Archive for June, 2011
Chinese Man Breaks World Record For Wearing Most Bees
The kicker – Mr. Wei achieved the feat just two days after Chinese beekeeper Shen Zonghong broke the previous world record by having 36kg of bees on his body. What is going on over there?! Via the Daily Mail, the paper of record for entomological matters:
This man broke the world record for the heaviest bee suit after being loaded up with 83.5kg of the flying insects. Zhang Wei, from Zizhou County, in western China, wore a special frame covered in foliage to hold the mass of bees.
Wearing a pair of gggles and holding a tube in his mouth for breathing, Mr Wei was seated as around two dozen crates full of bees were released next to him.
The man – who was wearing a jacket and trousers but did not have his hands or face protected – did not seem to mind as thousands of the insects buzzed around him and almost completely engulfed his…
Pakistani Journalist Found Dead After Criticizing Pakistan’s Chief Intelligence Agency
Via The New York Times:
The Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad knew he was a marked man. Mr. Shahzad, who covered national security and terrorism, had received repeated threats from Pakistan’s powerful spy agency. Yet he courageously kept doing his job — until somebody silenced him. His body, his face horribly beaten, was buried on Wednesday.
Suspicion inevitably falls on Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s chief intelligence agency. For the sake of justice, and the shredded credibility of Pakistan’s government, his murderers must be found quickly and held accountable.
Mr. Shahzad disappeared from Islamabad on Sunday, two days after he published an article suggesting a militant attack on a naval base in Karachi was retaliation for the navy’s attempt to crack down on Al Qaeda militants in the armed forces. American analysts doubt an Al Qaeda cell infiltrated Pakistani security, but they have long worried about individual sympathizers.
Whatever the case, the attack humiliated the ISI…
Alamo Drafthouse: She Texted During The Movie So We Kicked Her Out (And Here’s Her Stupid Response)
Via the Alamo Drafthouse:
Recently, we had a situation where a customer persisted in texting in the theater despite two warnings to stop. Our policy at that point is to eject the customer without a refund, which is exactly what went down that night. Luckily, this former patron was so incensed at being kicked out, she quickly called the office and left us the raw ingredients for our latest “Don’t Talk or Text” PSA:
Two Florida Teens Arrested For ‘Sexting’
I still hate the word “sexting” … Jim Peppard writes for WTSP 10 News:
Brooksville, Florida — Two teenagers were arrested today for sexting a photo of a bare breast.
A 15 year old boy was taken into custody after he told a school resource officer he forwarded a cell phone picture he received last December of a young girl’s breast, the sheriff’s office said. He said another student at Hernando High School had threatened to do him harm, after learning of the photo.
The girl herself was also charged, after admitting she took a picture of herself in the mirror wearing underwear and exposing a breast, and sending it to the boy, according to the arrest affidavit.
Both were charged with transmission of pornography by electronic device, processed at the Hernando County Jail and released into the custody of their parents.
Music Video Parodies Weiner Scandal
Rep. Anthony Weiner announced today that he did indeed tweet the lewd picture of himself, as well as engage in various inappropriate conversations with other women. (Read more about his press conference at The Hill) As you sit and contemplate the use of social networks in political scandals, here is a music video about Weiner’s ‘accidental’ Twitter post in the parody form of SNL’s “Dick in a Box”:
Dancing at the Memorial of a Slave Owner
Photo: Prisonblues (CC)
Saturday, around 50 people held a demonstration through dance at the Jefferson Memorial in southern Washington, D.C., which overlooks the Potomac River. Over 2,000 people had testified on Facebook that they would show up, but these testimonials apparently turned out to be the Internet’s letting off steam.
A week before, U.S. Park Police arrested five protesters for silently dancing in the memorial, which they did in response to the April 12, 2008 arrest of Mary Oberwetter, a 28-year-old D.C. resident, who was eventually charged with “interfering with agency functions.”
The video of recent arrests received in its first 24 hours well over 100,00 views and, at the time of this writing, nearly 900,000. Russia Today journalist and 2010 House Candidate Adam Kokesh, a self-described Ron Paul Republican, found himself thrown to the ground and, briefly, even choked, last weekend for dancing, as he said, in celebration of the principles of…
Tent City Erected By Protestors In Madison, WI
Hooverville in Portland, Oregon
Would you live in a tent to show that history repeats itself? Protesters opened ‘Walkerville’ tent city, much like the infamous ‘Hooverville’, in the middle of Madison on Saturday night. This is the most recent demonstration protesting against Governor Scott Walker’s budget plan. Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports:
Those against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal are settling in for the long haul, pitching tents at Capitol Square.
WISC-TV reported Sunday that protesters are calling their tent city “Walkerville,” named after the “Hooverville” shantytowns set up during the Great Depression.
Overnight camping is being allowed along parts of Carroll and Mifflin streets. The protesters will have access to portable toilets and hand washing stations, and several businesses sell food in the area.
Protester Karen Tuerk said the budget is a war on working families and the middle class
[Continues at Dubuque Telegraph Herald]
Iran To Introduce Islamically-Correct ‘Halal Internet’
I was initially excited, in the assumption that ‘Halal internet’ referred to a way of ordering mouth-watering kebabs online. Fast Company explains:
The Iranian government is planning to wall-off much of the country’s online access. A high-ranking Iranian official has their new solution: A “Halal Internet” that will run as a nationwide intranet and be subject to extensive censorship.
According to Iranian Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Ali Agha Mohammadi, the ”Halal Internet” project is expected to be completed in 18 months. Mohammadi explicitly cited China’s extensive internet controls as an inspiration for the project, which will be completed with the help of what the Minister calls “foreign consultants.”
Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Reza Taghipour Anvari is also on record as a supporter of the plan. Persian-language financial paper Donya e Eqtesad cited him as praising the nationwide intranet’s ability to censor “dirty and unethical” content.
In nearby Pakistan, Fast Company has already…
Charges Dropped Against Man Jailed For Giving Middle Finger To Cop
35-year-old Shane Boor had no previous criminal record but could have faced up to six months in prison. Or three months, if it had been a sly middle finger where you pretend to scratch your nose. Via CBS Denver:
A harassment charge has been dropped in the case of a Colorado man who gave a state trooper the finger in April. Saying it’s free speech to give officers the finger, the Colorado State Patrol said in a statement late Friday that it asked the case to be dropped. The State Patrol described the incident as “protected free speech.”
Shane Boor, 35, was charged with misdemeanor harassment after acknowledging “flipping the bird” to an officer making a traffic stop near Denver April 19. The American Civil Liberties Union offered Boor free legal defense in the case that made headlines. Boor said he told the officer he gave him the finger “because you’re thieves…
McDonald’s Accounted For Half Of May’s Job Growth
If you’re looking for a job, McDonald’s is the place to go. No really, it’s the only place for you to go. The Atlantic Wire writes:
We were joking when we wrote that McDonalds was singlehandedly reviving the U.S. economy by hiring 62,000 employees in a single day in April. At the time, it didn’t feel like the recovery hinged on the creation of low-paying, temporary McJobs. Well, on the heels of today’s pessimistic report saying that just 54,000 jobs were added in May, the fast food chain’s effect on the economy is looking impressive to MarketWatch.
Seasonal adjustment will reduce the Hamburglar impact on payrolls. (In simpler terms — restaurants always staff up for the summer; the Labor Department makes allowance for this effect.) Morgan Stanley estimates McDonald’s hiring will boost the overall number by 25,000 to 30,000.
Those 25,000 to 30,000 McJobs that Morgan Stanley estimated were the net additions that would…
Anonymous Claims Control Of Iranian Government Servers
Stephen C. Webster writes on The Raw Story:
Hackers claiming to be part of protest group “Anonymous” published on Friday over 10,000 internal emails from the Iranian government’s ministry of foreign affairs, as part of an ongoing campaign against the authoritarian regime.
The emails were published to torrent file sharing website The Pirate Bay, along with usernames and passwords. Members also claimed they had taken control of the government’s servers.
In a chat with Raw Story, members of Anonymous on the #OpIran server said they were leading the charge because they want Iranians to know they’re not alone in their struggle against the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
They also pointed to a declaration of intent to attack the Iranian government, which they published to YouTube in February.
Are The Smurfs Racist, Sexist Fascists?
Meaghan Murphy writes on Fox News:
Sacre bleu! The Smurfs may not be as innocent as they look.
The tribe of little blue creatures who live peacefully among the mushrooms are “steeped in Stalinism and Nazism,” according to a French sociologist.
“Collective work always focuses on self-sufficiency for food and energy,” Antoine Buéno states in Le Petit Livre Bleu (The Little Blue Book). “The Smurfs do not have private property; their leader is Papa Smurf who shows very authoritarian and paternalistic characteristics.”
Buéno also makes the connection that the little blue men’s biggest enemy, the magician Gargamel, seems to have a Jewish background — citing similarities to the anti-Semitic images of the World War II era.
The French writer also claims that the Smurfs do not just resemble Nazis, but sexist Nazis to boot! Smurfette—traditionally the only woman living in the Smurf’s village — allegedly meets the Aryan ideal of beauty with her blonde hair and refined…
No, Reverend, That’s Not What The Bible Says
John Blake reports for CNN on something many of us have long suspected – that people who like to spew quotes from the Bible often mangle or just make them up:
NFL legend Mike Ditka was giving a news conference one day after being fired as the coach of the Chicago Bears when he decided to quote the Bible.
“Scripture tells you that all things shall pass,” a choked-up Ditka said after leading his team to only five wins during the previous season. “This, too, shall pass.”
Ditka fumbled his biblical citation, though. The phrase “This, too, shall pass” doesn’t appear in the Bible. Ditka was quoting a phantom scripture that sounds like it belongs in the Bible, but look closer and it’s not there.
Ditka’s biblical blunder is as common as preachers delivering long-winded public prayers. The Bible may be the most revered book in America, but it’s also one of the most misquoted.…
Dildo Sport – The First Strap-On Athletic Accessory That Helps You Play Hard And Win Big
I really have no comment on this…
Dildo Sport from Paulilu Productions on Vimeo.
Bill Keller’s Theory of Conspiracy Theories
Perhaps still smarting from being deposed as Executive Editor of the Gray Lady, Bill Keller takes on conspiracy theorists in the New York Times Magazine:
Dear Mr. Keller: Last night on the “PBS NewsHour,” they had a story about some Los Angeles Times reporters who uncovered corruption in a nearby, small city in California. The newspaper eventually received a Pulitzer Prize. That is what you can have if you will talk with me. Within one hour, I will convince you and your staff that Lee Oswald did not assassinate President Kennedy. Then, I will give you the evidence for the real killers, and how the cover up could be perpetrated. It is a great story, fully documented and supported with facts, many from the Warren Commission itself!!
That e-mail landed a few weeks ago. Even if you are a card-carrying member of the reality-based community, even if you regard the liberal use…
Can You Get Paid $100,000 To Not Go to College?
Nadine Bells writes on Yahoo News:
It sounds like a teenager’s dream and a parent’s nightmare. Peter Thiel, PayPal’s co-founder, is paying 24 college-aged students $100,000 to just say no — to college.
For two years, winners of the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship have focused on developing business ideas instead of heading to class.
The fellows will work in Silicon Valley with a network of more than 100 mentors where they “will pursue innovative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship and begin to build the technology companies of tomorrow,” the press release states.
Was A Furby Threat to National Security?
A blast from the past. CNN reported back in 1999…
Can the cute, popular toy Furby be a threat to national security? The government thinks so, and has banned it from National Security Agency premises in Maryland.
Furby is embedded with a computer chip that allows it to record words. Because of that ability, NSA officials were worried “that people would take them home and they’d start talking classified,” one Capitol Hill source told The Washington Post.
In a warning to employees, the NSA said, “Personally owned photographic, video and audio recording equipment are prohibited items. This includes toys, such as ‘Furbys,’ with built-in recorders that repeat the audio with synthesized sound to mimic the original signal.”
“We are prohibited from introducing these items into NSA spaces. Those who have should contact their Staff Security Office for guidance,” a memo said.
