! I went onto the internet and found other things that had Jesus on them, like pizza, but they were just outlines. Mine has eyes and a nose and everything.

"Ive recently started going to church again so Im glad I took part in the Shrove Tuesday tradition."
He now plans to hang the frying pan on the wall as a talking point.

Why do I think that I might soon find it on eBay? Call me a sceptic but I don't trust a banker (especially after the recent financial crisis) and a man in a suit holding a pan with Jesus burnt in side!

What do you think - real divine intervention and miracle or just the usual fraud by a banker?

Thankfully, the rules have stayed fairly similar as the main talking points of this off-season have been the drivers and these pesky new teams. Michael Schumacher is the headline grabber, coming back to race but this time with Mercedes. Fernando Alonso jumped ship to Ferrari (at last!), Jenson Button is over at McLaren for the titanic battle of Britain against Lewis Hamilton and the Senna name returns as the late great Ayrtons nephew, Bruno, joins the sport.

The new teams are almost all here, with the exception of USF1 who failed quite spectacularly it has to be said and Hispania who only launched the car last week. Stefan GP, the Serbian team will not be racing as they weretold to pack up and go home by the FIA.

Right, now to the race preview.

Were starting the season in Bahrain, the Arabian circuit hosted the first race once before in 2006 while Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games and couldnt cope with the Grand Prix at the same time. The track has had a couple of changes, which havent been well recieved (see Mark Webbers comments below).

Pre-Race Driver Comments

Bruno Senna (Bra)- HRT: I am enjoying it already! I have had a pretty tough year so far, starting from the end of 2008 all the way to this year, where things have got there only to be taken away. I was very low on expectation that the team was going to happen because we had spent so much time trying to be sold, trying to be bailed and this and that.

Nico Rosberg (Deu) Mercedes: Im going into the season very optimistically. I feel very, very comfortable in the car, very confident. But at the same time I know its going to be as difficult as ever, because obviously I have a rather strong team-mate. So well have to wait and see.

Karun Chandhok (Ind) HRT: It is going to be extremely tough. We havent even done a shakedown so its no secret it is going to be a bloody tough weekend. I think if you look on the plus side, at least Dallara are a respected [racing] car manufacturer and they have built cars before, so we should be in a slightly better position than if it was with someone else doing it independently.

Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari: I am very happy and very motivated that we can start the championship in a better way not just than last year, which was not a very good year, but also than the other championships. My expectation [for this weekend] is definitely to score many points. Even if maybe we dont know if it will be possible to win, it will be important to start the championship in the right direction. Thats our expectation and thats what were looking for.

Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull: [Speaking about the circuit changes] Nothing but tight corners. Accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake

Timo Glock (Deu) Virgin: Here we are, heading into our first race, and Im very excited. Were as ready as we can be; were a small team but we have the resources and people to keep building something special together and that is what we must all keep in mind as we progress. Our objective remains to be the best of the new teams and that particular race starts this weekend.

Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren: Im actually really looking forward to the start of the season. It will be a thrill and an honour to sit on the grid with the number 1 on my car itll actually be the first time in my car racing career that thats ever happened but I wont be spending too much time thinking about the drivers who want to take it away from me.

F1 Fanatics

Well, in this case, not quite so drastic. A group of 8 beautiful Chinese girls became tired of their parents persistent harrassment, so they decided to take action. On March 8th, Womens Day for those not in the know, the women went hunting.

They braved the weather to strip down to their bras and pants outside a subway station in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, and danced for passers-by.

The girls handed out sheets of paper with their personal details and the kind of men they hoped to marry, reports Guangzhou Daily.

And they held boards with slogans such as: 'Brother, marry me!', 'My mom is pushing me for marriage!', and 'Time flies, let's date!'.

I can't see the others too well, but the one in red is a definite beauty.

Organiser Xing Zi said: "We planned this to stand as a declaration. This is to prove we have enough confidence and determination."

One participant, Xiao Xuan, explained: "We think we are beauties, but we can't find our Mr Rights. Our age is close to 30, so we have to do something."

Another dancer, with the nickname Ali Nerd, said her mother was driving her crazy: "She calls me all day long, nagging me to get married," she said.

Someone has got to find more pictures, or better yet, the girl's personal info ;)

The 23-year-old star, who portrays Edward Cullen in the film adaptation of the novel by the same name, revealed he dodged trailing paparazzi and screaming followers and managed to be one his own while driving through LA.

I'd been working all year pretty much without a break, then I'd gone back to LA and I'd been followed around all the time, the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

I finally escaped from people and I drove past this guitar shop and I was just like I need to remind myself why I'm doing this, he added.

The Brit further said the reception is different everywhere he goes, saying: Every time I come back to London I'm always thinking it's going to be the same as America but it never is. People don't look for the same stuff.

Celebrity and World

The two posed for the upcoming April issue of W Magazine and the chemistry oozing between them is apparently undeniable.

The magazine, which also includes 7 shots by renowned photographer Steven Klein, described the role the two were playing in the photos.

Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler do a little role playing in the searing heat of the California desert where damsels arent always in distress and lawmen sometimes break the rules, Radar Online quoted it as stating.

The magazine will be hitting stands on March 17.

Celebrity and World

Lohan, 23, is seeking 66.7 million pounds in damages and compensation in connection with the promo for financial firm E-Trade, which depicted a baby girl called Lindsay as a boyfriend stealer and a milkaholic.

The Mean Girls star filed a lawsuit against the advert, which aired on U.S. TV during the Super Bowl last month, on March 8 at Nassau County Supreme Court.

The actress lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, alleges company bosses used Lohans name and characterisation without paying her or asking for her approval, thus violating her rights.

But chiefs at the advertising firm behind the commercial claim they chose the name Lindsay at random.

And now Dina has waded in to defend her daughters decision to sue, insisting the advert reduced the actress to tears during the Super Bowl celebrations.

She claims the actress called her after the Super Bowl extremely upset.

She said, Mommy, help me. This is wrong. How can they do this? the Daily Star quoted her as telling The New York Post.

Dina is adamant the commercial was aimed at her daughter insisting the name Lindsay has as much recognition as other single-word monikers, used by stars such as Madonna and Cher.

Theyre little babies doing this, mocking another child whos just trying to survive Hollywood, basically, she said.

Im just basically glad I took a stand. Im not going to let them do this to us anymore. Everyone knows Lindsay, like Cher or Madonna, she added.

Celebrity and World

Al Gore His Warmists Exposed!

Of course, as the above image displays, Al Gore hopefully wouldnt be the first choice by the Warmists for a PETA style AGW poster or billboard. ;)

Reflection From a Murky Pond

Highlights about the story -
- The two sisters were raped starting 1980 when the daughters were 8 and 10.
- He would rape them 2-3 times a week.
- He would rape the sisters even when they were pregnant.
- The sisters would have to take it in turns to babysit their children while the other was forced to have sex with him.
- If they refused, they were punched, kicked and sometimes held to the flames of a gas fire, burning their eyes and arms.
- Called himself "Gaffer" and tookpleasure in fathering children by his daughters!
- He moved the family 67 times to maintain the secret.
- Family was seen by more than 100 people from 28 different agencies but none did anything!

The agencies have issued apologies to the daughters.

In issuing the apology all the agencies gave assurances that changes in the safeguarding process now offered better protection to children.

Sue Fiennes, from the Sheffield Safeguarding Children Board, said: "We want to apologise to the family at the heart of this case.

"It will be clear that we failed the family.

"We are committed to work relentlessly to do all we can to minimise the risk of this happening again."

The case is very similar to Austrian man Joseph Fritzl's case who kept his daughter Elisabeth locked in a cellar for 24 years while raping her repeatedly. Joseph had seven children with the daughter all of whom were kept in the cellar. Fritzl was sentenced to 12 years in prison last October.

The story reminds you that there are really sick people out there who need to be identified early and incarcerated for life. Please watch out for these monsters and report for any suspicion!

As usual, Biden called on Israel to take bold steps toward peace that is, offers still more staggering concessions to our sworn enemies.

As just everyone else in the world, Biden condemned Israeli construction plan in Ramat Shlomo, Jerusalem. Unveiling the plan on the date of Bidens visit to Israel could hardly be a coincidence as the government claims, but more likely a well-deserved slap in his face.

Samson Blinded

Daniel said: 'Being a chef, you're curious about anything in terms of flavour - you look out for something new and what you can do with it.

'After two weeks ageing, it was somewhat like a raw-milk cheese - it had all the flavours in there. It tastes just like really sweet cow's milk.

It wasn't like, Hey, this is such an amazing cheese. It's just like, Can you use human milk? Yes, you absolutely can!

'Our baby has plenty of back-up mother's milk in the freezer, so whoever wants to try it is welcome to try it as long as the supply lasts.'

He added that his 'cooking instincts are rather natural... such as sourcing ingredients from the local market... but this is a whole other level of natural.

Check the recipe -

Step-by Step
My Spouses Mommy Milk Cheese Making Experiment
(basic recipe using 8 cups of any milk - yields about pound cheese)

2 cups mothers milk
2 cups milk (just about any animal milk will work)
1-teaspoon yogurt (must be active cultured yogurt)
1/8-tablet rennet (buy from supermarket, usually located in pudding section)
1 teaspoon sea salt such as Baline

1. Inoculate milks by heating (68 degree Fahrenheit) then introduce starter bacteria (active yogurt) then let stand for 6 8 hours at room temperature, 68F covered with a lid. Bacteria will grow in this way and convert milk sugar (lactose) to lactic acid. You can detect its presence by the tart/sour taste.
2. After inoculating the milk heat to 86 degrees Fahrenheit then add rennet (I use tablets which I dissolve in water) and stir throughout. Cover pot and dont disturb for an hour until clean break stage is achieved, meaning with a clean spoon lift a small piece of curd out of the milk - if it is still soft and gel-like let pot stand for an hour longer. If curds break clean cut with a knife into a squares (cut inside the pot a -inch cube pattern).
3. Raise temperature slowly continuously stirring with a pastry spatula (this will prevent clumping of cut curd). This is what I call the ricotta stage if you like this kind of fresh cheese here it is. For cheese with a little bit more of texture heat curds to 92 degree Fahrenheit - for soft curd cheese, or as high 102oF for very firm cheese. The heating of the curd makes all the difference in the consistency of the cheese. When heated the curd looks almost like scrambled eggs at this point (curd should be at bottom of pot in whey liquid).
4. Pour curd through a fine strainer (this will separate curd from whey) then transfer into a bowl and add salt and mix with a pastry spatula (this will prevent curd from spoiling). Whey can be drank - it is quite healthy and its protein is very efficiently absorbed into the blood stream making it a sought-after product in shakes for bodybuilders.
5. Give curd shape by lining a container with cheese cloth (allow any excess of cheese cloth to hang over edges of container). Transfer drained, warm curd in the cheese cloth lined container (I used a large plastic quart containers like a large Chinese take- out soup container and cut 4 holes in the bottom with the tip of my knife). Fold excess cheese cloth over top of cheese then weight curd down (with second container filled with water or such) then store in refrigerator (14 hours or so put container into a second larger container this will catch draining whey liquid).
6. Take pressed curd out of container (flip container upside-down then unwrap carefully not to damage structure of pressed curd). Rewrap pressed curd with new cheese cloth then age in refrigerator for several weeks (cheese will form a light brown skin around week two this is normal). Age cheese longer for a more pronounced/sharper cheese flavor.

Please read his very interesting blog for more recipes (not all of them use breast milk).

Not sure if you would qualify it as a weird or a delicacy or an efficient use.

I got a funny joke for you. Imagine, you are driving down the road and a police officer signals for you to stop. Like a good law abiding citizen, you follow orders. When the policeman approaches, you are ready to ask what you did wrong, but before you can say a word the policeman asks you to move your car into a specific position perpendicular to traffic.

This is a generally odd request, but you do as you are told and wait to talk to the police officer. The police officer quickly walks up to the car and tells you to stay put, then immediately leaves. Your first thought, "what an ass", but again you do as you're told. As you are sitting in your car you look around and notice that you aren't the only one in this position, it turns out there are half a dozen others also in the road. The formation seems very strange, all the cars are blocking 2 of the 3 available lanes, and traffic has virtually slowed to a crawl.

Next thing you know, you look up the road and you see an Audi barreling down the road going full speed with a squadron of cop cars behind it. It dawns on you, you are part of a human shield ... but that psycho isn't stopping. FUCK, he is coming straight for your car.

3 ... 2 ... 1 ... BAM!!!! The Audi plows through your car, sending you into neighboring cars, wrecking your car and theirs. The cop cars then squeeze through the newly made hole, further damaging you car as they scrape by.

You then learn that the driver of the Audi is an armed and extremely dangerous criminal ... so, if he even managed to stop, if he lived he would likely come out shooting. Luckily, nobody is hurt 'too badly', but what about our cars?

So, whats the punchline? Now that your car is wrecked, along with everyone else's, the cops simply tell you to go fuck yourself and drive off ... The Aristocrats!

Check out the video from Russia Today, it has the full story.

What started this all was the following eye witness account (unfortunately it is in Russian)

The incident happened in the living room of the couple's trailer, which is located on the north side of Fort Dade Avenue in Brooksville.

Thomas Diservio, 42, told deputies his wife became "irate" after he fell asleep on the couch when he was supposed to take the dogs out, according to the incident report.

At that point, Diservio said his wife hit him on the mouth and pulled at his t-shirt. Deputies say Jennifer Diservio, 25, is six months pregnant, suffers from bipolar disorder and had not been taking medication.

Jennifer Diservio was taken to the Hernando County jail, charged with felony domestic battery and held without bond.

Deputies say Diservio has "numerous prior convictions for battery and domestic battery," according to the incident report.

Not to forget, Jennifer has had numerous convictions for battery and domestic battery, is bipolar and pregnant. Makes you wonder, why would her husband mess with her?

Some of us might give her a medal for beating up the lazy husband!

The Nord Stream pipeline development has exposed treasures that were not expected! The latest discovery was made during a search of the seabed east of the Swedish island of Gotland by the Nord Stream consortium, which is building a 750-mile pipeline in the Baltic Sea. The 12 wrecks were found in a 30-mile-long and 1.2-mile-wide corridor of the sea.

The find is considered to be exceptional because the Baltic sea has a lower salt level and by that one condition, a sea worm that attacks and eats wood does not exist in the sea...

This means that the ships, some as old as 800 years. Are in fantastic shape. Nord Stream has promised to not destroy the hulls of the ships and will do everything necessary to make sure everyone interested can find and research these ships. The ships found do not lay in the path of the pipeline so that danger is mute...

The former Spice Girl reportedly called the Sunset Tower Hotel to stop the hottie from letting in.

The singer apparently described Price, who wore an OTT sequin dress, as looking like a Christmas tree from a trailer park.

The two had reportedly involved in a row at Elton John's birthday part last year.

Because the Vanity Fair party was all about fashion, Victoria knew she could call some shots, the Daily Star quoted a source as saying.

The insider added: But at Elton's party, she didnt want to come across like a stroppy diva, especially as it was for charity.

However, party girl Price apparently avoided confrontation this time.

A fellow party-goer said: Kate and Victoria both knew the other was going to be there so it must have been a bit awkward.

Everyone was expecting Kate to have a few too many and confront Victoria. In the end Posh dashed off to the other party.

Celebrity and World

That is where the truth lies and to think different would be a total lack of empiricism...

As far as the successor to the START treaty: America has created a quandary for itself! Russia who has stayed firm on her commitments, thoughts and factors. Is seeing an America that talks out of two mouths. One of the most important factors to Russia is American missile defense in countries around Russian borders.

As Prime Minister Putin has eloquently stated in a recent speech in the Pacific coastal city of Vladivostok.

So as America plays games of decisive destruction of confirmatory relations with major world powers such as China and Russia - America keeps wondering why no-one wants to trust her...

The 23-year-old singer was said to have left the LA Dodgers baseball star beaming in delight after showing up to support his Ante Up for Autism charity fundraiser.

Matt was happy she came. It was an awesome show of support. Rihanna fit right in as if they all knew each other. It was comfortable, the Daily Telegraph quoted a source as telling E! online.

Kemp, whose brother is autistic, previously swept the star off her feet after surprising her with a party for her 22nd birthday.

A source said: It was so sweet and she was really surprised. She looked just beautiful. Matt really wanted to do something nice for Rihanna this year since she didn't have much of a 21st birthday last year. It was just her closest friends, good Jamaican food, a photo booth, dancing and a nice cake.

Celebrity and World

The Brit singer was said to be waiting for her US visa application to be cleared before she purportedly remarries her jailbird ex.

They will definitely be getting married and have agreed on Vegas. Amy doesn't want a traditional ceremony and wants it to be similar to their first wedding, the Sun quoted a source as saying.

The source continued: She chose not to marry in Miami again because she thinks it could be a bad omen. She can't stop talking to people about their future together.

Celebrity and World

The New Moon co-stars were spotted together on Sunday night.

Robert and Kristen sat really close together and kept touching and rubbing each other's arms as if no one else was around, the New York Daily News quoted a witness as saying.

They definitely appeared to be an item, the source added.

Celebrity and World

And the Twilight star is scared what his mum will say if she happens to find out about his vice.

The British heartthrob has been enjoying sneaky fags on the London set of new movie Bel Ami.

Robert tried to make sure his security shielded him from lurking photographers. But a snap has appeared in America, the Sun quoted a source as saying.

Roberts since admitted hes been scared about his mum finding out, added the source.

Celebrity and World

Joking aside this new technology was demonstrated at the recent ceBIT Technology fair and shows what can be achieved with current cerebral electric activity technology . Check out the video after the jump to see the device in action.

The system records cerebral electric activity through an electroencephalogram (EEG), in basic terms the electrodes attached to the scalp via the headgear. The right and left flippers were controlled through thoughts of right or left hand movements by the player.

Kozar Cool Blog

Security is a major concern, but there are numerous ways to get at and manipulate data. Some of the most effective, it turns out, is social engineering. With criminal organizations becoming more attuned to the technological front, and even countries taking up technology as a means for fighting wars, the fear of a total technological meltdown is now almost warranted.

More from Slashdot:

Organized cyber-criminal gangs stole $25 million in the 3rd quarter alone last year, by pilfering the online bank accounts of small to midsized businesses, the FDIC reported last week. In contrast, traditional bank robbers hauled just $9.4 million in 1,184 bank robberies during that same period, according to an analysis of FBI bank crime statistics by krebsonsecurity.com. From that story: 'The federal government sure publishes a lot more information about physical bank robberies that it makes available about online stick-ups. Indeed, the FBI's bank crime stats are extraordinarily detailed. For example, they can tell you that in the 3rd quarter of last year, bank robbers were more likely to hold up their local branch between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on a Wednesday than at any other time or day of the week; they can tell you the number of tear gas and dye packs taken with the loot, the number of security cameras activated, the number of food stamps taken, even what percentage of suspected perpetrators had illegal drug habits at the time of the robberies. About the only thing the stats don't tell you is what brand of jeans the perpetrators were wearing and whether the getaway car had cool vanity plates. What do we get about e-crime statistics from the federal government? One guy from the FDIC giving a speech at the RSA conference.

For those that are lacking in the common sense department, police officers are generally paranoid about everything, that's there job. So, obviously, officer Lubrano ran the plates of the SUV and found out it was stolen. Police officers generally have radios, for occasions such as these, which they use to alert other officers of such events. Hence, Lubrano called to her police buddies to alert them that a stolen vehicle is heading towards the interstate ... yeah, another good rule of thumb is to avoid letting the police know where you are going when doing illegal activities.

It didn't take long for other officers to spot the vehicle driving down the interstate, and then an even shorter period of time to catch up to said idiots. Stupid criminals are what make my days all the more fun.

This moron, who goes by the name of Ronnie Ricks, is now being held at St. Tammany Parish Jail on a $22,000 bond. I get the feeling that this isn't the last we hear of Ronnie Ricks.

Headline stolen from Fark

The reasoning is nonsensical. If the Africans were remotely related to Jews three thousand years ago, whats the deal now? They are pagan, Christian, and Muslimnot Jewish. That they put the Star of David on their tombstones only proves that they are fakes: Jews did not start commonly using the star until the nineteenth century.

In Spain and some regions of Ukraine, a quarter of the population have Jewish ancestry. Does that make them Jewish?

A proper study of Lembas Jewishness would involve ethnography rather than genetics. One must carefully learn about their old practices rather than quasi-Jewish beliefs implanted in them by Christian missionaries. If, besides being of remote Jewish origin, they have maintained significant Jewish practices throughout their history, then they must be welcomed in Israel. Otherwise, let them stay among the Christianized blacks in Africa.

Samson Blinded

Bill Whitfield and Mike Garcia, who served as the Jacksons minders, revealed that he often suffered fits of rage.

We were asked to leave hotels because the credit card on file was denied, the New York Post quoted Whitfield as saying on Good Morning America.

Also, Whitfield added: We smile about it, but its really more painful and hurtful.

He got so frustrated he threw my cell phone out the window, through the window and broke the glass.

And he looked at me and said, 'Bill, you're going to need a new phone.'

The bodyguards also mentioned that he tried to avoid Jacksons three kids Prince, Paris and Blanket from seeing images of their father on magazine covers.

He added: I'll be ahead of him, because I know he's coming this way, and I'm looking at magazine racks that may have something about him on them and I'll turn it around. Sometimes he's seen them, and you would actually see him take it and turn them around so the kids didn't see them.

Celebrity and World

It was a terrible decision and very hurtful Farrah was a member of the Academy for over 40 years and we could not believe she did not get a mention, the Herald Sun quoted O Neal, as saying.

The traditional video montage of stars who died in the past year including such familiar faces as Patrick Swayze, Brittany Murphy and Michael Jackson, but inexplicably omitted the Charlies Angels star.

His daughter and Oscar winner Tatum O'Neal is also planning to join her father in insisting the Academy address the omission.

Quite frankly, we were stunned at the decision not to include her in the tribute and I feel that the Academy should be scolded for that, everyone was shocked. Both Tatum and I were very upset and we intend to write a letter to the Academy to try and get an explanation for this oversight on their behalf, O Neal said.

However, Fawcett's exclusion wasn't an accident, according to a spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

I would not say that it was an oversight. No matter how carefully and how conscientiously people address who is included, there are people who just simply can't be, said Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In any given year there will always be some people that other people think should have been included and that there's more justification for one person versus another. It is impossible to include everybody, she added.

Fans of Fawcett flooded networking sites with their grievances on Sunday.

Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, the same day as Michael Jackson, after a long battle with cancer. She was 62.

Celebrity and World

The 31-year-old, who starred in Avatar as Neytiri, made the confession in the new issue of Essence magazine, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Love it, love it, love it, Cant live without it, she declares.

I love sex. I love skin. I dont believe the body is something to hide.

She adds: I think in American society we're messing up our kids by taking away the education on and awareness of our sexuality and replacing it with violence, guns and video games and we're breeding little criminals.

Celebrity and World

A randy German couple brought traffic to a halt when the twosome stepped outside their car and began having sex in the middle of a busy street.

Onlookers say they romped for nearly 10 minutes as vehicles became distracted by the unusual sight. I nearly crashed my cab, its not something you see every day in the middle of the road, a shocked taxi driver revealed.

A witness even stepped close enough to snap some very revealing photos of the brazen act: A busty womanwith her top undoneis seen on top of her lover who has his pants down to his ankles.

He turned the images over to the authorities.

Police say that the sex was indecent and they want to question the couple.

Via Tabloid Prodigy

This was the moment a nearly 15-foot crocodile devoured a shark in one bite in Australia. Stunned fisherman took snaps of the young shark that became the crocs snack and say that it all happened fast. There was not a whole lot of sound, a fisherman told reporters. All we could hear was the crunching sound.

Via Tabloid Prodigy

"I had this song [Autumn] in mind as something that was really appropriate because there is this line that says: 'You still live on in my father's eyes.' Mummy also liked Paulo Nutini's music too.

"In the run-up to mummy's death, I thought it was absolutely perfect but it was unrealistic for me to be able to sing it live at her funeral [because she would be too upset]," said Sarah.

"So I recorded it on my mobile phone in my bedroom at about 10pm [on February 10]. I looked the lyrics up on my computer it was the first time I had seen them.

"I had said my 'goodbye' to mummy the day before. It was exactly as you would expect. I said: 'I love you.' She just said she wanted me to be happy, but she could not speak very much because her breathing was laboured.

"She was upset by what she would miss our [her three children's] weddings, having grandchildren. She would have been an amazing grandmother."

Sarah mentioned the recording to her father three days after her mother's death and a family friend, Charlie Mole, a professional score composer and songwriter, helped edit it and put it to music.

The video clips came from 70 hours of family recordings mainly recorded during family holidays abroad.

"I never appreciated how much mummy suffered because her priority was always to make sure we were not upset by her illness," Sarah said.

"She was incredibly selfless everything she did was for other people. I was always very close to my mother and we have always been a close-knit family. I have wonderful memories of us all together."

I would request you all to follow the link to donate for a great cause - http://www.ucl.ac.uk/online-giving/gi...

I think, this is the saddest video I have ever seen in my whole life. I just couldn't hold back my tears!

On April 16th 2007, Cousin telephoned his local police station in Arras, northern France, and told an officer: Excuse me for disturbing you, Ive killed my wife.

In a fit of rage following a domestic argument, he had taken a kitchen knife to her neck before slicing her head off.

This morning he appeared before a judge at the Pas-de-Calais assizes at Saint-Omer, near Calais, facing life in prison for murder.

He denies the charge, pleading diminished responsibility, but faces life in prison.

The court heard how Cousins also told police: Im sorry for the work which I ve given you.

'My wife shouted my name out, I decapitated her. You realise that, and Im not mad!

While on remand he said his wifes inability to have children lay at the heart of the couples domestic difficulties.

She feared that she would pass on her fathers multiple sclerosis through his genes, the court heard.

This meant that every time he tried to have sex he was rebuffed. An autopsy confirmed that Mrs Cousins was indeed a virgin when she died, even though she married aged 21.

Defending barrister Didier Robiquet said that the problems came to a head two weeks before Cousins 50th birthday in what was described as pressure cooker syndrome.

His wife had threatened to leave him but he had never undergone any psychiatric treatment because of this, said Mr Robiquet.

He had been hugely frustrated over more than twenty years and this built up into a terrifying repressed aggression which finally exploded. He did not feel he was completely in control of his actions.Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

The whole idea of being married and not having any sex sounds strange to me, but it makes me believe that Philippe must have known about this problem before the marriage and quite possibly agreed to the arrangement. Further, If it was such a big deal for him, why didn't he leave her?

Sexting is (unfortunately for parents) popular among teens and tweens. Some of the teen sexters have even been charged with child porn because of it. Many think that is unnecessary, but in this case, with a New Hampshire teacher, the door to jail seems wide open.

Melinda Dennehy, 41 and a mother of two, is an English teacher at Londonderry High School. Despite her degree, she apparently did not read, or did not understand, laws on indecent exposure, however.

Melinda Dennehy turned herself in to Londonderry police last Friday. She reportedly sent four "sexy" shots of herself to a 16-year-old male student at that high school. The student thought the pictures were "hot" enough that he forwarded the images to his friends.

According to the police, the pictures were sent two months ago. The teenager also told police that Melinda Dennehy had "continuously sent him text messages." Many of those were, he said, sexually explicit. He added that she "kissed him twice on two separate occasions" in a classroom.

According to the local Londonderry website, the charge of indecent exposure leveled at Melinda Dennehy is considered a Class B Felony. The maximum punishment is up to seven years in state prison and a fine of $4,000.

Dennehy was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail; she is due to be arraigned in the Derry District Court on April 30, 2010. Dennehy is to have no contact with anyone under the age of sixteen and was ordered to stay away from all Londonderry School property.

Sexting is a word that combines sex and texting (or text messaging). As previously noted, child pornography charges have been brought against some teens due to the practice. In response, the question of when sexting should be a crime, particularly among consensual teens, remains an open issue.

You can listen to the school districts press conference on Melinda Dennehy here.

Originally on SNAFU-ed

Im thinking of a cheeseburger

He wasn't charged about "thinking of a cheeseburger", but violating the city begging ordinance.

Gastonia City Ordinance 5-17 makes it unlawful for anyone to beg or offer to work for money or other compensation by accosting one another or forcing oneself upon the company of another. The citation did not state whether McLaughlin had been approaching vehicles.

McLaughlin was charged with unlawful solicitation under the city ordinance and was jailed under a $500 secured bond.

Sounds kind of harsh! If I was the officer, I would have rather bought him the cheeseburger. Makes you wonder, is it OK to donate to different causes in world, but not be able to donate to your own countrymen?

List of winners at the 82nd annual Academy Awards the Oscars:

A lot of people got disappointed with "Avatar" losing to "Hurt Locker" on lot of awards. Personally, I liked both the movies a lot but they seem to be in a different genre. Avatar was more of a commercial movie with tons of CGI, where as Hurt Locker was more off an offbeat drama with great acting, amazing story and great direction.

Which side are you? Avatar or Hurt Locker?

Ben's Collection of Everything Awesome on the Net

After three months of enrichment, no Israeli attack will be able to eliminate Irans nuclear stocks.

Every sane person understands that sanctions are futile. Not only they are torpedoed by Russia and China, but even the strongest sanctions wont break Irans back within the few months the ayatollahs need to finish their bomb.

Irans Russian S-300 SAM do not change the situation. In the current political climate, the Russians wont man the batteries with their own personnel, and it would take Iranians months to learn to operate them reliably, if they ever do. Most importantly, the S-300 is too small to defend against a missile strike. Two S-300 will take out some 40 missiles, but Israel can launch about a thousand Tomahawk-type missiles.

Samson Blinded

Chandhok, who previously raced in GP2 and tested for Red Bull, says he expects initially things will be tough but HRT can prove themselves worthy contenders.

The team looked unlikely to even make the grid until 2 weeks ago when they were bailed out, and then the car launched a few days ago in Spain.

Our goal early on in the season is to show the world that we are a credible company, Chandhok told Indian newspaper the Deccan Herald. The focus is to gain some mileage, reliability and experience in the first season.

Well probably be off the mark in the first four races but from Catalunya, Spain, we will prove a challenge. You never know, we could also bag some points late in the season.

Chandhok also said he felt no ill feeling towards Vijay Mallya who runs Force India with regards to him not giving him a race seat despite it being sold as a national team.

He called me and wished me well, Chandhok said of Mallya. Force India required something else at that point of time and they have now turned into a very good team.

I hold nothing against Vijay. I wanted to drive in F1 and it didnt matter to me which team I drove for. My priority is to stay in F1 and give it my best.

I will consider driving for Force India if an offer does pop up and if they are still on a high, in terms of racing.

F1 Fanatics

It is a rare case that a man doesn't have an important woman in his life. The most important that comes to mind is, of course, the mother. However, there is always the Sisters, Wife, Daughters or just female friends. Today is the day that the women need to receive some level of acknowledgement for their being. Bring them flowers, chocolate or simply just let them know how much they mean to you. Congratulating your female coworkers is also a good idea, letting them know that they are appreciated for their effort.

International Womens Day started as a Socialist holiday, which is likely why it never caught on in the Western World. However, its meaning surpasses socialism, or politics in general, and so I would love to see it as a true international holiday where everyone can enjoy it. Its history is best summed up in Wikipedia:

The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. Among other relevant historic events, it came to commemorate the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The idea of having an international women's day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions.

In 1910 the first international women's conference was held in Copenhagen (in the labour-movement building located at Jagtvej 69, which until recently housed Ungdomshuset) by the Second International and an 'International Women's Day' was established, which was submitted by the important German Socialist Clara Zetkin, although no date was specified.[1] The following year, 1911, IWD was marked by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, on March 19.[2] However, soon thereafter, on March 25, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City killed over 140 garment workers. A lack of safety measures was blamed for the high death toll. Furthermore, on the eve of World War I, women across Europe held peace rallies on 8 March 1913. In the West, International Women's Day was commemorated during the 1910s and 1920s, but dwindled. It was revived by the rise of feminism in the 1960s.

Demonstrations marking International Women's Day in Russia proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Following the October Revolution, the Bolshevik feminist Alexandra Kollontai persuaded Lenin to make it an official holiday in the Soviet Union, and it was established, but was a working day until 1965. On May 8, 1965 by the decree of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet International Women's Day was declared as a non working day in the USSR "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Fatherland during the Great Patriotic War, in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace. But still, women's day must be celebrated as are other holidays."

Today, International Women's Day has gone well beyond mere Socialist states and has entered the world market as a true International Holiday. Most countries that celebrate International Women's Day have declared it a National Holiday with all businesses closed. However, some simply recognize the days importance but still ask its citizens to work. The following countries recognize International Women's Day as a National Holiday:

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Numerous other countries recognize International Women's Day, such as Cameroon and Romania, but they have not made it a National Holiday. This is unfortunate because there is nothing quite as important as the women of our society.

Disregarding the smoking ban, the Smile hitmaker lit up at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

However, she apologized to the crowd for off key vocals.

Ive got a bout of bronchitis so sorry if my singing's a bit shit. Not that it's any good anyway, the Daily Star quoted her as saying.

Allen had flouted the smoking ban in Liverpool in December, forcing local authorities to reprimand her.

She was even fined last year for smoking onstage in Paris.

Smoking in public places is banned in both Britain and France since 2007.

Allen is currently in a tour with rapper Dizzee Rascal.

Celebrity and World

The singer had first cancelled plan Valentines Day marriage plan after the date was disclosed.

Since then he has been forced to cancel two more dates.

Now, Williams is apparently trying to find out the source of the leaks.

Robbie and Ayda are desperate to marry and start a new domesticated life together, the Mirror quoted a source as saying.

The insider added: But when their first day, February 14th, escaped into the public domain, Rob hit the roof. He has played out his relationship with Ayda largely behind closed doors and wanted it to stay that way.

They don't want a huge showbiz wedding with glossy magazines in attendance and flashbulbs going off.

So it is vitally important to both of them that it stays private with only a handful of people knowing where and when the event will be.

Two other dates were suggested almost as a test to see if and when they got leaked. He is determined to find the culprit and cull him or her from their circle of friends.

Meanwhile, Field can't wait to get married to the Bodies hitmaker.

She reportedly said: I can't wait to marry him. We're so in love, its a case of the sooner the better.

They are now expected to wed at year-end in a private ceremony in LA.

Celebrity and World

Andrew Tweedy, 29, said his 26-year-old sister had been so keen on becoming a mum and believed that Chelsea defender Cole was equally committed to a family.

She saw him as the father to their kids. Thats why she married him and thats why he has left her heartbroken, the Mirror quoted him as saying.

Having kids with him, becoming a mother, thats all Cheryl has ever really wanted. She comes from a big family we are all still close and the maternal instinct is really strong in her.

The public humiliation makes it 10 times worse, but for her not being able to start a family is the hardest part, he said.

He also revealed that Cheryl had told her family about the career break just before a string of women came forward to claim Cole had bedded them.

She planned to take time off once she returned from recording her first solo album in America.

I have spoken with Cheryl and she always thought she was going to have a family with Ashley. But trust is a big thing for Cheryl and that is another reason why Ashleys affairs have hit her so hard, Tweedy said.

To be honest I never ever thought he would get a second chance. But she took him back and gave him that second chance. I did not think she could take any more from him but she has.

He has ruined so many things for her. The biggest is the chance to start a family, he added.

Celebrity and World

It also has a range of built in features which includes Bluetooth connectivity for your mobile phone, when you phone rings or you receive a text message the watch will vibrate.

The watch is controlled by buttons that are located at the bottom of the strap, and the time is shown by digital numbers in dark dots on the watch face.

It certainly looks like an interesting design concept, I wonder how long it will be before we see watches using E-Paper displays.

Tokyoflash via Ubergizmo

Kozar Cool Blog

Check the videos -

A source told The Mail on Sunday: The gang had balaclavas, machine guns, hand grenades and machetes.

They made off with at least 700,000. Thank God everyones OK, apart from the injuries sustained when fleeing. The tournament continues tomorrow with armed police.

Police spokesman Carsten Mueller said four robbers in disguises forced employees to hand over money before escaping.

He said: Several people at the tournament were slightly injured when they panicked and fled.

He added that four of the raiders entered the hotel at 2.15pm from Potsdamer Platz, one of the German capitals most popular squares, while two others kept watch.

Barnes and Charles Judy were southbound in her Thunderbird at 11 a.m. when they slammed into the back of a 2006 Chevrolet pickup driven by David Schoff of Palm Bay. His passengers were a man and two women; the latter were treated for minor injuries at Lower Keys Medical Center, FHP spokesman Alex Annunziato said.

Schoff had slowed to about 5 mph to make a turn when the Thunderbird hit him, traveling about 45 mph, which was within the speed limit, Dunick said.

Barnes allegedly drove another half-mile, then switched seats with Judy, who allegedly claimed to be driving, Annunziato said.

"She jumps in the back seat and he moves over," Dunick said. "It was like the old comedy bit, 'Who's on first?' "

Burns on Judy's chest from the passenger-side airbag deploying belied their story, Dunick said. The airbag in the steering wheel did not deploy, he said.

Interestingly, both Megan and her thunderbird were not supposed to be on the road.

The day before the wreck, Barnes was convicted in an Upper Keys court of DUI with a prior and driving with a suspended license, said Monroe County Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne. Barnes was ordered to impound her car, and her driver's license was revoked for five years, after which time she must have a Breathalyzer ignition interlock device on any vehicle she drives, Dunne said. Barnes also was sentenced to nine months' probation.Source: keysnews.com

This story has too many questions here -

I will scrape off the last question, especially after looking at the hair on her head.

Makes you wonder, was she trying to make an "urgent" appointment with a "customer" instead?

Abdullah Barghouti, a terrorist serving 67 (!) life terms in Israeli jail, declared PM Netanyahu guilty of refusing prisoner exchange. In the warped Muslim mind, it is not the serial murderer who is guilty, but the prime minister who refused to submit to terrorist demands. It did not raise eyebrows in Israel that a convicted terrorist freely makes political declarations.

Turkish PM Erdogan claimed that the tomb of foremother Rachel was never Jewish and Netanyahu destabilized the Middle East by including it on the Jewish Heritage Sites list.

Wakf, an Islamic organization entrusted by mad Israelis with upkeep of the Temple Mount, defended the Fridays riots which left 18 policemen wounded. The preacher, mind you, merely asked good Muslims to defend their sites against Israelis.

The UNSC expressed concerns over the Temple Mount clashes. For some reason, the UN remains unconcerned with dozens of other conflicts throughout the world which claim millions lives.

Abbas, who depends on IDF for protection against Hamas and on Israeli treasury for his salary, joined the chorus of Jew-bashing.

Syria, which used to kill 20,000 Muslim Brotherhood members in a day, and 8,000 Palestinians on the other day, suddenly embraced pan-Arab feelings. Its secular Alawite regime lambasted Israel for desecrating Islamic sanctities that is, our Temple Mount.

Meanwhile, Jews remained quiet, abstained from name-calling and accusing the other side. So in the world news Arabs looked determined and righteously indignant while Jews silenced by their guilt.

Samson Blinded

Ciccone, who left the Queen of Pop fuming with the publication of his tell-all book, openly disapproved the twice-divorced singers involvement with the new American TV show The Marriage Ref.

I cant imagine what shes doing on The Marriage Ref giving advice to married couples, the Daily Star quoted him as telling the New York Post.

He added: I guess its kind of ironic. Everyone has their experiences regarding marriage: hers are maybe what not to do.

Celebrity and World

The singer turned designer and joined forces with Chrysler to develop the new Eco Style car, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The Eco Style by Christina Aguilera features recycled materials in the interior and an economic engine.

It also boasts of sustainable materials such as a water-based Vanilla, cactus-colored seat-inserts and bamboo appliqu placed on the door trim and center console.

Celebrity and World

The I Kissed A Girl hitmaker will feature as Smurfette, the only female among the group, in Smurfs: The Movie, the Daily Star reported.

The star will share the screen with How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris, Alan Cumming and George Lopez, according to Variety.com.

Scooby-Doo filmmaker Raja Gosnell will helm the project, the shooting for which is expected to kick start in April.

Celebrity and World

The study looked at 1,074 couples aged between 19 and 75 years, to find which social factors were most important to a long and happy relationship. It came out with the following guidelines -

The study says that if you follow the above guidelines, then you will increase the chances of a long marriage by 20%.

The study is set to be published in the European Journal of Operational Research in April 2010 edition and the paper is called Optimizing the marriage market: An application of the linear assignment model.and is authored by Nguyen Vi Cao, Emmanuel Fragnire, Jacques-Antoine Gauthier, Marlne Sapin and Eric D. Widmer.

Check the abstract from the paper -

Research shows that the success of marriages and other intimate partnerships depends on objective attributes such as differences in age, cultural background, and educational level. This article proposes a mathematical approach to optimizing marriage by allocating spouses in such a way as to reduce the likelihood of divorce or separation. To produce our optimization model, we use the assumption of a central agency that would coordinate the matching of couples. Based on a representative and longitudinal sample of 1074 cohabiting and married couples living in Switzerland, we estimate various objective functions corresponding to age, education, ethnicity, and prior divorce concerning every possible combination of men and women. Our results show that the current state of marriages or partnerships is well below the social optimum. We reallocate approximately 68% of individuals (7 out of 10) to a new couple that we posit has a higher likelihood of survival. From this selection of new partners, we obtain our final optimal solutions, with a 21% reduction in the objective function.Source: www.sciencedirect.com

You might be wondering, what is Operations research? You are in luck, because one of my best friends work in the field and he pointed me to this definition (wikipedia) -

Operations research, also known as operational research, is an interdisciplinary branch of applied mathematics and formal science that uses advanced analytical methods such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization to arrive at optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems. It is often concerned with determining the maximum (of profit, performance, or yield) or minimum (of loss, risk, or cost) of some real-world objective. Originating in military efforts before World War II, its techniques have grown to concern problems in a variety of industries.

I do understand that finding a bride or a husband is a complex decision making problem, but not sure if the guidelines work for all of us. More research needed?

Other features include a range of keys so you can control your Windows Media Centre HTPC, and a built in rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

The Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard comes with a 2.4GHz wireless USB receiver, and it the battery will give you up to 700 hours of standby time and it will work at a range of up to 30 meters.

If you want one, the Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard is available from Brando.

Kozars Cool Blog

The couple has been seeing each other since last year (09).

However, they recently denied reports of any plans to move in together after they were seen househunting in January (10).

But Zellweger is hitting off well with Cooper's mum Gloria, who accompanied the Bridget Joness Diary star to the launch of Vera Wangs Los Angeles store on Tuesday.

They looked like the best of friends. They were laughing, chatting throughout dinner. They are definitely close, the Daily Star quoted a source as telling People.

The actress bonded with the Coopers after spending the Christmas holidays with the family.

Celebrity and World

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor, who has teamed up with Burton for a string of projects over the last 20 years, said he was eager to be a part of the adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic.

To be honest, he could have asked me to play Alice and I would have said yes I would have done whatever character he wanted, the Daily Star quoted him as telling Parade.com.

The fact that it was the Mad Hatter was a bonus because it was a great challenge.

There is some kind of connection, some sort of understanding that Tim and I have that is at most times unspoken. I do feel a certain amount of pressure like, Will this be the film where I disappoint him? I try really hard just to come up with something thats very different and we havent experienced together before, the star added.

Celebrity and World

The late Beatles member features in an advert for French firm Citroen, pondering on copying the past and looking backwards.

Many have condemned Lennons widow Yoko Ono for using the interview footage for commercial purpose.

However, the music legends son has clarified that it was instead an effort to keep his father in peoples memory.

Sean Tweeted, the ad was not for money but was supposed to keep his father out there in the world.

Having just seen [the] ad I realize why people are mad. But [the] intention was not financial, the BBC quoted him as stating.

Sean also added his mother was just hoping to keep dad in [the] public consciousness.

He explained that the Citroen DS3 commercial meant allowing the status of his father an exposure to [the] young.

Meanwhile, the car company said Lennon had been chosen for his universal, timeless and iconic status.

Celebrity and World

Nookella is facing a misdemeanor criminal complaint charging him with indecent exposure and if convicted, he faces a maximum of 90 days in jail and $5000 fine.

Further he has been ordered by the court not to fly on any commercial aircraft nor can he contact witnesses involved in the matter.

The only word that comes to my mind is "disgusting"!

In order to help the poor church, Bishop Denis Brennan came up with the only reasonable solution, he asked the parishioners to help pay the spiralling compensation claims. Seems perfectly logical, why shouldn't those that were abused and quiet about it help the church fend off those selfish bastards that expect justice?

Strangely, Sinead O'Connor seems to have a problem with that. Seeing as how Sinead O'Connor is also a 'Godly' person, her opinion shouldn't be taken lightly. In an interview she gave, she was asked her thoughts on God and she replied:

Regardless of whether you accept her opinion based on merit or whether you agree with it, her response to Denis Brennan is well thought out and entertaining to say the least. The best part is at the very end, where she points out what many have been thinking for generations ... if Jesus were to come down to earth, he would burn the Vatican to the ground. The fact that she would help, along with half the planet, is just a bonus.

Her article was posted in Ireland's Independent. The entire article is copied blow.

PLEASE allow me to express my astonishment upon reading the statement made on the evening of March 1 by the Bishop of Ferns, Denis Brennan.

His statement attempts to dictate to us -- in the same way the Inquisition did -- how Christians should behave. It says directly that it would be anti-Christian of us to feel that the church should pay its own bills for its own abuse with its own billions that it throttled from our grandparents, whom it also abused, physically, emotionally, psychologically and sexually.

Evidence of sexual abuse by clergy, according to the Murphy report, can be traced as far back as 320 AD and the first treatment centres for paedophile priests were created in 1940, named Servants of the Paraclete.

These centres were opened all over the world.

I would like to know exactly whose idea this latest plan was and from where were issued the instructions or permission for Bishop Brennan to make such a statement.

The statement and its attempted manipulation of good Catholic people could be described as unbelievable and stupid.

But in my opinion, the only word that does it justice is 'evil'.

How long do they expect us to restrain ourselves? We have put up with this bull dung for hundreds of years.

A true Christian is someone who, in any given situation, is supposed to ask themselves what would Jesus do, then try to do that.

How an organisation which has acted, decade after decade, only to protect its business interests above the interests of children can feel it has the right to dictate to us what Christians should do is beyond belief.

From the Pope on down, through the Vatican and therefore through the lower echelons, the whole organisation, in my belief, is utterly anti-Christian and evil, as proven by centuries of torture, bloodshed, burnings, terrorism, and coverings-up of "the worst crime" known to man.

And if Jesus Christ is to be seen in the vulnerable of this world, then all the church has done is crucify the man over and over and over again.

If Christ was here, he would be burning down the Vatican. And I for one would be helping him.

'Tom Thumb' was delivered by Caeserean section at the University of Medicine at Goettingen in Germany in June 2009.

It was only this week, after doctors decided he was strong enough for his parents to take home that they made public his struggle to stay alive.

'After studying all the relevant documents we can say with some certainty that he was the smallest child in the world to survive such a premature birth last year,' said Stefan Weller, a spokesman for the university.

It was only in December that the baby was finally pronounced as 'stable' in the intensive care ward of the hospital having attained a weight of 8.2lb - considered average in Germany for a child at birth.

For 24 hours a day, around the clock, the child was in an incubator and hooked up to feeding tubes, breathing tubes, a heart monitor, a catheter and a plethora of electronic devices to monitor every vital sign for every second of the day.

Look at him now -

The previous record is said to have been held by Tyler Martin who was born 11 once in New Jersey, in the U.S.

It seems like Tom Thumb (true identity not disclosed on parents request) is a true fighter! Best of luck to the family.

The talks are utterly senseless. Abbas rejected Olmerts offer on Jerusalem and refugees, saying that the gaps are too wide, yet Netanyahu offers a bit less than Olmert.

Netanyahu also concentrates on Palestinian security guarantees, which Abbas cannot deliver. Besides, security is impossible in the situation when, for example, a plane landing in Palestine needs about three minutes to attack Tel Aviv 9/11 style. By the time IAF recognizes that the pilot did not err, it would be too late to shoot the plane.

Samson Blinded

With a war looming in Israel over Palestinian land, it is a bit unsettling to Israeli supporters to see how the Palestinian militants are aggressively training new recruits so that they can hold their own if such a war comes to pass.

It is no secret that Palestinian soldiers are no match for Israeli Tanks, Helicopters, Gun Boats and Fighter Jets, but it is still disconcerting to imagine these militants entering Israel proper and attacking military posts, or worse yet civilians.

These photos are primarily taken in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip and seem to represent the Palestinian Islamic Jihad sect as well as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

All photos and descriptions originated on a Denver Post blog, courtesy of AP Photo/ Tara Todras-Whitehill.

The above photo seems to have an element of humor attached.

In an attempt to better prepare the Militants, Live explosions, fire and smoke is used

Militant Women are becoming more common amongst the insurgents

The situation unfolds like so ... it seems that Charles Wiant was bored one day and decided to shoot his neighbors puppy with a bow and arrow. Needless to say, the neighbors were not too pleased with his decision and decided to call the cops. The cops were less pleased, and so arrested Charley. Our deer friend Chuck was then given a plea option, which he took.

The plea option meant that he had to plead guilty to the charges, after which he would not be convicted of a felony ... kind of a good break considering he killed a dog in cold blood. In the end, the kid has to do 5 weekends in jail, 50 hours of volunteering at the Kanawha-Charleston Animal Shelter, pay $1000 to the owners of the puppy in intervals of $83/month.

So, in my honest opinion I would say that they were extremely linient on the kid. If he had killed my dog, I would want blood ... and LOTS of it. Not only is his sentence linient, but he doesn't start his jail term until after high school is over, and he gets to go to a concert ... Hank Williams Jr of all people. The logic? ... his girlfriend paid a lot of money for the tickets. My only thought, "TOUGH SHIT! If you didn't kill the dog, you wouldn't have this problem."

Whats the deal with our justice system? How is it that that the law is blind, but only when convenient? I wonder if the kid has friends in high places, or the judge simply got laid that morning.

Headline inspired by Fark

Schumacher, whose elder brother Michael recently returned to F1 with Mercedes Benz, will stay in DTM where he has been struggling to find his feet since moving to the series 2 seasons ago, and having spent last season driving a brand new up to date car with the front running HWA team. Other former F1 drivers have struggled with the series, including Mika Hakkinen and Jean Alesi.

Ralf would like to continue his DTM career and we also think that the chances of continuing our co-operation look promising, Norbert Haug, Mercedes Benz motorsport boss told dtm.de

I think that we have come close to making a decision. It will be announced as soon as it has been made. Currently, however, the deal is not yet home and dry.

Haug added that talks were still taking place with David Coulthard following his two tests with Mercedes in recent weeks.

David did a good job and also had a lot of fun, so now we are talking about possibilities to make a solution, he said.

Maybe there will be a positive surprise but at this point in time I cant make any promises.

F1 Fanatics

The Mecanum wheel is one design for a wheel which can move in any direction. It is sometimes called the Ilon wheel after its Swedish inventor, Bengt Ilon, who came up with the idea in 1973 when he was an engineer with the Swedish company Mecanum AB.

It is a conventional wheel with a series of rollers attached to its circumference, these rollers having an axis of rotation at 45 to the plane of the wheel in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel. As well as moving forward and backward like conventional wheels, they allow sideways movement by spinning wheels on the front and rear axles in opposite directions.

The US Navy bought the patent from Ilon and put researchers to work on it in the 1980s in Panama City. The Navy has used it for transporting items around ships. In 1997 Airtrax Inc. and several other companies each paid the Navy $2,500 for rights to the technology, including old drawings of how the motors and controllers worked, to build an omni-directional forklift truck that could maneuver in tight spaces such as the deck of an aircraft carrier. These vehicles are now in production.

Kozars Cool Blog

Images from Wikipedia.

The actress had the company of her mother, Greta, and members of her charity group, the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, during the tour.

She distributed electric keyboards to every school she visited, in an attempt to support arts education.

The Monster star also spoke to pupils, advising them to complete their studies, reports the Daily Star.

Theron revealed plans to provide sports facilities and better access to water across the impoverished Umkhanyakude District.

Celebrity and World

The cash has gone to The DNA Foundation, founded by Moore and husband Ashton Kutcher.

The Ghost star received the most public votes in the poll.

Moore's foundation plans to forward the prize money to the Girls Educational Mentoring Services (GEMS), which helps women who have suffered sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.

I am thrilled that GEMS has gained powerful allies in Demi Moore and The DNA Foundation and honoured to be the beneficiary of a Pepsi Refresh Grant, the Daily Star quoted GEMS founder/Executive Director Rachel Lloyd, as saying.

He added: The grant will support us in the important work of transforming survivors of domestic trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation into future leaders.

Meanwhile, Bacons charity SixDegrees.org, which is presently helping Haiti earthquake victims, will receive a 62,500-pound grant.

Celebrity and World

French supermodel Paradis, who has two kids with the actor, is not comfortable with Depps impending love scene, according to the New York Post.

Infact, Paradis has told Depp to find another gig, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Paradis found out that there was a real long and intense love scene between (Depp) and Jolie, a source close to the project said.

In the film, Jolie plays an Interpol agent who seduces a tourist, played by Depp, in order to flush out a criminal she slept with in the past.

Celebrity and World

Tarnya Cooper, curator of 16th century paintings at the gallery, said the snake is a unique attribute in portraits of the queen.

'The portrait of Elizabeth I with a hidden serpent is a really unusual survival. Yet it is difficult to know exactly why the serpent may have been originally included, or how common this motif might have been.

'The queen certainly owned jewellery and costume including emblems of serpents, which were probably understood as a symbol of wisdom.

'However, no other portrait of Elizabeth appears to depict her holding a snake.'

Holly's friend of three years said: '"She felt people were mean to her. I felt she was being bullied - they didn't understand how much it affected Holly.

"There were three girls who spread rumours about her and called her names. They even made up a syndrome called 'HGS', Holly Grogan Syndrome, which was put on Facebook and discussed by other girls.

"Holly didn't have access to that because she'd been taken off the group of friends. I forwarded it to her and she was very upset and started crying."

She went to an expensive private school called St Edward's School where her classmates bullied her both face to face and on the famous social networking site, Facebook. On September 16, 2009, she was approached by three classmates who bullied her about the issue and later she was sent a text advising her not to attend a party. She had been extremely upset and hours later, ended up jumping off a 30 feet bridge on to a busy freeway ("dual carriageway").

Interestingly, Holly didn't have many friends and seems like that she made up some stories to get some friends like - she had epilepsy, her brother was dead and her parents were splitting, all of which were untrue. Seems like her lies didn't go very well with a lot of her classmates and a lot of "unpleasant comments" were posted online.

Summing up the case Mr Dooley said: "It was clear that she craved forgiveness for the lies she told and the desperate position she put herself in from a social standpoint, and didn't see a way of getting out of that.

"She was a very kind person and even in her extensive note that she left, she was not at all vindictive to anyone but expressed her love to her family and friends and expressed sorrow that she had not been forgiven by members of her school.

Yesterday, her father Steve Grogan told an inquest about his regret for not raising the bullying issue earlier at the "11,000-a-year St Edward's School in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire."

He said: 'Holly was a very spirited girl with a bubbly character and she loved to be loved and liked people to like her. 'Holly was very social and her whole life revolved around friendships.' Mr Grogan, a builder, said that shortly before she died, his daughter had been pleased to be invited to a fellow pupil's party.

The next day during a PE class three girls accused her of sleeping with a friend's 17-year-old brother, which she denied.

Mr Grogan told the inquest: 'Holly said their questioning and accusations upset her and made her cry. The girls went on to say that Holly shouldn't go the party.'

Recalling the next morning, by which time his daughter's body had been found on the A40, Mr Grogan continued: 'My wife Anita went to wake Holly and noticed her bed hadn't been slept in.

'There was a note on the desk. I believe that it was the events of the day that tipped Holly over the edge.'

In her letter Holly wrote: 'I don't want to name names but I just wish people could learn to forgive and forget and be more considerate to people and let people move on'.Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Later on, the parents Steve and Anita and brother Tom made the following statement -

In a statement, they said: "Holly struggled to cope with the huge pressures placed upon her by the modern complexities of ''friendship groups'' and social networking.

"I'm sure every responsible parent will empathise with our constant battle to instil self belief and confidence in our children.

"Holly's outwardly vivacious zest for life was apparent to all who knew her. We shared 15 wonderful years with Holly and to us she will be forever young."

This incidence has brought up the following points in my head -

I would say, talk to your kids regularly and listen to them. Times have changed a lot since we went to high school and it is more important to listen and understand their issues. We might not have all the answers, but we can still prevent them from issues like this.

Historically, the issue is not clear. In numerous cases, the Turkish government attempted to protect the deported Armenians. Whatever the case, by now everyone believes the story, and the American governments persistent refusal to recognize the affair as genocide is only meant to placate Turkey. To that end, the US forced Armenia to sign a humiliating accord with Turkey which glossed over the genocide.

The American appeasement of Turkey is worse than pointless. Many years ago, the silence signaled American support for Turkeys secular regime, but today it shows American complacence toward Turkeys Islamist policies. If the US keeps quiet on genocide, then certainly it will tolerate anything else Turkey does today.

Samson Blinded

The twin stopped developing in the womb before it separated fully from Kumar and has left him with seven limbs.

"When he was born the doctors said he wouldn't live long but here he is and apart from how he looks he is very healthy," said his dad Veeresh Paswan, of Bihar, eastern India.

"I am tired of being different. I just want to live normally," added the youngster.

The parasitic twin seems to have grown the same rate as the boy, so the boy has to carry the heavy weight of the twin with him at all times.

Sadly, the boy's parents earn less than $2 a day and can't afford the medical care needed for the removal of the twin. And no X-rays have been done yet to know how the twin has affect the boy.

This is not the first case of a parasitic twin in the region.

In 2005 Lakshmi Tatma was born with a twin attached at her hips. Just like Deepak, she was worshipped as an incarnation of the multi-limbed Hindu goddess of wealth.

She shot to fame after Sharan Patil, an orthopaedic surgeon, performed a groundbreaking 27-hour operation to remove the twin. Lakshmi recovered , and is now walking and attending school.

Parasitic twins occur when the twin embryo does not fully separate in the womb. One twin becomes dominant at the expense of the other and the undeveloped twin becomes a parasite, completely dependent on the body functions of the living twin.

Imagine the sad condition for the boy - he is carrying the extra weight of a twin, facing the fact of being labelled a freak or devil and his parents' financial inability to get him medical care.

I hope someone steps up and starts a charity to contribute for his operation. I will definitely donate for the cause.

Will keep you posted, if I find a "legitimate" charity for him.

Funny or Die is back more political satire. This time they've done a great job of organizing a SNL presidents reunion, gathering a large cast of comedians (most of which are Saturday Night Live alumni) doing POTUS impersonations to educate viewers about the banking industry and the need for financial reform.

The SNL presidents reunion video is described as follows:

Here is the SNL Presidents reunion cast. The video is embedded below.

Originally on SNAFU-ed

Imagine wearing clothes that could automatically recharge our mobile phones, our iPods and other gadgets.

Well that day could soon become a reality thanks to the work of engineers at Stanford University in California.

Dr Yi Cui an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford and his team found that if they coated paper or fabric with ink laced with single walled carbon nanotubes, the material could basically be turned into a type of low cost and efficient lightweight battery.

That doesnt fit with our usual image of batteries as hard, chunky, and weighty things but instead of storing energy by chemical means as in traditional batteries, nanotubes store electrostatic energy, and it doesnt compromise the flexibility of the fabric.

The key ingredients in developing these high-tech products are not visible to the human eye. Nanostructures, which can be assembled in patterns that allow them to transport electricity, may provide the solutions to a number of problems encountered with electrical storage devices currently available on the market said a Stanford report on the Stanford University news page.

Although its still in the early stages of development, Dr Cui reckons that clothing coated with the ink could power devices for soldiers on the battle field, that it could allow us to charge up our devices whilst on the move, and that it could even offer the possibility of energy storing wallpaper in the home.

Energy storage is a pretty old field said Dr Cui, who was presenting his research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Supercapacitors, batteries those things are old. How do you really make a revolutionary impact in this field? It requires quite a dramatic difference of thinking.

Cui is now going to focus on how to incorporate nanotechnology into energy development and not just to answer theoretical questions but also with the aim of producing products that have a practical value.

This is the right time to really see what we learn from nanoscience and do practical applications that are extremely promising said Cui.

The beauty of this is, it combines the lowest cost technology that you can find to the highest tech nanotechnology to produce something great. I think this is a very exciting idea a huge impact for society.

No doubt!

Kozar Cool Blog

The cheap car maker has recently been involved in World Touring Cars, and looks to expand its global positioning with sponsorship on the Renaults through new Russian driver Vitaly Petrov.

The deal is said to be backed by Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin in Russia.

We are proud to announce this new agreement, which marks another important step for the Renault F1 team and Formula 1 in Russia, said Renault team boss Gerard Lopez.

Through Mangrove Capital we have been actively investing in Russia over the last years. We know the country well, we have a high degree of appreciation for it and, as such, it is an honour for our F1 team to spearhead Russias entry into the sport and to carry the Lada brand at the highest level of world motorsport. We look forward to an exciting and successful season together.

F1 Fanatics

congrats on getting a great gig where you get free rent including free phone and hi-speed internet on park ave south, all in exchange for 1 hour walking on my back and taking orders, and another hour of dedicated time per weekday, with other crap bundled into your regular weekly activities Source: newyork.craigslist.org

Check the Craigslist Advertisement -

I am a successful small business owner, who owns my own space on Park Avenue South. I've put a studio apartment in the basement for my Personal Assistant to live in, rent-free, in exchange for her PA work. Here's the deal:

I've had PAs for several years, and to be a good match for me, you have to be very:
orderly, organized, responsible, reliable, dependable, punctual
smart, quick, sharp, good common sense, good attention to detail, good memory and note-taking habits, doesn't need reminding
good project-management skills, ability to back out intermediate deadlines so major deadline will be met on-time
good at internet research, ordering things on the internet (shopping)
good sense of style and fashion, well-mannered, well-groomed, very polished, professional, and presentable
graduate of a 4-year college
25-30 years of age (approximately)--younger is often not-so-clued-in; older is often too inflexible

HERE IS YOUR APARTMENT:
studio with full bath, bedroom, living room, kitchenette
free utilities included
free local and long-distance phone anywhere within the continental US
free high-speed internet (T1)
it is currently being finished out, so if you interview asap, you can choose the finishing touches, etc!

HERE ARE YOUR DUTIES:
1. you'll spend ONLY ONE HOUR with me MONDAY - FRIDAY where i will tell you your new tasks, you will give me follow-up and status on your ongoing projects

2. that hour will be spent sometime between 9AM - 7 PM depending on my availability, and will be in my office, and simultaneously you will be either walking on my back (preferred, if you weigh less than 115 lb) as i have a lot of lower-back stiffness, or if you are more than 115, you can just give me a deep masage or something like that. please note this is NOT ANYTHING SEXUAL i do not want anything like that, it's just part of your job as my PA, because that's what i need (one of my PAs was also a former dancer, so instead of the massage she just stretched out my hamstrings and quads professionally, which was fine as i think a lot of my lower-back stiffness is due to inflexibility of my hip flexors. but the intake/outtake must be done simultaneously to the massage/stretch, or i won't have time for either (which is why i need a PA in the 1st place)

3. you will then be assigned tasks that you will need to devote ONE HOUR PER DAY to me exclusively, and other tasks that you can just bundle into your regular day. eg, shop for something exclusively for 1 hour, and pick up things for me at the grocery store when you shop for yourself anyway

4. during most weekends you will be OFF. but some weekends, like when i am going away to open or close my ski house, my beach house, or my other beach house, you will have to accompany me and assist with the opening/closing/cleaning (there are worse things in life than helping out at a ski or beach house part-time for a weekend, and skiing or sunbathing the rest of the time, by the way!)

rent for this space including utilities on park ave so. would be $2000 per month, so paying you the going rate for part-time PA work of $20 per hour means you need to give me 100 hours per month, or 25 hours per week, or 3 hours per day of PA work, approximately (although as described above that's really only 5 hours per week M-F getting your assignments and walking on my back, 5 hours per week M-F doing stuff exclusively for me, and the other 15 hours per week just bundling in my stuff into your stuff.

i am, by the way, single and looking, so part of your assignment will probably be to reactivate my match.com profile and troll for dates for me, as i don't really have the time to do this properly. because i'm a single guy i am also chronically malnourished, so part of this deal is i always get to eat your leftovers (i am not picky at all), but you never have to cook for me specially, just stick your leftovers every day or so in the office fridge upstairs for me, or i skip meals bc busy and lose weight!:(

my parents are immigrants and desperate for their only son to marry and have a child (preferably a boy, i guess), so if you do happen to miraculously set me up with a girl i marry, through match.com or your other resources (i am notoriously picky, by the way, as have multiple ivy-league degrees), my parents will give you a reward of $10,000 in cash, ie bills, so that's a bonus!

to apply, please submit a cover letter, your relevant work experience, and your resume, and if you wish, a picture (optional). if you have prior PA experience, that's a plus, although similar experience like Executive Assistant would be fine. if you're a professional massage therapist, you're probably hired, by the way!:)

congrats on getting a great gig where you get free rent including free phone and hi-speed internet on park ave south, all in exchange for 1 hour walking on my back and taking orders, and another hour of dedicated time per weekday, with other crap bundled into your regular weekly activities

oh, i forgot to mention, i have a very sweet dog, so you must like dogs and he must like you, as he is the love of my life (at least until i find a wife) and you'll have to walk him at least every other day or take him to the dogrun to play!:) you CANNOT however have a dog or cat or any pets of your own (except fish, of course!)

Sounds like a great deal and if he throws in one Lasik surgery free, even I would take it, though I am outside the age restriction.

Knut fans should be aware that only Knuts castration would allow a long-term cohabitation of Giovanna and Knut. All other hopes and desires would bring the polar bear population in captivity to its pre-programmed demise even more rapidly, said a PETA spokesman, as reported in Der Spiegel. Source: www.vanityfair.com

Giovanna, known as Gianna for short, has the same grandfather as Knut.

The zoo experts claims that mating between the two would lead to incest depression.

Any offspring would threaten the genetic diversity of the polar bear population in Germany and risk exposing the bear couple to a condition known as "incest depression", he said.

"Knut fans need to know that only Knut's castration would allow a long life together with Giovanna," Albrecht said in a statement.

Gianna was placed with the strapping Knut in Berlin due to construction work on her own den in Munich. After chilly introductions, the two have grown quite close.

I don't know about you guys, but I think PETA seems to be crossing the line when they want the animals want to act according to their ethics.

What do you guys say? Is it OK to castrate the polar bear or not?

While I don't know what these goregeous Ukrainian girls are really protesting, something about Olympic cows, but all I know is that they have my support.

What do you think? Should we help the girls out? Maybe buy them some vodka to warm them up?

It seems that the renewable energy grants included in the Stimulus are stimulating other countries economies instead Americas and various Democrats in the Senate are rightfully angered by this.

From Politico:

Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana announced Wednesday a new initiative to require the Buy America provision of the stimulus to all programs, not just the government ones. A study done by the Investigative Reporting Workshop found that 79 percent of the $2 billion in clean-energy grants allocated since Sept. 1, 2009, has gone to foreign wind companies.

We are demanding the Obama administration suspend this program immediately [and] indefinitely, Schumer said. We are sending a letter to Secretary [Timothy] Geithner asking him to halt all payouts for this program until we in Congress can go back and fix this law.

The senators highlighted a wind farm project in west Texas, which received stimulus aid and is projected to create 3,000 jobs in China and a tenth as many in the United States.

Some of us complained about this to the administration back in November when this project was first announced, so its not that they dont know about it, but the Energy Department in their reply said they were powerless to stop it because projects like this are automatically eligible for the grants. That answer is not good enough, Schumer said. The goal of the stimulus is to strengthen the American economy, and that means creating jobs here in the U.S. not in China.

Thats right; 79% of the $2 billion in clean-energy grants allocated through the Stimulus since Sept. 1, 2009, have gone to foreign wind companies. Thats $1.58 billion of the American taxpayers money going into the coffers of foreign companies.

Its shockingly refreshing and somewhat heartening to see at least some of the Democrats in Congress not bowing and scraping to Obama and actually looking out for Americans.

At least it proves that President Obamas claims that the Stimulus and renewable energy would each create jobs was true, at least in a Rovian sense; just the bulk of them wont be American jobs.

Reflections From a Murky Pond

The 23-year-old star insists she's been between the sheets with her present boyfriend Brian Austin Green and her childhood sweetheart.

I've only been with two men my entire life. My childhood sweetheart and Brian, the Sun quoted her as telling Harper's Bazaar magazine.

I can never have sex with someone that I don't love, ever. The idea makes me sick. I've never even come close to having a one-night stand, she added.

Celebrity and World

The singer made the revelation on The Oprah Winfrey Show after Mayer courted controversy by revealing intimate details about the former couple's sex life in an interview with Playboy magazine.

I dont accept it. I havent written back, the New York Post quoted her as telling Oprah.

She continued: I tried to read the article and I was so so disappointed in him. It made me so sad and it was really discouraging because that's not the John that I knew.

The blonde star further revealed she was a little bit angry at Mayer over the remarks.

She added: I dont want people to know how I am in bed!

Celebrity and World

The Poker Face singer said she would rather die than be seen in ordinary outfits.

The pop sensation spoke her mind during an appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on BBC 1.

I would rather die than have my fans not see me in a pair of high heels, the Daily Star quoted her as saying.

She added: Id never give up my wigs and hats for anything. You see legendary people taking out their trash. I think its destroying showbusiness.

However, the Bad Romance hitmaker confessed she is alone.

She said: I feel completely detached from the celebrity world. I dont have time for a relationship because I cant get to know anybody.

I dont even have a house. My home is on the road.

She added she is desperately lonely, with no friends, no lover and no home

Celebrity and World

According to a report in People, recently when Pitt took daughters Zahara, 5, and Shiloh clothes shopping on the Left Bank in Paris, they got to pick out their own stuff.

Zahara chose very girlie outfits, but Shiloh only wanted items from the boys collection, which is in another boutique across the street, the New York Daily News quoted a source as saying.

She chose acid-yellow boys jeans, cotton scarves and shirts.

With her newly cropped short haircut and tomboyish wardrobe, the celeb daughter has left many bloggers wondering why she doesnt want to look like a girly-girl.

Does Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolies daughter secretly want to be a boy? asked Mark Marino on BettyConfidential.com.

Although he admitted that Shiloh looked adorable, he reported that many bloggers mistakenly thought she was her 19-month-old brother Knox when she went boating last month with her famous parents.

However, there are some Jolie-Pitt clan-watchers who like Shilohs look.

Yeah, yeah, some people might think Suri Cruise is super-adorable in her high heels and ballerina getups, wrote Kate Torgovnick on TheFrisky.com.

But I think Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is way, way cooler. It takes a special kind of 3-year-old to embrace tomboy style in the way Shiloh has, she added.

Celebrity and World

Biographer Jenny Paul has claimed in his new work that the Rolling Stones lead was married to his now ex-wife, model Jerry Hall, when the Original Sin actress paired up with him.

Apparently, they first began seeing each other after Jolie appeared in The Rolling Stones video Anybody Seen My Baby? in 1997.

They even had a second affair in 2003, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Celebrity and World

The virtual body scan got a lot of negative feedback as nobody wants to be seen naked especially by some stranger.

Recently, two passengers came in limelight after they refused to go through the scanner in Manchester, UK. The passengers were two Muslim women who were flying from Manchester, UK to Islamabad, Pakistan. The first one refused on religious grounds and the other one gave medical reasons. As a result of their refusal, they were barred from flying on the flight.The passengers eventually decided they would rather forfeit their 400 tickets and left the airport with their luggage.

The French First Lady wore a floor-length Roland Mouret gown which was so tight it revealed the exact outline of her slim body - and the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Check out the pictures -

What do you guys think?

The FAA is investigating a report that a child apparently directed pilots last month from the air traffic control center at John F. Kennedy Airport. JFK Airport is one of the nation's busiest airports, and audio clips prove transmissions between pilots and the child occurred.

You can listen to the audio clips below. You can hear that pilots were not all that concerned with the incident, and one pilot even tells the child "awesome job." It is true that there appeared to be an adult monitoring the activity, as you can hear a voice say, "That's what you get guys when the kids are out of school."

Listen to the audio:

Originally on SNAFU-ed

Whats interesting in this situation is how far the worms have turned in the span of slightly less than five years and one change in majority power. In 2005 the Democrats had a slightly different view of the filibuster and the Nuclear Option.

Obama, Biden, Reid, and Other Dems On Nuclear Option in 2005

No matter how one feels about the filibuster and the Nuclear Option, its important to compare the Senate Democrats opinions and the force and stridency of their rhetoric in 2005 when they were in the minority and a Republican was POTUS vs. how they feel now in 2010 when theyre the majority and a Democrat is POTUS.

Shall Americans measure them by their own yardstick? It would seem that President Obama and his Liberals had best hope that we dont.

Reflection From a Murky Pond

Mayor Cory A. Booker downplayed the racial angle and instead framed it as part of a general decline in standards.

"It's an issue of what are community standards and why are we consistently condoning language, images and other things that erode those standards," he said. "This billboard is not the only thing that we should be concerned with. It's a symptom of a deeper problem that we have to confront within our communities."

The following statement was released from Akoo Jeans -

THE AKOO brand has always aimed to inspire individualism and creativity. Our advertising campaign was not created to offend or insult anyone but to simply provoke dialogue and thought regarding male/female sexuality within urban culture. We hope that as more of the campaign is debuted, people will see the multifaceted personality of AKOO.

Interestingly, not far from Newark in New York City, the following Calvin Klein Jeans billboard raised hardly any criticism -

Akoo jeans is owned by famous Rapper T.I.

Makes you wonder, is it really that bad or just getting the "expected" marketing controversy?

Chelsea was reported missing 6 days back on Feb 25th 2010.

Two days later, police had arrested John Albert Gardner III, a convicted sex offender whose DNA was found on King's clothing near where she is believed to have been abducted.

John Albert Gardner III was wearing GPS monitor until his parole ended in 2008. He is also linked to another attack on 23-year-old Candice Moncayo in the same region.

Kayla Moncayo, the opinion editor for the Silver Spur, the Rancho Bernardo High School newspaper, wrote about her sister's attack shortly after it took place. The story ran last Friday, one day after King disappeared.

Candice Moncayo was running on the trail when she "was tackled and thrown to the side of the running trail, caught off guard and without warning," her sister wrote.

"I thought he was going to rape me," Moncayo said of the overweight man who tackled her. "So I told him he would have to kill me first."

"He picked her up by the shoulders and began shaking her relentlessly," she wrote.

Moncayo fought her attacker, elbowing hard him in the nose. The shot made her assailant pause, allowing her to get out of his grasp and run away.

"All that was left of the ... attacker were the bruises he left on her and the DNA the police were able to swab from her elbow," according to the article.

Gardener is also now being connected to disappearance of a 14-year old, Amber DuBois.

I have the following questions -

We need to have better laws and regulations for sex offenders otherwise our kids will never be safe!

IDF announced major additions to its surveillance network at the Gaza border, including a hundred of new radars capable of detecting individual people.

We will not dwell on the fact that Israel spends more on keeping the Gazans at bay than the UNRWA on keeping them alive.

Radars and all are good while the Gaza border is closed. If the relations are normalized and tens of thousands Arabs cross daily into Israel officially rather than through fence openings, there would be no way to intercept or check them properly.

Samson Blinded