This is how much more money I am going to spend.

His team is using the term “suspending the campaign.” It will hit the papers in a few minutes.

Twenty-one states that held presidential primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday dutifully counted the votes cast and reported their results like the conformists they are.

But New Mexico, where the state Democratic Party held a caucus, dared to be different.

We’re mavericks here in this Enchanted Land. We’re rebels, freethinkers. We’ll count our votes when and how we feel like it. We won’t cater to CNN or MSNBC. Or the people of New Mexico.

We might know who won New Mexico by the end of the week.

Or we might not.

A proper chuckle from Steve Terrell.

Steve is a damned good political writer, fine musician and radio DJ. And the poor devil looks like a younger edition of me.

Pesticide-laced Chinese dumplings that sickened at least 10 people in Japan and triggered a nationwide scare were probably poisoned deliberately, said Japan’s health minister.

The frozen dumplings, produced by China’s Tianyang Food Processing Ltd., were contaminated with the pesticide methamidophos and blamed for a string of poisonings in December and January.

Investigators, however, have found traces of the pesticide on the outside of the dumplings, rather than on the filling. The poison was also found in much higher concentrations than would be expected from residue from pesticides sprayed on vegetables…

About 20 top police investigators from the areas where the poisonings took place gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss the dumpling probe, and police in the two prefectures Chiba and Hyogo — the home of the 10 victims — are now looking into the dumpling contamination as an attempted murder case…

Punctures were found in a handful of the bags that were recalled or tied to poisonings…

The profit motive comes first to mind. Could have been spun for extortion like the Tylenol case in the USA, decades back.

Could have been an old-fashioned nutball. They never caught the poisoner in the Tylenol case.

His chest hair in younger days

I may be a tad cynical, but you don’t suppose this was done simply to garner publicity for an aging singer most people had forgotten about, do you? Definitely one of the goofiest stories to come out in a while. Tom Jones Insures His Chest Hair For $7M Tom Jones did something very unusual. The ‘It’s Not Unusual” singer has insured his chest hair for almost $7 million.

Although the 67-year-old singer’s management has denied the reports saying Jones has been “working far too hard in the recording studio” for trivial things, the reports has been confirmed by Lloyd’s of London, a distinguished insurance house.

“Admittedly, this is one of the most obscure requests I’ve had – but I still came up with a wording that addressed the need,” underwriter John Thomas says.

Lloyd’s of London has insured several celebrities’ body parts including the legs of Fred Astaire and Heidi Klum, hands of Liberace and fingers of Keith Richards. And most famously, Jennifer Lopez’s butt.

I have no idea who this kid is or why this picture is being shopped all over the net, but there are elements of it that are disgusting since it is obvious that he has something of an erection in this outfit. I’m sure the story behind this picture will emerge eventually, but right now it is being passed around derisive email circles. Based on the wall outlet I believe this picture comes from Europe.

found by Aric Mackey

Investigators say a woman accused of drunk driving had a case of beer buckled up safely, and a one year old girl sitting in the backseat without a seatbelt or car seat.

Tina Williams

The deputy saw a case of Busch beer in the front seat with a seat belt around it, and a baby girl in the backseat.

When asked why the girl wasn’t restrained, Williams reportedly told the officer, “I don’t know.”
[…]
Williams faces charges of driving under the influence, child endangerment, driving without a valid license, running a red light and not having a seatbelt or child restraint.

I guess it’s apparent where her priorities are.

Click photo to get to gallery

Where in the world are Apple’s missing 1.3 million iPhones? Iran? Holland? South Africa? Yes! Lots of other places too.

We asked for pics and you answered: iPhones from around the world, from countries where the iPhone isn’t even sold with service. Canada makes sense, as a quick trip across the border will land you an iPhone. China also makes sense, as it wouldn’t be Hong Kong without a gray market plethora of unlocked iPhones, would it? We got reports from almost every part of the globe, and put together a nice little gallery to show just how popular this gadget is — service or not. Where there’s a hack, there’s a way…

I wonder if these unlocked iPhones piss off Apple more than they might the competition?

KOMO-TV –

COOS BAY, Ore. – A police survey says panhandlers outside Wal-Mart in Coos Bay can make $300 a day. Inside, it takes a clerk a week to make that much. Police say people who have a problem with that needn’t look to the law – asking for money is considered protected free speech. Coos Bay authorities say most panhandlers are not criminals. Coos Bay Police Captain Rodger Craddock says most have lived in the city a long time and they actually have homes. Craddock says, “This is just their chosen profession.” He says most are docile, and that people should report those who are not. Bob More, director of housing and emergency services at South Coast Community Action, says many panhandlers are there for the money – to feed their addictions. He suggested a voucher system involving tickets people could give that are good for a meal or bed in a shelter.

Thats a pretty good salary for a days “work”, and thats tax-free. I wonder if they turn around and spend some at WalMart? Then there are the “honest” panhandlers who will tell you upfront they need money for alcohol. While I kind of like that approach, I still don’t give them anything.

The junior French trader responsible for bringing his bank to its knees when he bet €5 billion on a falling stock market broke his silence yesterday to claim that he had got “a little carried away” as he lost touch with financial reality.

Jérôme Kerviel, 31, accepted that he had made mistakes but said that he had been turned into a scapegoat by Société Générale, his employer.

“I assume my share of responsibility, but I will not be the Société Générale’s scapegoat…”

He has told investigators that the bank knew and approved of his unauthorised bets and that other traders had engaged in similar practices. Dressed in jeans and a white checked shirt, and speaking in a quiet and uncertain voice, he said: “I never had personal ambition in this affair. The aim was to earn money for the bank.”

The bank, the French government, are falling over each other to reassure everyone the banking system is solid.

Meanwhile, a teller – a teller, for crying out loud – in another bank owned by Société Générale – has been busted for lifting $3.2 million!

On the management side, the mumbling about HSBC buying all or part of Société Générale gets stronger every day. Due diligence should take months.