This is ridiculous. A number of things immediately come to mind. First of all is this a cop or a meter maid? Look at his car and outfit. Also did he not notice the guy recording all this? What kind of a cop is so unaware?

found by Eddie


  • Latest thread in Yahoo-Microsoft news is to stir up lawsuits over Yahoo not doing the deal.
  • Yahoo doing something called One-Connect.
  • Symbian sales way up, not down.
  • Apple may do a Game Boy type product.
  • The UK may ban users from using the net if they are caught downloading music.
  • NEC backing out of the display business. What happened?
  • Intel raided in Europe by EU regulators.
  • Super Smash Brothers number one in Japan.

click ► to listen:

Right click here and select ‘Save Link As…’ to download the mp3 file.

Please leave a comment telling us which audio player you like best, the old one or the new one with a volume control.


fingerprint.gifWashingtonpost.com

The European Commission will propose tomorrow that all foreign travelers entering and leaving Europe, including U.S. citizens, should be fingerprinted. If approved by the European Parliament, the measure would mean that precisely identifying information on tens of millions of citizens will be added in coming years to databases that could be shared by friendly governments around the world.

The United States already requires that foreigners be fingerprinted and photographed before they enter the country. So does Japan. Now top European security officials want to follow suit, with travelers being fingerprinted and some also having their facial images stored in a Europe-wide database, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Washington Post. U.S. government computers now have access to data on financial transactions; air travel details such as name, itinerary and credit card numbers; and the names of those sending and receiving express-mail packages — even a description of the contents.

“With biometric data, it’s much easier to track people and know who has come in and who has gone out, including possible terrorists,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly. “It seems like a steamroller,” said Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch member of parliament who follows privacy and security issues. “There is a new trend in particular in the U.S., the E.U. and Australia to register every single detail of our life. We’re tagged. They can follow everything we do. They know where we are. The whole question is: What for? Does this actually make the world a safer place?”

The Bush administration says it does.

I will be happy to submit my fingerprints, DNA, body scan, facial scan, psych evaluation, sperm sample, laptop, cell phone, contents of my wallet, shoes, socks, toe jam, and anything else necessary to fight terrorism. Have I left anything out?


TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN)

Softball, drunken orgies and a prison system run like the mafia. That’s what Florida’s former prison secretary says he inherited when he took over one of the nation’s largest prison systems two years ago.

In fact, on his first day on the job, James McDonough says he walked into his office — the same one his predecessor used — and there was crime scene tape preventing anyone from entering.


Party house where prison officials held orgies.

McDonough revealed a startling list of alleged abuses and crimes going on inside Florida’s prisons:

  • Top prison officials admitting to kickbacks
  • Guards importing and selling steroids in an effort to give them an edge on the softball field
  • Taxpayer funds to pay for booze and women
  • Guards who punished other guards who threatened to report them

“Corruption had gone to an extreme,” McDonough said, saying it all began at the top. “They seemed to be drunk half the time and had orgies the other half, when they weren’t taking money and beating each other up.”
[…]
“I cannot explain how big an obsession softball had become,” he said. “People were promoted on the spot after a softball game at the drunken party to high positions in the department because they were able to hit a softball out of the park a couple times.”
[…]
McDonough is a former Army colonel who commanded troops in Vietnam and Africa. He served as Florida’s drug czar before taking on the job as the head of Florida’s prison system, which oversees 90,000 inmates.

He left his post last Thursday as secretary of Florida’s Department of Corrections because, he says, he feels he has cleaned up the corruption. It’s time, he said, “to turn this over to law and order people that have made this their life’s goal.”

Video here.

Cripes! I’m speechless. Unbelievable!



Click pic for larger image

Amazing moment the world’s biggest Christ was struck by lightning

This amazing photograph gives whole new meaning to the phrase “May God strike me with lightning if …”

Rio de Janeiro’s world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm over the Brazilian city on Sunday. The statue – which towers over the city as the largest statue of Christ in the world – did not appear too damaged after the strike, according to Brazilian reports.

The statue stands 39.6 metres (130ft) tall, is made of 700 tons of reinforced concrete, and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,296ft) Corcovado mountain overlooking the city. It was named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

Sunday’s lightning storm felled trees and wreaked havoc in several Rio neighbourhoods.

Rio is DOOMED!


Woman arrested after accidentally depositing meth at ATM | KOMO 1000 News Radio – News, Weather and Sports – Seattle, WA Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional methcover.jpg
Click for larger.

A woman told police she mistakenly deposited a bag of methamphetamine into her account at an ATM machine in Bremerton.

She says in charging papers that she accidentally put the drug in the envelope when she reached into her pocket for money.

An employee of the Kitsap Credit Union told police that a bag showed up in a deposit envelope for the woman’s account. It tested positive for meth.

She was arrested Thursday and charged Friday with felony drug possession.

found by Aric Mackey


No more writers on picket lines. No more network TV bosses scrambling for replacement shows.

But enough about them. What about us?

Two simple questions prey on every viewer’s mind: When will my favorite scripted programs be back with new episodes? And, WILL my favorite shows be back..?

– Many hit series (such as ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” as well as CBS’ “CSI” trio) will be back this spring for what’s left of the current season, with anywhere from four to seven new episodes. But don’t bet on weaker, “on-the-bubble” shows (NBC’s “Bionic Woman” and CBS’ “Moonlight,” for example) returning until fall, if then.

– And be prepared to muster a little more patience. A minimum of four weeks will be needed for producers to get the first post-strike episode of comedies (such as CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” and NBC’s “My Name Is Earl”) started from scratch and back on the air; a drama will require six to eight weeks from concept to broadcast.

I guess I can survive a few more reruns.


London Southbank, London, England. Click picture for a larger version.


My Way News

LONDON (AP) – England’s commissioner for children and a civil liberties group joined in on a campaign Tuesday to ban high-frequency devices intended to drive misbehaving children away from shops and other areas.

The so-called “Mosquito” device emits high-frequency noise which is audible – and annoying – to young ears, but generally not heard by people over 20. “This device is a quick fix that does not tackle the root cause of the problem and it is indiscriminate,” English Children’s Commissioner Al Aynsley-Green said. The campaigners claim that about 3,500 of the devices, made by a Welsh company, are in use.

“I’m very concerned about what I see to be an emerging gap between the young and the old, the fears, the intolerance, even the hatred, of the older generation toward the young.” Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, supported the campaign. “Imagine the outcry if a device was introduced that caused blanket discomfort to people of one race or gender, rather than to our kids,” Chakrabarti said. “The ‘Mosquito’ has no place in a country that values its children and seeks to instill them with dignity and respect.” “We tell shopkeepers to use it when they have a problem and I would be more than happy to introduce a contract which stipulates to shopkeepers how it can be used,” Stapleton was quoted as telling the Western Mail newspaper. “People talk about infringing human rights but what about the human rights of the shopkeeper who is seeing his business collapse because groups of unruly teenagers are driving away his customers?”

Now if they could just make a version for my lawn!


The sale of red roses and red gifts has been banned by Saudi Arabia’s religious police in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.

Officials from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice warned flower and gift shops to remove all red items, including roses and wrapping paper, from their shelves…

In Riyadh, the ban came into force on Sunday and will remain until after February 14.

The authorities believe celebrating Valentine’s Day is un-Islamic and encourages relations out of wedlock, which are strictly forbidden.

At least they’re consistent. Right?


In my preceding post [below], “moss” commented that CNN paid $750K for the domain name, “iReport.com”. Here’s a piece of the backstory:


Why is this man smiling?

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Conference co-founder and pioneer domain investor Rick Schwartz has just completed the sale of iReport.com to the Cable News Network for $750,000. As the contract was being finalized Schwartz was asked if he had any similar domains so he told CNN he also owned the hyphenated version, i-Report.com.

When the cable TV company expressed interest in getting that domain as well to protect their planned branding of iReport.com, Schwartz said he decided to give them that less desirable name at no charge rather than re-open negotiations and delay closing of the deal for iReport.com.

This deal gets the New Year off to a good start. A $750,000 deal would have ranked among the 12 largest sales of 2007. It is also encouraging to see a major end user like CNN recognize the key role a domain name can play as the platform for launching a new product or service.

Cybersquatting goes back to the founding of the Internet. There has been no shortage of folks who recognized the value of a smart title. Some instances required litigation. Some, negotiations.

Pretty good return on not a lot of work.


Usually, a headline like this is about some rote attempt to reproduce the Korean model – or a Web 2.something-or-other utopian virtual adventure.

I have no idea where this will go and it’s not certain the folks at CNN know, either. But, it should be an interesting ride.

ireport.jpg

Since CNN embraced the citizen journalist movement in August 2006 with the launch of its iReport initiative, the news organization has received nearly 100,000 news-related photos and videos from viewers.

Yet fewer than 10% of those submissions have appeared on CNN.com or the cable channel.

That’s all about to change. CNN this week will enter YouTube territory with iReport.com, a new site built entirely on user-produced news. And unlike CNN’s own properties — where only iReport submissions that have been handpicked by editors and checked for accuracy ever make it online or on air — the new site will be wide open, allowing users to post whatever content they choose.

Bloggers, of course, will be watching. CNN hopes everyone else will be watching, too.


Accidental Discovery During Surgery Reverses Memory Loss

A 50 year old man, dangerously obese, goes to the hospital for experimental brain surgery to suppress his appetite. A small piece of his skull is removed, and an electrical probe inserted deep into his brain tissue. It reaches his hypothalamus and current is switched on. Suddenly the patient — awake through the procedure — begins to speak uncontrollably about events in his past, events he had long forgotten. He remembers a day’s walk in the park 30 years ago, complete with what people were wearing, all in vivid color. He sees them speaking to him, every motion they made. The intensity and level of detail of the memories is frightening.
[…]
The results were so successful the same technique is now being trialed on six Alzheimer’s patients. Functioning like a “pacemaker for the brain,” the treatment offers hope for the millions worldwide who suffer from the debilitating memory and cognitive losses caused by Alzheimer’s.


Via The Disciplined Investor

I believe this video and the mention on the blog above is the actual source of the rumor that AOL and Yahoo are getting together.


Saccharin… it’ll give you one of those.

Chalk one up for the conspirators. Looks like all the bad things about artificial sweeteners just added another point to the negative column.

Rats that consumed food sweetened with saccharin ate more and didn’t later compensate by cutting back on the amount they ate. Although all of the rats had similar weights at the start of the experiment, those that ate food containing the sugar substitute “gained significantly more weight” than those who ate sugar.

The researchers made another revealing discovery when they examined the body temperature of the rats when they ate.

Body temperature typically rises after eating, but researchers said rats that had become accustomed to consuming the artificial sweetener didn’t have a significant temperature change. They suspect that could mean the rats’ appetite control mechanisms were disrupted when they consumed the artificial sweetener, which may have led to overeating.

“[People] may want to simply consider the possibility that simply switching to use these products isn’t automatically going to result in dramatic weight loss,” Dr. Swithers said.

Americans now have another reason to have a lawyer on retention… artificial sweeteners are the cause of obesity in the US.


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