BBC report.
May be the big news of the day. More details as they become available.
Update. CNN Headline News reports it's a gas explosion only.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
He Didn't Quit While He Was Ahead.
Gun owner Stanton Moretti fired two shots at a man who was threatening Moretti's wife with a knife. That's the good news.
Moretti then ran the man over with his SUV. That's the bad news, in that Moretti has now been charged with murder.
It's hard to blame Moretti, he did what most of us in his situation might have done; but a gun owner is held to a higher standard, as well he should be.
Story is here.
Moretti then ran the man over with his SUV. That's the bad news, in that Moretti has now been charged with murder.
It's hard to blame Moretti, he did what most of us in his situation might have done; but a gun owner is held to a higher standard, as well he should be.
Story is here.
Don't Spay Me, Bro!
Pets in Los Angeles, California, are now required to be sterilized.
Drudge has a cute photo accompanying the story on his website, a kitten peeking over a curb, in a sort of "kilroy" pose.
Drudge has a cute photo accompanying the story on his website, a kitten peeking over a curb, in a sort of "kilroy" pose.
Ouch.
Several months ago I managed to mash my left-hand ring fingernail in a sliding glass door. The nail turned black with a clot of blood, but nothing much worse than that. Since then the nail has been growing out, as nails are wont to do, and last night at work I noticed that the blackened part of the nail had separated from the new nail growth. Later, while removing a small object from my shoe, the nail caught and dragged up, although luckily I didn't tear it off.
I used nail clippers to trim the damaged portion, exposing the healthy flesh underneath. I cleaned the remnants of old clotted black blood, and inspected what I was left with: new nail growth coming up from the quick, and 25% of the old nail still attached to the flesh, with 75% of the remaining area without a nail at all, but promise of a healthy complete nail in a month or two. I have the nail covered with a bandaid; guess I'll have to get used to wearing one for a while.
I used nail clippers to trim the damaged portion, exposing the healthy flesh underneath. I cleaned the remnants of old clotted black blood, and inspected what I was left with: new nail growth coming up from the quick, and 25% of the old nail still attached to the flesh, with 75% of the remaining area without a nail at all, but promise of a healthy complete nail in a month or two. I have the nail covered with a bandaid; guess I'll have to get used to wearing one for a while.
USA Today Cover Story Re: 2nd Amendment
Story here.
Pretty well balanced, for a change. Pic of former US Attorney General John Ashcroft accompanies. Ashcroft is already seeing his reputation go up, after the incompetence of his successors was made obvious to everyone.
Pretty well balanced, for a change. Pic of former US Attorney General John Ashcroft accompanies. Ashcroft is already seeing his reputation go up, after the incompetence of his successors was made obvious to everyone.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Found: Nazi Treasure?
Gold? Artworks? Who knows until a camera is sent into a hole...
DEUTSCHKATHARINENBERG, Germany - German treasure hunters were to begin digging Tuesday for what they claim to be plunder buried by the Nazis in a man-made cavern near the Czech border.
ADVERTISEMENT
The area's mayor, Hans-Peter Haustein, and a man who found the coordinates for the buried booty in a notebook among his deceased father's belongings, maintain that a scan of the spot has revealed that a large quantity of metal is about 20 yards below the surface. They believe it to be either gold or silver, based on the scan with a sophisticated metal detector.
DEUTSCHKATHARINENBERG, Germany - German treasure hunters were to begin digging Tuesday for what they claim to be plunder buried by the Nazis in a man-made cavern near the Czech border.
ADVERTISEMENT
The area's mayor, Hans-Peter Haustein, and a man who found the coordinates for the buried booty in a notebook among his deceased father's belongings, maintain that a scan of the spot has revealed that a large quantity of metal is about 20 yards below the surface. They believe it to be either gold or silver, based on the scan with a sophisticated metal detector.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Even The Clintons Aren't This Duplicitous.
A congressional candidate in New Hampshire faces criminal charges after faking his own disappearance.
A former congressional candidate convicted of faking his disappearance after a crash two years ago said Thursday the verdict was heartbreaking, but maintained his innocence and said the case isn't over.
Gary Dodds, 43, was found guilty Wednesday of falisfying evidence, causing a false public alarm and leaving the scene of the April 2006 crash, which prosecutors say he staged to boost his faltering campaign. Dodds said he is considering an appeal.
Dodds, a Democrat, claims he injured his head in a crash and nearly drowned in a river before being rescued 27 hours later from the snowy woods. Prosecutors say he spent part of that time soaking his feet in cold water to make it appear he spent the night outdoors, all to attract attention to his campaign.
Dodds faces up to seven years in prison. Except for his shoes and socks, his clothing was dry when he was rescued. His feet were purple and wrinkled, but the rest of his skin was pink and dry. An expert in cold weather injuries testified that must have resulted from Dodds soaking his feet in cold water for a prolonged period of time.
Read the rest yourself. It's pretty pathetic, but hilarious at the same time. Nice to see that the AP disclosed his party affiliation.
A former congressional candidate convicted of faking his disappearance after a crash two years ago said Thursday the verdict was heartbreaking, but maintained his innocence and said the case isn't over.
Gary Dodds, 43, was found guilty Wednesday of falisfying evidence, causing a false public alarm and leaving the scene of the April 2006 crash, which prosecutors say he staged to boost his faltering campaign. Dodds said he is considering an appeal.
Dodds, a Democrat, claims he injured his head in a crash and nearly drowned in a river before being rescued 27 hours later from the snowy woods. Prosecutors say he spent part of that time soaking his feet in cold water to make it appear he spent the night outdoors, all to attract attention to his campaign.
Dodds faces up to seven years in prison. Except for his shoes and socks, his clothing was dry when he was rescued. His feet were purple and wrinkled, but the rest of his skin was pink and dry. An expert in cold weather injuries testified that must have resulted from Dodds soaking his feet in cold water for a prolonged period of time.
Read the rest yourself. It's pretty pathetic, but hilarious at the same time. Nice to see that the AP disclosed his party affiliation.
We Know The Real Reason, Don't We?
Helena Andrews writes a Politico article about Hillary Rodham Clinton's fondness for pants suits:
Is Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) doing for pantsuits what Katie Holmes did for the bob?
From her supposed cleavage on the Senate floor, to that peach blazer condemned by former presidential rival John Edwards at a debate, to the notorious “bumble bee” outfit, to her most recent public dressing-down from Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, Clinton’s love-hate affair with the pantsuit is common knowledge. She loves them, and fashion experts hate them.
Critiquing her own fashion faux pas in the pages of Us Weekly this week (specifically a seersucker ankle-length dress with white sandals), Clinton joked, “Now you know why I stick with pantsuits.”
Oh, puh-leeze! We all know what the real reason is.
Is Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) doing for pantsuits what Katie Holmes did for the bob?
From her supposed cleavage on the Senate floor, to that peach blazer condemned by former presidential rival John Edwards at a debate, to the notorious “bumble bee” outfit, to her most recent public dressing-down from Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, Clinton’s love-hate affair with the pantsuit is common knowledge. She loves them, and fashion experts hate them.
Critiquing her own fashion faux pas in the pages of Us Weekly this week (specifically a seersucker ankle-length dress with white sandals), Clinton joked, “Now you know why I stick with pantsuits.”
Oh, puh-leeze! We all know what the real reason is.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Arrivals!
Swedish Mora knives, carbon steel blades and cast plastic handles:
Great little survival kit knives.
Great little survival kit knives.
Nice Turn Of Phrase.
A commenter on Ann Althouse's blog, speaking of Obama:
Obama thinks he can parlay Bobby Kennedy Cargo Cult Mambo Dance bullcrap into a national campaign and just take the Democratic Party away from the Clintons and their La Cosa Nostra allies.
(bolding mine)
Obama as John Frum? Yah, I see it.
Obama thinks he can parlay Bobby Kennedy Cargo Cult Mambo Dance bullcrap into a national campaign and just take the Democratic Party away from the Clintons and their La Cosa Nostra allies.
(bolding mine)
Obama as John Frum? Yah, I see it.
Linsday Lohan Apes Marilyn Monroe
Here.
She's about the right size bust-wise, but Marilyn was fuller in the hips and thighs than Lindsay is, and smaller-waisted, as well. If Lindsay truly had a body like Marilyn's she'd be hounded in the media as "fat."
She's about the right size bust-wise, but Marilyn was fuller in the hips and thighs than Lindsay is, and smaller-waisted, as well. If Lindsay truly had a body like Marilyn's she'd be hounded in the media as "fat."
Fidel Castro...
...finally took himself off the pitching mound.
Don't look for huge changes in Cuba for a while, though, especially while Fidel is still alive, unless perhaps Obama becomes President. A President Obama might be inclined to end the embargo against Cuba.
Don't look for huge changes in Cuba for a while, though, especially while Fidel is still alive, unless perhaps Obama becomes President. A President Obama might be inclined to end the embargo against Cuba.
Monday, February 18, 2008
I Bet It's Called "The Rock Island Mine."
Twenty-four people were killed in an explosion in China, in an iron mine disguised as a pig farm.
Which brings to mind that great old song that Johnny Cash, among others, made a hit:
The Rock Island Line
Now this here's a story about the Rock Island Line
Well the Rock Island Line she runs down into New Orleans
There's a big tollgate down there and you know
If you got certain things on board when you go through the tollgate
Well you don't have to pay the man no toll
Well a train driver he pulled up to the tollgate
And a man hollered and asked him what all he had on board and said
I got livestock I got livestock I got cows I got pigs I got sheep
I got mules I got all livestock
Well he said you're all right boy you don't have to pay no toll
You can just go right on through so he went on through the toolgate
And as he went through he started pickin' up a little bit of speed
Pickin' up a little bit of steam
He got on through he turned and looked back at the man he said
Well I fooled you I fooled you I got pigiron I got pigiron I got old pigiron
Down the Rock Island Line she's a mighty good road
Rock Island Line it's a road to ride
Rock Island Line it's a mighty good road
Well if you ride you got to ride it like you finally get your ticket
At the station for the Rock Island Line
Which brings to mind that great old song that Johnny Cash, among others, made a hit:
The Rock Island Line
Now this here's a story about the Rock Island Line
Well the Rock Island Line she runs down into New Orleans
There's a big tollgate down there and you know
If you got certain things on board when you go through the tollgate
Well you don't have to pay the man no toll
Well a train driver he pulled up to the tollgate
And a man hollered and asked him what all he had on board and said
I got livestock I got livestock I got cows I got pigs I got sheep
I got mules I got all livestock
Well he said you're all right boy you don't have to pay no toll
You can just go right on through so he went on through the toolgate
And as he went through he started pickin' up a little bit of speed
Pickin' up a little bit of steam
He got on through he turned and looked back at the man he said
Well I fooled you I fooled you I got pigiron I got pigiron I got old pigiron
Down the Rock Island Line she's a mighty good road
Rock Island Line it's a road to ride
Rock Island Line it's a mighty good road
Well if you ride you got to ride it like you finally get your ticket
At the station for the Rock Island Line
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Yahoo! Answers, Answer of the Day
In response to this question, an answer...
i had a bunny then it went all phisco pathic
...which is probably pretty traumatic.
i had a bunny then it went all phisco pathic
...which is probably pretty traumatic.
Vladimir Putin's Favorite Monty Python Character Is...
...Tim the Enchanter, from Monty Python & the Holy Grail.
Follow. BUT! Follow only if ye be men of valour, for the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel, that no one has fought with it and lived! Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair! So, brave Knights, if you do doubt your courage or your strength then come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth!
(picture found in this story.
Follow. BUT! Follow only if ye be men of valour, for the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel, that no one has fought with it and lived! Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair! So, brave Knights, if you do doubt your courage or your strength then come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth!
(picture found in this story.
Geert Wilders: Paul Revere? Or Hitler?
"I don't hate Muslims. I hate Islam."
A TV addict with bleached hair who adores Maggie Thatcher and prefers kebabs to hamburgers, Geert Wilders has got nothing against Muslims. He just hates Islam. Or so he says. 'Islam is not a religion, it's an ideology,' says Wilders, a lanky Roman Catholic right-winger, 'the ideology of a retarded culture.'
The Dutch politician, who sees himself as heir to a recent string of assassinated or hounded mavericks who have turned Holland upside down, has been doing a crash course in Koranic study. Likening the Islamic sacred text to Hitler's Mein Kampf, he wants the 'fascist Koran' outlawed in Holland, the constitution rewritten to make that possible, all immigration from Muslim countries halted, Muslim immigrants paid to leave and all Muslim 'criminals' stripped of Dutch citizenship and deported 'back where they came from'. But he has nothing against Muslims. 'I have a problem with Islamic tradition, culture, ideology. Not with Muslim people.'
I'm baffled for an answer. As an old-fashioned American with isolationist impulses, Wilders' solutions seem to make sense. But I recall that Hitler's solutions to a similarly perceived problem resulted in genocide.
A TV addict with bleached hair who adores Maggie Thatcher and prefers kebabs to hamburgers, Geert Wilders has got nothing against Muslims. He just hates Islam. Or so he says. 'Islam is not a religion, it's an ideology,' says Wilders, a lanky Roman Catholic right-winger, 'the ideology of a retarded culture.'
The Dutch politician, who sees himself as heir to a recent string of assassinated or hounded mavericks who have turned Holland upside down, has been doing a crash course in Koranic study. Likening the Islamic sacred text to Hitler's Mein Kampf, he wants the 'fascist Koran' outlawed in Holland, the constitution rewritten to make that possible, all immigration from Muslim countries halted, Muslim immigrants paid to leave and all Muslim 'criminals' stripped of Dutch citizenship and deported 'back where they came from'. But he has nothing against Muslims. 'I have a problem with Islamic tradition, culture, ideology. Not with Muslim people.'
I'm baffled for an answer. As an old-fashioned American with isolationist impulses, Wilders' solutions seem to make sense. But I recall that Hitler's solutions to a similarly perceived problem resulted in genocide.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Damn! That bad?
John Derbyshire just posted a piece on National Review's The Corner calling Moldova "hell on earth."
If you're familiar with the travel writings of Paul Theroux, it sounds like just the sort of place that Theroux seeks out to visit.
If you're familiar with the travel writings of Paul Theroux, it sounds like just the sort of place that Theroux seeks out to visit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
