- In a Paris hotel: Please leave your values at the front desk.
- In an Athens hotel: Vistors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m. daily.
- In a health shop window: Closed due to illness.
- At a gas station: We will sell gasoline to anyone in a glass container.
- In a Barber's Shop: Haircuts half priced today. Only one per customer.
- On a lift: Please do not use this lift when it's not working.
- In a dress shop: Wedding gear for all occasions.
- Outside a New Mexico dry cleaner: 38 years on the same spot.
- In a jeweller's shop: Our gifts will not last long at these prices.
- Outside a restaurant: Open seven days a week and weekends.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
STRANGE SIGNS
STUPID COMPUTER JOKES
What is a computer's first sign of old age?
Loss of memory.
What does a baby computer call his father?
Data.
What is an astronaut's favorite key on a computer keyboard?
The space bar.
What happened when the computer fell on the floor?
It slipped a disk.
Why was there a bug in the computer?
It was looking for a byte to eat.
What is a computer's virus?
A terminal illness.
Loss of memory.
What does a baby computer call his father?
Data.
What is an astronaut's favorite key on a computer keyboard?
The space bar.
What happened when the computer fell on the floor?
It slipped a disk.
Why was there a bug in the computer?
It was looking for a byte to eat.
What is a computer's virus?
A terminal illness.
FIREMEN'S JOKE
When the employees of a restaurant attended a fire safety seminar, they watched a fire official demonstrate the proper way to operate an extinguisher. "Pull the pin like a hand grenade," he explained, "then depress the trigger to release the foam." Later an employee was selected to extinguish a controlled fire in the parking lot. In her nervousness, she forgot to pull the pin. The instructor hinted, "Like a hand grenade, remember?" In a burst of confidence she pulled the pin --- and hurled the extinguisher at the blaze.
POP QUIZ (SUPREME COURT REJECTS)
On October 23, in 1987, Robert H. Bork's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected by the Senate, 42-58. The contenious nomination battle led to the phrase "to bork" being added to the Oxford English Dictionary. But Bork wasn't the only person rejected for a Supreme Court seat or whose nomination was withdrawn.
Match the other would-be justices with the president who nominated them.
1. Jeremiah S. Black a) George Washington
2. G. Harrold Carswell b) John Tyler
3. Harriet Miers c) James K. Polk
4. Ebenezer R. Hoar d) Richard Nixon
5. William B. Hornblower e) James Madison
6. John J. Parker f) George W. Bush
7. John Rutledge g) Herbert Hoover
8. John C. Spencer h) Ulysses S. Grant
9. Alexander Wolcott i) Grover Cleveland
10. George W. Woodward j) James Buchanan
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. j ; 2. d ; 3. f ; 4. h ; 5. i ; 6. g ; 7. a ; 8. b ; 9. e ; 10. c
Match the other would-be justices with the president who nominated them.
1. Jeremiah S. Black a) George Washington
2. G. Harrold Carswell b) John Tyler
3. Harriet Miers c) James K. Polk
4. Ebenezer R. Hoar d) Richard Nixon
5. William B. Hornblower e) James Madison
6. John J. Parker f) George W. Bush
7. John Rutledge g) Herbert Hoover
8. John C. Spencer h) Ulysses S. Grant
9. Alexander Wolcott i) Grover Cleveland
10. George W. Woodward j) James Buchanan
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. j ; 2. d ; 3. f ; 4. h ; 5. i ; 6. g ; 7. a ; 8. b ; 9. e ; 10. c
F. Y. I.
Still on the Books
In Boise, Idaho, residents may, not fish from a giraffe's back.
Baseball Fan
Babe Ruth kept a wet cabbage leaf under his hat to keep him cool.
Table Tidbits
It takes 548 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
Actually Said
by Osie Leon Wood
New Jersey Nets guard, to Steve Albert, Nets TV commentator
"Are you any relation to your brother Marv?"
Did You Know?
Sunglasses became popular in the 1920s when movie stars began wearing them to cut the camera's bright lights.
What a Sight
Starfish have eyes as they have arms, one at the end of each arm.
In Boise, Idaho, residents may, not fish from a giraffe's back.
Baseball Fan
Babe Ruth kept a wet cabbage leaf under his hat to keep him cool.
Table Tidbits
It takes 548 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
Actually Said
by Osie Leon Wood
New Jersey Nets guard, to Steve Albert, Nets TV commentator
"Are you any relation to your brother Marv?"
Did You Know?
Sunglasses became popular in the 1920s when movie stars began wearing them to cut the camera's bright lights.
What a Sight
Starfish have eyes as they have arms, one at the end of each arm.
Ohio governor to sign order on "dangerous animals"
Ohio Governor John Kasich plans to sign an executive order on Friday covering "dangerous wild animals," days after a collector caused a panic by releasing dozens of tigers, lions, bears and other animals.
The governor's office said Kasich, a first-term Republican, planned to sign and discuss an executive order on Friday afternoon, a day after two state lawmakers said they would propose legislation to restrict private ownership of dangerous exotic animals.
Kasich had let lapse a rule put in place by his Democratic predecessor Ted Strickland in January that restricted private breeding and purchase of exotic animals and stripped ownership rights from people convicted of animal cruelty.
A spokesman for Kasich said Strickland's rule was correct in principle but not enforceable and raised doubts about whether Ohio could restrict ownership of non-native wild animals. It also made no provision for dealing with seized animals.
Kasich had set up a task force which was expected to make recommendations in a month.
Ohio is one of seven states that does not restrict ownership of such exotic animals. The others are North and South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Terry Thompson, 62, apparently released 56 animals from his collection on Tuesday and then killed himself at his farm near Zanesville, Ohio.
Authorities hunted down and killed 49 of the animals and buried them on Thompson's property. Three leopards, a young grizzly bear and two macaque monkeys were recaptured and sent to the Columbus Zoo animal hospital.
The animals hunted down included 18 Bengal tigers, which are endangered, and numerous adult lions.
Schools were closed, residents told to remain inside and emergency signs posted warning motorists to stay in their cars while authorities searched for the missing animals.
Animal welfare groups pleaded in the aftermath of the panic for tighter restrictions or a ban on private ownership of exotic animals.
Federal law regulates the interstate transport of big cats, but states regulate their ownership. A similar federal law on the transport of primates failed to pass Congress.
The governor's office said Kasich, a first-term Republican, planned to sign and discuss an executive order on Friday afternoon, a day after two state lawmakers said they would propose legislation to restrict private ownership of dangerous exotic animals.
Kasich had let lapse a rule put in place by his Democratic predecessor Ted Strickland in January that restricted private breeding and purchase of exotic animals and stripped ownership rights from people convicted of animal cruelty.
A spokesman for Kasich said Strickland's rule was correct in principle but not enforceable and raised doubts about whether Ohio could restrict ownership of non-native wild animals. It also made no provision for dealing with seized animals.
Kasich had set up a task force which was expected to make recommendations in a month.
Ohio is one of seven states that does not restrict ownership of such exotic animals. The others are North and South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Terry Thompson, 62, apparently released 56 animals from his collection on Tuesday and then killed himself at his farm near Zanesville, Ohio.
Authorities hunted down and killed 49 of the animals and buried them on Thompson's property. Three leopards, a young grizzly bear and two macaque monkeys were recaptured and sent to the Columbus Zoo animal hospital.
The animals hunted down included 18 Bengal tigers, which are endangered, and numerous adult lions.
Schools were closed, residents told to remain inside and emergency signs posted warning motorists to stay in their cars while authorities searched for the missing animals.
Animal welfare groups pleaded in the aftermath of the panic for tighter restrictions or a ban on private ownership of exotic animals.
Federal law regulates the interstate transport of big cats, but states regulate their ownership. A similar federal law on the transport of primates failed to pass Congress.
Police arrest man who burned more than 100 cars
A man who set fire to more than 100 cars in Berlin, a wave of attacks blamed by some on political extremists, was motivated by envy and frustration, police who arrested him said Sunday. The 27-year-old told police that being jobless and in debt led him to set 67 luxury cars alight in one three-month run.
Those attacks, aimed mostly at luxury cars such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes, set alight 35 more cars parked nearby. The near-nightly attacks, often started by slow-burning barbecue fire lighters, had baffled police and left them looking inept in the midst of a mayoral election.
"This is a sensational triumph," said Berlin state crime office (LKA) director Christian Steiof. A second police official told a media conference that the man confessed to setting 67 cars on fire since June in Germany's poorest big city.
"He wasn't motivated by politics but rather social envy," said Oliver Stepien, a senior police official. "He said in essence: 'I've got debts, my life stinks and others with fancy cars are better off and they deserve this'."
Luxury cars have been set on fire in small numbers in Berlin for many years, especially in districts that once had low rents because of their then-unattractive proximity to the Berlin Wall.
Car arson suddenly soared this year, with up to a dozen vehicles set on fire on some nights. Berlin police turned to federal authorities for help, using high-tech equipment and helicopters with thermal image cameras.
Up to 500 police were deployed on the streets at night to look for suspects and a special 150-person task force was set up. More than 470 cars have been set on fire this year and police are searching for other suspects. They believe perhaps a third have been politically motivated.
"It might have been the case in 2009 that some people in Berlin had some understanding for the fire attacks as some sort of protest," Berlin's Interior Minister Ehrhart Koerting told Reuters recently. "But I don't think anyone has that anymore."
Those attacks, aimed mostly at luxury cars such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes, set alight 35 more cars parked nearby. The near-nightly attacks, often started by slow-burning barbecue fire lighters, had baffled police and left them looking inept in the midst of a mayoral election.
"This is a sensational triumph," said Berlin state crime office (LKA) director Christian Steiof. A second police official told a media conference that the man confessed to setting 67 cars on fire since June in Germany's poorest big city.
"He wasn't motivated by politics but rather social envy," said Oliver Stepien, a senior police official. "He said in essence: 'I've got debts, my life stinks and others with fancy cars are better off and they deserve this'."
Luxury cars have been set on fire in small numbers in Berlin for many years, especially in districts that once had low rents because of their then-unattractive proximity to the Berlin Wall.
Car arson suddenly soared this year, with up to a dozen vehicles set on fire on some nights. Berlin police turned to federal authorities for help, using high-tech equipment and helicopters with thermal image cameras.
Up to 500 police were deployed on the streets at night to look for suspects and a special 150-person task force was set up. More than 470 cars have been set on fire this year and police are searching for other suspects. They believe perhaps a third have been politically motivated.
"It might have been the case in 2009 that some people in Berlin had some understanding for the fire attacks as some sort of protest," Berlin's Interior Minister Ehrhart Koerting told Reuters recently. "But I don't think anyone has that anymore."
New app aims to reduce stress with slow breathing
Want to reduce stress and improve mental focus? A new app that promotes slow breathing may help. Called MyCalmBeat, the app uses a heart rate monitor that attaches to the ear to detect a person's optimal breathing rate, or resonant frequency, which is unique to each person.
At this breathing rate, the company says the user can increase the variability of their heart rate to lower stress levels.
"People don't realize the profound impact that slow breathing can have until they actually sit down and do it for 10 minutes and then they feel completely different," said Savannah DeVarney, vice president of product marketing for MyBrainSolutions, the creators of the app.
After finding their ideal breathing rate, animated exercises show users how to breathe at that rate, while the heart monitor provides feedback about the variability of their heart rate.
"Normally people think of 65 beats per minute as a good resting heart rate. But we're not necessarily looking at heart rate -- we're looking at the degree to which the space between consecutive heart beats varies," DeVarney explained.
When a person is stressed their heart rate becomes consistent and variability is minimized. But when relaxed, variability is maximized, slowing down as you breathe out and speeding up as you breathe in.
"We know that for most people their resonant frequency is between 7.5 and 4.5 breaths per minute. The software maps your heart rate variability through each of those rates to find the breathing rate where it becomes maximized," said DeVarney.
This frequency remains consistent throughout adult life, and usually only varies during childhood or pregnancy.
DeVarney said the company collaborated with Dr Richard Gevirtz, a professor at the Alliant International University in San Diego, California, who conducts research in heart rate variability.
She said in people who meditate for hours increased heart rate variability is one of the characteristics of being in a highly relaxed state.
"Meditators will find their resonant frequency naturally through trial and error, so we know that there's something in that."
Other biofeedback-based heart rate monitor apps include Instant Heart Rate which uses the iPhone's camera to detect a user's heart rate, rather than an external ear clip.
The company recommends training ten minutes a day, three times a week.
The app is available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
At this breathing rate, the company says the user can increase the variability of their heart rate to lower stress levels.
"People don't realize the profound impact that slow breathing can have until they actually sit down and do it for 10 minutes and then they feel completely different," said Savannah DeVarney, vice president of product marketing for MyBrainSolutions, the creators of the app.
After finding their ideal breathing rate, animated exercises show users how to breathe at that rate, while the heart monitor provides feedback about the variability of their heart rate.
"Normally people think of 65 beats per minute as a good resting heart rate. But we're not necessarily looking at heart rate -- we're looking at the degree to which the space between consecutive heart beats varies," DeVarney explained.
When a person is stressed their heart rate becomes consistent and variability is minimized. But when relaxed, variability is maximized, slowing down as you breathe out and speeding up as you breathe in.
"We know that for most people their resonant frequency is between 7.5 and 4.5 breaths per minute. The software maps your heart rate variability through each of those rates to find the breathing rate where it becomes maximized," said DeVarney.
This frequency remains consistent throughout adult life, and usually only varies during childhood or pregnancy.
DeVarney said the company collaborated with Dr Richard Gevirtz, a professor at the Alliant International University in San Diego, California, who conducts research in heart rate variability.
She said in people who meditate for hours increased heart rate variability is one of the characteristics of being in a highly relaxed state.
"Meditators will find their resonant frequency naturally through trial and error, so we know that there's something in that."
Other biofeedback-based heart rate monitor apps include Instant Heart Rate which uses the iPhone's camera to detect a user's heart rate, rather than an external ear clip.
The company recommends training ten minutes a day, three times a week.
The app is available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
Authorities trying to identify body found in freezer
Maine investigators were working on Monday to determine if a body found in a storage unit freezer is that of a woman who went missing 28 years ago after a fight with her boyfriend, police said.
The storage unit was rented by Frank Julian, 80, who died earlier this month, and was believed to be the last person to see Kitty Wardwell, his girlfriend, alive in the summer of 1983, state police spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
Family members cleaning out Julian's storage unit in Lewiston found the body on Friday and notified police. The medical examiner's office began work on Monday to identify it, McCausland said.
In addition to performing an autopsy, officials may use DNA analysis to determine if the body is that of Wardwell, who was reported missing in July 1983 by a friend.
At the time, Julian said he had left the then 29-year-old woman at a New Hampshire motel after a fight and returned to Maine alone, according to a missing persons report on the state police website.
Wardwell's sister also reported her missing months later.
The investigation said she was likely a victim of foul play. Julian had been questioned over the years about the case, which remained open, McCausland said.
McCausland said police have been in touch with Wardwell's family. He did not expect autopsy or identification results to be returned on Monday.
The storage unit was rented by Frank Julian, 80, who died earlier this month, and was believed to be the last person to see Kitty Wardwell, his girlfriend, alive in the summer of 1983, state police spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
Family members cleaning out Julian's storage unit in Lewiston found the body on Friday and notified police. The medical examiner's office began work on Monday to identify it, McCausland said.
In addition to performing an autopsy, officials may use DNA analysis to determine if the body is that of Wardwell, who was reported missing in July 1983 by a friend.
At the time, Julian said he had left the then 29-year-old woman at a New Hampshire motel after a fight and returned to Maine alone, according to a missing persons report on the state police website.
Wardwell's sister also reported her missing months later.
The investigation said she was likely a victim of foul play. Julian had been questioned over the years about the case, which remained open, McCausland said.
McCausland said police have been in touch with Wardwell's family. He did not expect autopsy or identification results to be returned on Monday.
Man, 87, nabbed with 228 pounds of cocaine, police say
An 87-year-old Indiana man was arraigned on drug charges in federal court in Detroit on Monday after police found 228 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $2.9 million in his pickup following a routine traffic stop. A state trooper patrolling Interstate 94 near Ann Arbor pulled over Leo Earl Sharp on Friday for following too closely and executing an improper lane change, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
When the trooper asked Sharp if he could search the truck, the octogenarian refused. So the trooper requested a backup unit with a dog trained to detect bombs and illegal drugs.
As the animal walked around the rear of Sharp's truck, it alerted to the possible presence of narcotics, the complaint said. During a subsequent search of the truck bed, troopers found 104 bricks of cocaine stashed in five bags.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Randon released Sharp, of Michigan City, Indiana, on $10,000 bond on Monday and scheduled a next hearing in the case for November.
Sharp was charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted, he faces at least 10 years in prison.
When the trooper asked Sharp if he could search the truck, the octogenarian refused. So the trooper requested a backup unit with a dog trained to detect bombs and illegal drugs.
As the animal walked around the rear of Sharp's truck, it alerted to the possible presence of narcotics, the complaint said. During a subsequent search of the truck bed, troopers found 104 bricks of cocaine stashed in five bags.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Randon released Sharp, of Michigan City, Indiana, on $10,000 bond on Monday and scheduled a next hearing in the case for November.
Sharp was charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted, he faces at least 10 years in prison.
Millions of escaped bees shut down highway
A flatbed truck carrying hundreds of beehives overturned near a construction zone on a Utah highway, freeing millions of bees and forcing authorities to temporarily close Interstate 15, officials said on Monday. "The driver lost control, hit the concrete barrier and rolled over. Of course, we then had bees everywhere," said Corporal Todd Johnson with the Utah Highway Patrol.
The highway in southern Utah was shut down for several hours on Sunday evening and Monday morning, officials said.
Local beekeepers worked through the night to gather the escaped bees. Officials said there was a net over the beehives but bees still managed to escape after the truck overturned.
The truck driver and two law enforcement officers responding to the accident were stung by bees but the stings were not life-threatening, Johnson said.
"There were about 450 colonies on the load and probably about 45,000 bees to the colony," said Richard Adee with Adee Honey Farms in Bruce, South Dakota.
That would translate to more than 20 million bees.
Adee said the bees were headed to Bakersfield, California for almond pollination next spring.
"We stacked the equipment back together, put them back on trucks and trailers and whatever we could find to move them out of there," said beekeeper Melvin Taylor of Santa Clara, Utah.
"Then we tried to move them as far out of the metropolitan area as we could. Because when those bees come alive today they are going to be mad that their house is all (broken) apart," Taylor added.
Taylor said bees not gathered and removed likely perished in the accident and cleanup.
The highway in southern Utah was shut down for several hours on Sunday evening and Monday morning, officials said.
Local beekeepers worked through the night to gather the escaped bees. Officials said there was a net over the beehives but bees still managed to escape after the truck overturned.
The truck driver and two law enforcement officers responding to the accident were stung by bees but the stings were not life-threatening, Johnson said.
"There were about 450 colonies on the load and probably about 45,000 bees to the colony," said Richard Adee with Adee Honey Farms in Bruce, South Dakota.
That would translate to more than 20 million bees.
Adee said the bees were headed to Bakersfield, California for almond pollination next spring.
"We stacked the equipment back together, put them back on trucks and trailers and whatever we could find to move them out of there," said beekeeper Melvin Taylor of Santa Clara, Utah.
"Then we tried to move them as far out of the metropolitan area as we could. Because when those bees come alive today they are going to be mad that their house is all (broken) apart," Taylor added.
Taylor said bees not gathered and removed likely perished in the accident and cleanup.
Want to buy a bridge? Kentucky's giving one away
Officials in Kentucky are so keen to get rid of an obsolete but historic bridge on a rural stretch of highway that they are trying to give it away -- and even offering to dismantle and deliver it to its new home for free. The 82-year-old span on state Route 80 in southeastern Kentucky needs to come down so a new bridge capable of handling heavier traffic can go up, the state Department of Highways said.
But state officials would prefer not to demolish the existing structure, a 450-foot metal truss span built in 1929 that is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. So they are seeking to give it away.
To sweeten the pot, the state is willing to have the bridge disassembled, transported and off-loaded at no charge. All the new owner has to do is reassemble and maintain it, said H.B. Elkins, spokesman for the Department of Highways, District 10, where the bridge is located.
"It's what they call functionally obsolete, meaning it's narrow and the trusses have low clearance," Elkins said. "But it's structurally sound. People use it every day."
Elkins said possible applicants could include a municipality, a state or even a private person in need of a stream crossing or a unique driveway.
As long as the old bridge is re-erected at the new site with its original characteristics retained, Kentucky does not care who gets it, Elkins said.
The only other asterisk: The cost of saving the bridge cannot exceed the estimated cost of demolishing it. Elkins said no one knows what that cost might be "because we haven't bid out the construction job for the new bridge."
This is the second bridge in Perry County that Kentucky has tried to give away in recent years. The deadline to apply is December 20, Elkins said.
With the first one, offered about five years ago, Elkins said there was plenty of interest upfront but no takers in the end.
"So we built the new bridge next to the old one, documented the old one with photographs and then demolished it," he said.
But state officials would prefer not to demolish the existing structure, a 450-foot metal truss span built in 1929 that is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. So they are seeking to give it away.
To sweeten the pot, the state is willing to have the bridge disassembled, transported and off-loaded at no charge. All the new owner has to do is reassemble and maintain it, said H.B. Elkins, spokesman for the Department of Highways, District 10, where the bridge is located.
"It's what they call functionally obsolete, meaning it's narrow and the trusses have low clearance," Elkins said. "But it's structurally sound. People use it every day."
Elkins said possible applicants could include a municipality, a state or even a private person in need of a stream crossing or a unique driveway.
As long as the old bridge is re-erected at the new site with its original characteristics retained, Kentucky does not care who gets it, Elkins said.
The only other asterisk: The cost of saving the bridge cannot exceed the estimated cost of demolishing it. Elkins said no one knows what that cost might be "because we haven't bid out the construction job for the new bridge."
This is the second bridge in Perry County that Kentucky has tried to give away in recent years. The deadline to apply is December 20, Elkins said.
With the first one, offered about five years ago, Elkins said there was plenty of interest upfront but no takers in the end.
"So we built the new bridge next to the old one, documented the old one with photographs and then demolished it," he said.
Cain video ad blows smoke in unorthodox campaign
A campaign video showing Republican presidential front-runner Herman Cain's chief of staff blowing smoke from a cigarette at the camera drew heavy play on the Internet on Tuesday. The video, which logged more than 100,000 views on Cain's YouTube website, kept up the former pizza executive's unpredictable playbook in a campaign for the presidential nomination that has soared in the last month.
In the video, his chief of staff Mark Block makes generic statements touting Cain's candidacy and then sucks on a cigarette and blows a little smoke into the camera.
"We've run a campaign like nobody's ever seen, but then America's never seen a candidate like Herman Cain," Block says.
As he inhales, a female vocalist sings: "I am America."
Cain, a former lobbyist, conservative radio talk show host and Baptist preacher who has never held public office, has jumped to the top of polls among Republican candidates vying for the nomination to try to unseat President Barack Obama, a Democrat, next year.
Supporters bill him as a blunt-speaking political outsider and alternative to fellow Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.
"It got watched, so it worked," said Mark McKinnon, a former communications strategist for George W. Bush, said of the Cain video. "The message: We are different and don't play by the rules," he said.
The video, which was posted days ago but gained Internet traction on Tuesday, was called "bizarre" and "strange" in some media reports. It also features a serious-looking Cain breaking into a grin in the last 10 seconds.
Cain, who is scrambling to assemble a team with just 10 weeks before the first crucial nominating contests in January, has said he would bring a sense of humor to the White House if elected president in 2012.
However, one former Cain activist in Iowa, who declined to be named, said: "Maybe he hasn't noticed, but smoking isn't the in vogue thing to do these days."
Block, who joined the campaign in January, stood by the advertisement, which he said was straightforward.
"You walk into a veterans' bar in Iowa and they're sitting around smoking, and yeah, we are resonating with them. I'm not the only one that smokes in America, for God's sake. It's a choice that I made, and was at the end of the ad," Block told Fox News.
In the video, his chief of staff Mark Block makes generic statements touting Cain's candidacy and then sucks on a cigarette and blows a little smoke into the camera.
"We've run a campaign like nobody's ever seen, but then America's never seen a candidate like Herman Cain," Block says.
As he inhales, a female vocalist sings: "I am America."
Cain, a former lobbyist, conservative radio talk show host and Baptist preacher who has never held public office, has jumped to the top of polls among Republican candidates vying for the nomination to try to unseat President Barack Obama, a Democrat, next year.
Supporters bill him as a blunt-speaking political outsider and alternative to fellow Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.
"It got watched, so it worked," said Mark McKinnon, a former communications strategist for George W. Bush, said of the Cain video. "The message: We are different and don't play by the rules," he said.
The video, which was posted days ago but gained Internet traction on Tuesday, was called "bizarre" and "strange" in some media reports. It also features a serious-looking Cain breaking into a grin in the last 10 seconds.
Cain, who is scrambling to assemble a team with just 10 weeks before the first crucial nominating contests in January, has said he would bring a sense of humor to the White House if elected president in 2012.
However, one former Cain activist in Iowa, who declined to be named, said: "Maybe he hasn't noticed, but smoking isn't the in vogue thing to do these days."
Block, who joined the campaign in January, stood by the advertisement, which he said was straightforward.
"You walk into a veterans' bar in Iowa and they're sitting around smoking, and yeah, we are resonating with them. I'm not the only one that smokes in America, for God's sake. It's a choice that I made, and was at the end of the ad," Block told Fox News.
Popular tattooed Barbie causes controversy
The doll with the dragon tattoo?
With pink hair and tattoos across her shoulders and neck, U.S. toymaker Mattel's latest collector's edition Barbie doll could be compared more to the edgy female heroine of author Stieg Larrson's best-selling Millennium trilogy than to the more traditional Barbies.
Since its release earlier this month online, the $50 limited edition doll designed by Los Angeles-based fashion company tokidoki and aimed at adult collectors, has sold out but not before causing controversy.
"Is the New 'Tokidoki' Tattoo Barbie Inappropriate for Children?" the magazine U.S. News & World Report asked in a recent headline.
Some parents in the United States also questioned whether the toy company that launched the original Barbie in 1959 should be promoting body art.
"It's teaching kids to want tattoos before they are old enough to dress like that," Kevin Buckner, of Virginia, told a local television station.
No one was available from Mattel to comment on the issue but not all the feedback has been negative. Some adults said the doll reflected modern fashion and pop culture.
"Have you seen Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Rihanna?" Candace Caswell, a 30-year-old mother from New York asked in an email interview, adding that the pop stars have tattoos and wear wigs and crazy clothes.
"They are capturing a snapshot of pop culture the way it really is. Barbie is not raising my daughter. I am," she added.
For Heather Gately Stoll, of Colorado, tattoos are not the issue.
"What is inappropriate for kids are her measurements," she said about the shapely doll. "If she can change personalities why can't she change her shape and size?"
And while New York mother Sue Dennis would not spend $50 on the doll, she is not offended by it.
"I have a 16 month-old son and the tokidoki Barbie is more the diverse image of women I would like to present to him versus more traditional ones," she said.
The tokidoki Barbie is not the first to sport tattoos. In 2009, some stores pulled Mattel's Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie following complaints, and a year earlier Mattel collaborated with motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson to produce a Barbie with wings tattooed on her back.
Production of tattooed Butterfly Art Barbie was halted in 1999 after parents voiced their concerns.
Gayatri Bhalla, 41, of Washington D.C, who writes a blog about experiences for tween girls, sees it as a marketing issue.
"One the one hand, the company likes to hold Barbie up as the iconic American toy for girls and use her to promote things that most parents wouldn't object to, such as Take Your Daughter To Work Day," she said.
"But they also create Barbie in images that a lot of parents wouldn't choose to hold up as a role model for their young daughters, and a full-body tattooed doll falls into this camp."
With pink hair and tattoos across her shoulders and neck, U.S. toymaker Mattel's latest collector's edition Barbie doll could be compared more to the edgy female heroine of author Stieg Larrson's best-selling Millennium trilogy than to the more traditional Barbies.
Since its release earlier this month online, the $50 limited edition doll designed by Los Angeles-based fashion company tokidoki and aimed at adult collectors, has sold out but not before causing controversy.
"Is the New 'Tokidoki' Tattoo Barbie Inappropriate for Children?" the magazine U.S. News & World Report asked in a recent headline.
Some parents in the United States also questioned whether the toy company that launched the original Barbie in 1959 should be promoting body art.
"It's teaching kids to want tattoos before they are old enough to dress like that," Kevin Buckner, of Virginia, told a local television station.
No one was available from Mattel to comment on the issue but not all the feedback has been negative. Some adults said the doll reflected modern fashion and pop culture.
"Have you seen Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Rihanna?" Candace Caswell, a 30-year-old mother from New York asked in an email interview, adding that the pop stars have tattoos and wear wigs and crazy clothes.
"They are capturing a snapshot of pop culture the way it really is. Barbie is not raising my daughter. I am," she added.
For Heather Gately Stoll, of Colorado, tattoos are not the issue.
"What is inappropriate for kids are her measurements," she said about the shapely doll. "If she can change personalities why can't she change her shape and size?"
And while New York mother Sue Dennis would not spend $50 on the doll, she is not offended by it.
"I have a 16 month-old son and the tokidoki Barbie is more the diverse image of women I would like to present to him versus more traditional ones," she said.
The tokidoki Barbie is not the first to sport tattoos. In 2009, some stores pulled Mattel's Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie following complaints, and a year earlier Mattel collaborated with motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson to produce a Barbie with wings tattooed on her back.
Production of tattooed Butterfly Art Barbie was halted in 1999 after parents voiced their concerns.
Gayatri Bhalla, 41, of Washington D.C, who writes a blog about experiences for tween girls, sees it as a marketing issue.
"One the one hand, the company likes to hold Barbie up as the iconic American toy for girls and use her to promote things that most parents wouldn't object to, such as Take Your Daughter To Work Day," she said.
"But they also create Barbie in images that a lot of parents wouldn't choose to hold up as a role model for their young daughters, and a full-body tattooed doll falls into this camp."
Elite Polish cops sacked for protecting Paris Hilton
Protecting Paris Hilton on the side could put you in danger of losing your real job.
Three Polish police commandos will lose their posts in an elite anti-terrorist unit for serving as bodyguards for the controversial celebrity during a recent visit to Poland.
"If the policemen who protected Hilton do not leave on their own by the end of the week, they will be disciplinarily fired," Dariusz Biel, the head of the regional police where the three serve, was quoted as saying this week.
Members of the anti-terrorist unit usually conceal their faces and must seek permission for any outside work.
The three commandos, who appeared in various photos on gossip sites with the blond hotel heiress, were also said to have carried their police weapons when they served as Hilton's bodyguards during her appearance at an opening of a shopping mall in Katowice, in southern Poland.
Three Polish police commandos will lose their posts in an elite anti-terrorist unit for serving as bodyguards for the controversial celebrity during a recent visit to Poland.
"If the policemen who protected Hilton do not leave on their own by the end of the week, they will be disciplinarily fired," Dariusz Biel, the head of the regional police where the three serve, was quoted as saying this week.
Members of the anti-terrorist unit usually conceal their faces and must seek permission for any outside work.
The three commandos, who appeared in various photos on gossip sites with the blond hotel heiress, were also said to have carried their police weapons when they served as Hilton's bodyguards during her appearance at an opening of a shopping mall in Katowice, in southern Poland.
Microchip reunites owner with Tennessee dog found near Detroit
Thanks to a microchip, Petey -- the Jack Russell terrier found in Michigan 600 miles from his Tennessee home after being lost for four months -- will be back in his master's lap by Thursday morning. "He'll fill a lot of lonely hours for my stepfather," Tyanne Morrison said of Petey.
Every morning, Jim Arrighi, 71, took his morning coffee outside in the small town of Erin west of Nashville with Petey sitting in his lap, until the 4-year-old dog disappeared.
No one knows how Petey made it from rural Erin to Rochester Hills, Michigan, which is about 20 miles north of Detroit, said Kevin Hatman, spokesman for the Michigan Human Society.
Morrison said the family always figured someone had stolen the dog, which has a kind nature and likes to go for rides.
"We don't have any ties in Michigan. Petey had gone a little bit out of the yard. He's a friendly dog," Morrison said in an interview on Wednesday.
After Petey disappeared, the family advertised in local newspapers, put out fliers and even used Facebook to search for the beloved lapdog.
But a microchip Arrighi had implanted in Petey made the difference, Hatman said, adding that fewer than 20 percent of missing dogs and 3 percent of cats are ever reunited with their masters.
"Microchips do make it more likely that a pet will be found," Hatman said. "One in three pets go missing sometime in their lives and the chances of them finding their way home aren't very good."
A Rochester Hills resident found Petey in his back yard and took it to a local Humane Society, where a scan revealed the microchip. Michigan Humane Society volunteer Nancy Geiser began the 600-mile trek to bring Petey home Wednesday. The reunion is set for mid-morning Thursday.
Arrighi had to listen to the Humane Society's phone message that Petey had been found three times before it sank in, Morrison said.
"He was dumbfounded. If it hadn't been for the chip, we'd have never have known what happened to him," Morrison said.
The reunion will be especially sweet for Arrighi, whose wife, Juanita, Morrison's mother, died two weeks ago four days before her 78th birthday, Morrison said.
"She loved that dog, too," Morrison said.
Every morning, Jim Arrighi, 71, took his morning coffee outside in the small town of Erin west of Nashville with Petey sitting in his lap, until the 4-year-old dog disappeared.
No one knows how Petey made it from rural Erin to Rochester Hills, Michigan, which is about 20 miles north of Detroit, said Kevin Hatman, spokesman for the Michigan Human Society.
Morrison said the family always figured someone had stolen the dog, which has a kind nature and likes to go for rides.
"We don't have any ties in Michigan. Petey had gone a little bit out of the yard. He's a friendly dog," Morrison said in an interview on Wednesday.
After Petey disappeared, the family advertised in local newspapers, put out fliers and even used Facebook to search for the beloved lapdog.
But a microchip Arrighi had implanted in Petey made the difference, Hatman said, adding that fewer than 20 percent of missing dogs and 3 percent of cats are ever reunited with their masters.
"Microchips do make it more likely that a pet will be found," Hatman said. "One in three pets go missing sometime in their lives and the chances of them finding their way home aren't very good."
A Rochester Hills resident found Petey in his back yard and took it to a local Humane Society, where a scan revealed the microchip. Michigan Humane Society volunteer Nancy Geiser began the 600-mile trek to bring Petey home Wednesday. The reunion is set for mid-morning Thursday.
Arrighi had to listen to the Humane Society's phone message that Petey had been found three times before it sank in, Morrison said.
"He was dumbfounded. If it hadn't been for the chip, we'd have never have known what happened to him," Morrison said.
The reunion will be especially sweet for Arrighi, whose wife, Juanita, Morrison's mother, died two weeks ago four days before her 78th birthday, Morrison said.
"She loved that dog, too," Morrison said.
Rare early Smurf drawings on sale
Rare original drawings of the Smurfs, blue-skinned cartoon characters created by Belgian artist Peyo, are set to fetch up to 120,000 euros ($167,000) each on Saturday in the first auction of the late artist's work.
The highlight of a sale of 33 full-page Peyo comic strips at the Artcurial auction house on the Champs-Elysees in Paris will be a black-and-white sketch -- "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute."
It is the first time Peyo's family has sold original Smurf artwork, although some drawings given as gifts has been sold, and the sale is drawing interest from enthusiasts worldwide.
"It was a stroke of genius on Peyo's part to have made the Smurfs blue because everyone -- whether they're Chinese or European -- can identify with them," said Eric Leroy, Artcurial's comic expert said.
The Magic Flute drawing was the basis for the cover of Peyo's 1960 "Johan and Peewit" comic, a precursor of the Smurf series in which the diminutive figures, who sport white pants and pointy hats, first appeared before becoming stars in their own right.
Smurfs -- or "Schtroumpfs," as they are called in French -- went on to achieve worldwide fame, appearing in widely syndicated television cartoons, advertising spots and movies.
"The whole world knows the Smurfs from TV, and children think it's an animated show, but the original was a comic strip," said Leroy.
The auction, and a recent exhibition of more than 200 original comic sheets and personal items belonging to Peyo, follows this year's successful release of the 3D movie "The Smurfs," which has grossed more than half a million dollars.
Prices for the signed cartoon panels run from 5,000 euros up to 120,000 euros, not an unusually high price for comic art given that in 2008 Artcurial sold a Tintin comic for around $1 million. Some proceeds will go to UNICEF.
Peyo -- whose real name was Pierre Culliford -- came up with the word "Schtroumpf" over a meal when he forgot the word for salt and asked a friend to pass him the "schtroumpf."
The two started to use "schtroumpf" to replace other words in a playful form of conversation that was to become the basis for the cartoon Smurfs' language.
Conceived for children, the Smurfs were all males, lived in mushroom-like houses in a cooperative community, rode storks for transport and derived names from their trades or personalities, such as Lazy Smurf, Jokey Smurf and Doctor Smurf.
The cartoon prompted its share of controversy this year when French sociologist Antoine Bueno wrote a book alleging that the Smurfs' world represented a totalitarian Communist utopia and their gold-loving villain Gargamel was a caricature of a Jew.
Peyo's son Thierry Culliford defended his father, saying that the late cartoonist was completely apolitical.
Since Peyo's death at age 64 in 1992, Thierry Culliford has led Studio Peyo, which still produces comics under Peyo's name.
The highlight of a sale of 33 full-page Peyo comic strips at the Artcurial auction house on the Champs-Elysees in Paris will be a black-and-white sketch -- "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute."
It is the first time Peyo's family has sold original Smurf artwork, although some drawings given as gifts has been sold, and the sale is drawing interest from enthusiasts worldwide.
"It was a stroke of genius on Peyo's part to have made the Smurfs blue because everyone -- whether they're Chinese or European -- can identify with them," said Eric Leroy, Artcurial's comic expert said.
The Magic Flute drawing was the basis for the cover of Peyo's 1960 "Johan and Peewit" comic, a precursor of the Smurf series in which the diminutive figures, who sport white pants and pointy hats, first appeared before becoming stars in their own right.
Smurfs -- or "Schtroumpfs," as they are called in French -- went on to achieve worldwide fame, appearing in widely syndicated television cartoons, advertising spots and movies.
"The whole world knows the Smurfs from TV, and children think it's an animated show, but the original was a comic strip," said Leroy.
The auction, and a recent exhibition of more than 200 original comic sheets and personal items belonging to Peyo, follows this year's successful release of the 3D movie "The Smurfs," which has grossed more than half a million dollars.
Prices for the signed cartoon panels run from 5,000 euros up to 120,000 euros, not an unusually high price for comic art given that in 2008 Artcurial sold a Tintin comic for around $1 million. Some proceeds will go to UNICEF.
Peyo -- whose real name was Pierre Culliford -- came up with the word "Schtroumpf" over a meal when he forgot the word for salt and asked a friend to pass him the "schtroumpf."
The two started to use "schtroumpf" to replace other words in a playful form of conversation that was to become the basis for the cartoon Smurfs' language.
Conceived for children, the Smurfs were all males, lived in mushroom-like houses in a cooperative community, rode storks for transport and derived names from their trades or personalities, such as Lazy Smurf, Jokey Smurf and Doctor Smurf.
The cartoon prompted its share of controversy this year when French sociologist Antoine Bueno wrote a book alleging that the Smurfs' world represented a totalitarian Communist utopia and their gold-loving villain Gargamel was a caricature of a Jew.
Peyo's son Thierry Culliford defended his father, saying that the late cartoonist was completely apolitical.
Since Peyo's death at age 64 in 1992, Thierry Culliford has led Studio Peyo, which still produces comics under Peyo's name.
Indian Grand Prix dogged by animals?
The odds on a dog running on to the track and interrupting the inaugural Indian Grand Prix were priced at 100-1 Friday despite two incidents during first practice at the Buddh circuit.
British bookmaker William Hill offered what looked like attractive odds on any part of third practice, qualifying or the Formula One race itself being delayed due to the presence of an animal on the circuit.
While Friday's problems might be shrugged off as not unusual for India, where animals dead and alive are traffic hazards, it was no laughing matter for the drivers and particularly for Renault's Brazilian Bruno Senna.
Senna, whose uncle and triple world champion Ayrton died in a crash at Imola in 1994, was lucky to escape unscathed when he hit a dog on the track during a GP2 race at the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix.
"I saw a dog at the entrance to the track today, near the paddock and it was the same dog that stopped the Formula BMW session," he told Reuters. "So that was a bit worrying.
"Hopefully they (the marshals) will be keeping a sharper eye out. It's better to happen in a practice session than happening in a race like happened in Turkey where out of the blue two dogs showed up.
"It's a major worry, a very serious issue and we hope we don't have to think about it any more... I have suffered the consequences once and thankfully came out of it alive," said Senna.
Driver safety is very much on the minds of everyone in Formula One after a grim few weeks for motorsport, with double Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli killed in track accidents.
The straight at the circuit near New Delhi is one of the longest in Formula One and cars will reach a top speed of around 315 kph. Hitting a dog even at far lower speeds could easily kill a driver if his head takes the impact.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso said he was confident the dog problem had been resolved.
"It was not good obviously to see animals running on the track," the double world champion told Reuters. "If this happened in a race situation it can become dangerous.
"If you are in a group of cars or something it can cause an accident... it is something that I am sure the circuit will avoid and I'm 100 percent confident that Sunday it will be no problem at all."
( For Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport)
British bookmaker William Hill offered what looked like attractive odds on any part of third practice, qualifying or the Formula One race itself being delayed due to the presence of an animal on the circuit.
While Friday's problems might be shrugged off as not unusual for India, where animals dead and alive are traffic hazards, it was no laughing matter for the drivers and particularly for Renault's Brazilian Bruno Senna.
Senna, whose uncle and triple world champion Ayrton died in a crash at Imola in 1994, was lucky to escape unscathed when he hit a dog on the track during a GP2 race at the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix.
"I saw a dog at the entrance to the track today, near the paddock and it was the same dog that stopped the Formula BMW session," he told Reuters. "So that was a bit worrying.
"Hopefully they (the marshals) will be keeping a sharper eye out. It's better to happen in a practice session than happening in a race like happened in Turkey where out of the blue two dogs showed up.
"It's a major worry, a very serious issue and we hope we don't have to think about it any more... I have suffered the consequences once and thankfully came out of it alive," said Senna.
Driver safety is very much on the minds of everyone in Formula One after a grim few weeks for motorsport, with double Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli killed in track accidents.
The straight at the circuit near New Delhi is one of the longest in Formula One and cars will reach a top speed of around 315 kph. Hitting a dog even at far lower speeds could easily kill a driver if his head takes the impact.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso said he was confident the dog problem had been resolved.
"It was not good obviously to see animals running on the track," the double world champion told Reuters. "If this happened in a race situation it can become dangerous.
"If you are in a group of cars or something it can cause an accident... it is something that I am sure the circuit will avoid and I'm 100 percent confident that Sunday it will be no problem at all."
( For Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport)
Boat captain arrested for drunken driving
The captain of a supply boat was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after his vessel ran aground early on Thursday in Anchorage's small-craft harbor, police said. It appears to be the first case of an alcohol-related marine accident at the port of Anchorage in recent memory, said Lieutenant Dave Parker of the Anchorage Police Department.
The vessel, a 53-foot cargo craft, was steered up onto the harbor's concrete boat ramp, where it was left "high and dry," Parker said. On its way into port, boat also appeared to have struck and damaged an offshore piling, he said.
A blood-alcohol test of the captain, Albert Anderson, 57, revealed he was at least one-and-a-half times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle or water craft, Parker said.
Police are treating the case as a routine drunken-driving incident, albeit one that does not involve a car, he said.
No oil spilled and there were no injuries from the accident, Parker said.
The vessel, a 53-foot cargo craft, was steered up onto the harbor's concrete boat ramp, where it was left "high and dry," Parker said. On its way into port, boat also appeared to have struck and damaged an offshore piling, he said.
A blood-alcohol test of the captain, Albert Anderson, 57, revealed he was at least one-and-a-half times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle or water craft, Parker said.
Police are treating the case as a routine drunken-driving incident, albeit one that does not involve a car, he said.
No oil spilled and there were no injuries from the accident, Parker said.
Marathon man undone by bus trip
A marathon runner was stripped of his third place medal after catching a bus to complete the last six miles of the race held in northern England last Sunday.
Organizers of the event said Rob Sloan, 31, withdrew 20 miles into the race, caught a spectator bus, then completed the final section of the course and crossed the finish line in third place with a personal-best time.
"He's the only runner in the whole of the race who ran the second half of the race quicker than the first half," Kielder Marathon event director Steve Cram, an Olympic medal-winning former runner, told BBC television Wednesday.
"He either turned into an Olympic athlete over the last eight miles ... or he used some other method to get to the finish line," Cram said.
Sloan had originally dismissed as "laughable" the allegation that he had cheated, but later admitted to skipping part of the circuit in Northumberland when Organizers began an investigation into claims he hitched a ride.
"This was rightly questioned by several witnesses including the third place finisher who has been awarded his prize," added the Organizers.
Organizers of the event said Rob Sloan, 31, withdrew 20 miles into the race, caught a spectator bus, then completed the final section of the course and crossed the finish line in third place with a personal-best time.
"He's the only runner in the whole of the race who ran the second half of the race quicker than the first half," Kielder Marathon event director Steve Cram, an Olympic medal-winning former runner, told BBC television Wednesday.
"He either turned into an Olympic athlete over the last eight miles ... or he used some other method to get to the finish line," Cram said.
Sloan had originally dismissed as "laughable" the allegation that he had cheated, but later admitted to skipping part of the circuit in Northumberland when Organizers began an investigation into claims he hitched a ride.
"This was rightly questioned by several witnesses including the third place finisher who has been awarded his prize," added the Organizers.
Bob Dylan blowin' in the bagpipes
Bob Dylan, forever looking for a new road to walk down, has taken up the bagpipes.
The 70-year-old singer bought a set of traditional Scottish pipes while in Glasgow to play two concerts this weekend, a spokesperson for the National Piping Center said.
Dylan did not turn up at the centre's shop himself but sent a representative to pick them up.
"He's always wanted to learn," the spokesperson told Reuters. "It's a lovely sound when they are played well, and something to be appreciated."
Dylan chose a set of R.G. Hardie pipes -- one of the best makes -- in the Piping Centre's tartan along with a starter package including a chanter and a learning manual. She declined to say how much he paid.
Dylan has often shown an affection for things Scottish. He has cited national poet Robert Burns as a big influence, has an honorary degree from St. Andrews University in Fife, and a number of his songs are rooted in Scottish folk tunes, including "The Times They Are A-Changing."
In a 1997 song "Highlands" he sang: "My heart's in the Highlands wherever I roam, that's where I'll be when I get called home."
But for those who wince at the thought of Dylan's raspy voice combining with the skirl of the pipes, it might a case of "There must be some way out of here."
The 70-year-old singer bought a set of traditional Scottish pipes while in Glasgow to play two concerts this weekend, a spokesperson for the National Piping Center said.
Dylan did not turn up at the centre's shop himself but sent a representative to pick them up.
"He's always wanted to learn," the spokesperson told Reuters. "It's a lovely sound when they are played well, and something to be appreciated."
Dylan chose a set of R.G. Hardie pipes -- one of the best makes -- in the Piping Centre's tartan along with a starter package including a chanter and a learning manual. She declined to say how much he paid.
Dylan has often shown an affection for things Scottish. He has cited national poet Robert Burns as a big influence, has an honorary degree from St. Andrews University in Fife, and a number of his songs are rooted in Scottish folk tunes, including "The Times They Are A-Changing."
In a 1997 song "Highlands" he sang: "My heart's in the Highlands wherever I roam, that's where I'll be when I get called home."
But for those who wince at the thought of Dylan's raspy voice combining with the skirl of the pipes, it might a case of "There must be some way out of here."
Hilary Swank "deeply regrets" attending Chechen party
Double Oscar winner Hilary Swank said on Thursday that she "deeply regrets" attending a birthday celebration last week in Chechnya for a leader accused of orchestrating torture and other human rights violations. Swank, 37, was one of a number of celebrities who traveled to the Chechen capital Grozny to attend a glitzy opening ceremony for a skyscraper complex that coincided with the 35th birthday of regional strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.
"I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights," Swank said in a statement.
Swank gave Kadyrov birthday wishes at the ceremony and told him "people are better dressed here than in New York." When asked by a Russian host if she knew it was Kadyrov's birthday, she said: "I do my research, I study what is going on here."
The "Million Dollar Baby" actress said on Thursday she agreed to go because the project was described to her as a symbol of hope, and that she had been requested by organizers on the day to wish Kadyrov a happy birthday.
She added she was unaware of Kadyrov's policies that human rights groups say promote fear, abductions, and executions of those involved in Chechnya's Islamist insurgency.
"I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights," Swank said.
Other celebrities included Belgian action star Jean Claude Van Damme, who told Kadyrov "I love you with all my heart." Violinist Vanessa Mae and British singer Seal also attended.
The Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said it had written an open letter to all the entertainers before the event asking them not to attend.
Human Rights Watch has urged the celebrities to return any money or gifts they may have received for attending the celebration.
Swank won best actress Oscars for her roles in "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby" and also starred in romantic drama "P.S. I Love You" and "Amelia".
"I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights," Swank said in a statement.
Swank gave Kadyrov birthday wishes at the ceremony and told him "people are better dressed here than in New York." When asked by a Russian host if she knew it was Kadyrov's birthday, she said: "I do my research, I study what is going on here."
The "Million Dollar Baby" actress said on Thursday she agreed to go because the project was described to her as a symbol of hope, and that she had been requested by organizers on the day to wish Kadyrov a happy birthday.
She added she was unaware of Kadyrov's policies that human rights groups say promote fear, abductions, and executions of those involved in Chechnya's Islamist insurgency.
"I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights," Swank said.
Other celebrities included Belgian action star Jean Claude Van Damme, who told Kadyrov "I love you with all my heart." Violinist Vanessa Mae and British singer Seal also attended.
The Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said it had written an open letter to all the entertainers before the event asking them not to attend.
Human Rights Watch has urged the celebrities to return any money or gifts they may have received for attending the celebration.
Swank won best actress Oscars for her roles in "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby" and also starred in romantic drama "P.S. I Love You" and "Amelia".
Man arrested for conducting exit poll
Singapore has arrested a man linked to a popular socio-political website for conducting an exit poll ahead of the general election in May, the island's leading Sunday newspaper said.
Joseph Ong Chor Teck was arrested for offences under the Parliamentary Elections Act and has since been released on bail pending further investigations, a police spokesman said, confirming a story in The Sunday Times.
The police did not provide more details. It is an offence to carry out private polls around an election in Singapore.
The newspaper said that Ong was linked to Temasek Review (http://www.temasekreview.com/), a popular website for political commentary that is mostly critical of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). The site went offline about a month ago.
Ong was arrested on Sept 3 for conducting an exit poll during the general election on May 7, said the Sunday Times, part of the Straits Times group, which usually reflects government views.
Singapore's long-ruling PAP swept back to power in May in the most hotly contested general election since independence, but the opposition also made historic gains.
PAP's share of the vote fell to a record low 60 percent in the election against 67 percent in 2006, due to discontent over income gaps and immigration policy seen as too lax.
Singapore, the Asian base for many banks and multinational companies, gets top rankings as an investment destination and for ease of doing business in international surveys.
But critics say the city-state has few of the outlets for grievances normally found in a democratic society.
Amnesty International criticizes the government for penalizing activists for exercising their right to free speech, while Reporters without Borders ranks Singapore 136th in terms of press freedom, below the likes of Iraq and Zimbabwe.
Joseph Ong Chor Teck was arrested for offences under the Parliamentary Elections Act and has since been released on bail pending further investigations, a police spokesman said, confirming a story in The Sunday Times.
The police did not provide more details. It is an offence to carry out private polls around an election in Singapore.
The newspaper said that Ong was linked to Temasek Review (http://www.temasekreview.com/), a popular website for political commentary that is mostly critical of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). The site went offline about a month ago.
Ong was arrested on Sept 3 for conducting an exit poll during the general election on May 7, said the Sunday Times, part of the Straits Times group, which usually reflects government views.
Singapore's long-ruling PAP swept back to power in May in the most hotly contested general election since independence, but the opposition also made historic gains.
PAP's share of the vote fell to a record low 60 percent in the election against 67 percent in 2006, due to discontent over income gaps and immigration policy seen as too lax.
Singapore, the Asian base for many banks and multinational companies, gets top rankings as an investment destination and for ease of doing business in international surveys.
But critics say the city-state has few of the outlets for grievances normally found in a democratic society.
Amnesty International criticizes the government for penalizing activists for exercising their right to free speech, while Reporters without Borders ranks Singapore 136th in terms of press freedom, below the likes of Iraq and Zimbabwe.
Lions, tigers, bears run loose at Ohio exotic animal farm
A shoot-to-kill order on lions, tigers, bears and other animals on the loose from an Ohio exotic pet farm was lifted at daylight on Wednesday as police armed with tranquilizer guns scoured the surrounding neighborhoods.
It was still unclear what caused the death of Terry Thompson, the owner of the farm in the east-central Ohio town of Zanesville, whose body was found on the ground late Tuesday when authorities went to the site to check on him following reports of wild animals running free in the area.
"There are 30-35 animals accounted for and may be more on the property," Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz told ABC News early Wednesday.
Earlier Lutz said his deputies had shot dead about 25 animals. One of them was a bear that attacked a law enforcement officer, Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, told ABC News.
Another eight animals, most of them described as "big cats," were still loose on Wednesday, authorities said.
One official put the figure higher.
"We're still concerned about animals that are out," Kim Hambel, director of operations for the Muskingham County Sheriff's Department, told CNN.
"We sent a deputy, a wildlife officer and a vet into the property to do a search and recovery. We think we still have 14 to 15 animals unaccounted for."
Lutz, who had issued a shoot-to-kill order overnight, said daylight would allow his force to tranquilize animals for capture instead.
"If there is any attempt we can do to tranquilize we will do that," he said.
Lutz described the animals found as "mature, very big and aggressive." The farm was home to a plethora of species including grizzly bears, black bears, lions, tigers and cheetahs.
Police were warning residents in the area to stay inside to keep safe, and area schools were ordered closed for Wednesday as a precaution. So far, no members of the public were known to have been hurt or killed by the animals.
Police work focused on securing the area around the farm, near Interstate 70 about a mile west of the city limits of Zanesville, and making sure the animals were taken care of.
Deputies, their search efforts hampered by heavy rain, were combing the area for any animals still missing.
Veterinarians from the Columbus Zoo, and from The Wilds, located about 20 miles away, were standing by to offer assistance if needed. The Wilds is North America's largest Conservation Facility for Endangered Species.
Hanna said personnel from The Wilds were called in years ago to help local officials over complaints from neighbors about the wild exotic animal farm.
Lutz said authorities were searching for the animals from their vehicles and were not walking through the heavily wooded rugged area. He said his office was also relying on neighbors and citizens in the area to report any animals they see.
Officials in Zanesville and the West Muskingum Local School district have said schools would be closed on Wednesday, while officials in other districts have said schools would close or were considering delaying opening hours.
It was still unclear what caused the death of Terry Thompson, the owner of the farm in the east-central Ohio town of Zanesville, whose body was found on the ground late Tuesday when authorities went to the site to check on him following reports of wild animals running free in the area.
"There are 30-35 animals accounted for and may be more on the property," Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz told ABC News early Wednesday.
Earlier Lutz said his deputies had shot dead about 25 animals. One of them was a bear that attacked a law enforcement officer, Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, told ABC News.
Another eight animals, most of them described as "big cats," were still loose on Wednesday, authorities said.
One official put the figure higher.
"We're still concerned about animals that are out," Kim Hambel, director of operations for the Muskingham County Sheriff's Department, told CNN.
"We sent a deputy, a wildlife officer and a vet into the property to do a search and recovery. We think we still have 14 to 15 animals unaccounted for."
Lutz, who had issued a shoot-to-kill order overnight, said daylight would allow his force to tranquilize animals for capture instead.
"If there is any attempt we can do to tranquilize we will do that," he said.
Lutz described the animals found as "mature, very big and aggressive." The farm was home to a plethora of species including grizzly bears, black bears, lions, tigers and cheetahs.
Police were warning residents in the area to stay inside to keep safe, and area schools were ordered closed for Wednesday as a precaution. So far, no members of the public were known to have been hurt or killed by the animals.
Police work focused on securing the area around the farm, near Interstate 70 about a mile west of the city limits of Zanesville, and making sure the animals were taken care of.
Deputies, their search efforts hampered by heavy rain, were combing the area for any animals still missing.
Veterinarians from the Columbus Zoo, and from The Wilds, located about 20 miles away, were standing by to offer assistance if needed. The Wilds is North America's largest Conservation Facility for Endangered Species.
Hanna said personnel from The Wilds were called in years ago to help local officials over complaints from neighbors about the wild exotic animal farm.
Lutz said authorities were searching for the animals from their vehicles and were not walking through the heavily wooded rugged area. He said his office was also relying on neighbors and citizens in the area to report any animals they see.
Officials in Zanesville and the West Muskingum Local School district have said schools would be closed on Wednesday, while officials in other districts have said schools would close or were considering delaying opening hours.
Freed tigers, lions and bears cause panic in Ohio
Dozens of exotic animals including tigers, lions and bears were let loose on Ohio farmland by their owner before he committed suicide, sparking a shoot-to-kill hunt in which 49 of the wild beasts, including 18 endangered Bengal tigers, were killed. As the huge animals roamed inside and outside the 73-acre (30-hectare) farm near Zanesville in eastern Ohio, schools were shut and panicked residents were told to stay inside on Wednesday.
Authorities killed 49 of the 56 animals, some at close range, including the tigers, six black bears, two grizzlies, two wolves and 17 lions, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz.
A macaque monkey, possibly carrying the Herpes B virus, remained at large. A wolf Lutz said was on the loose actually had been killed on Monday night, the sheriff's office said.
One of the escaped big cats reached an interstate highway and was hit by a car. Authorities posted electronic warning signs, "Caution Exotic Animals" for motorists.
"We are not talking about your normal everyday house cat or dog. These are 300-pound Bengal tigers that we had to put down," Lutz said. "I gave the order ... that if animals looked like they were on their way out, they were put down."
The dead animals have been buried on the farm, he said. Survivors were taken to the Columbus Zoo, including three leopards, a grizzly and two macaque monkeys.
Owner Terry Thompson, 62, who had been charged with animal cruelty 11 times since 2004, was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted wound when authorities went to the farm on Tuesday after reports of animals running free, Lutz said. They found gates and animal pens open, but no suicide note.
"There were animals running loose outside the fenced area," he said. Some, including primates, were captured at the farm.
Lutz said animals kept at the farm included many types of big cats such as cheetahs, mountain lions and leopards, in addition to lions and tigers.
Authorities said they had received about 35 calls about the menagerie over the years, ranging from animals running loose to animals not being treated properly, Lutz said.
"We've handled numerous complaints here, we've done numerous inspections here," he said. "So this has been a huge problem for us for a number of years."
There were complaints that Thompson left horses undernourished, then fed them to lions when they died, said Larry Hostetler, executive director of the Muskingum County Animal Shelter.
However, he met the bare minimum requirements for keeping the animals, he said.
Thompson was released last month from federal prison on a firearms conviction. Lutz said Thompson's wife, Marian, was no longer living at the farm. She will return to care for some remaining horses, he said.
DANGEROUS ANIMALS
Lutz described the freed animals found as "mature, very big and aggressive."
The sheriff said they tried to shoot some of the animals with tranquilizer guns but encountered problems.
"We just had a huge tiger, an adult tiger that must've weighed 300 pounds that was very aggressive," Lutz said. "We got a tranquilizer in it and this thing just went crazy."
Barbara Wolfe, a veterinarian, said she shot a tranquilizer dart into the tiger, but it got up and charged her from 15 feet away. A deputy shot the tiger dead.
"I've never been in fear of my life more than then," Wolfe said. She works at The Wilds, a refuge not far away from Zanesville that keeps exotic animals like rhinos and giraffes.
Lutz said he issued a shoot-to-kill order on Tuesday evening and stationed officers on Interstate 70 about a mile west of the Zanesville city limits to prevent animals from crossing.
He said he also ordered the schools closed on Wednesday. "We didn't want kids standing at the bus stop" while wild animals were loose, Lutz said.
Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, told the news conference Lutz and his deputies did the right thing.
"These are dangerous animals," Hanna said. "If you had 18 Bengal tigers running around these neighborhoods, you wouldn't have wanted to see what would have happened."
Authorities killed 49 of the 56 animals, some at close range, including the tigers, six black bears, two grizzlies, two wolves and 17 lions, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz.
A macaque monkey, possibly carrying the Herpes B virus, remained at large. A wolf Lutz said was on the loose actually had been killed on Monday night, the sheriff's office said.
One of the escaped big cats reached an interstate highway and was hit by a car. Authorities posted electronic warning signs, "Caution Exotic Animals" for motorists.
"We are not talking about your normal everyday house cat or dog. These are 300-pound Bengal tigers that we had to put down," Lutz said. "I gave the order ... that if animals looked like they were on their way out, they were put down."
The dead animals have been buried on the farm, he said. Survivors were taken to the Columbus Zoo, including three leopards, a grizzly and two macaque monkeys.
Owner Terry Thompson, 62, who had been charged with animal cruelty 11 times since 2004, was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted wound when authorities went to the farm on Tuesday after reports of animals running free, Lutz said. They found gates and animal pens open, but no suicide note.
"There were animals running loose outside the fenced area," he said. Some, including primates, were captured at the farm.
Lutz said animals kept at the farm included many types of big cats such as cheetahs, mountain lions and leopards, in addition to lions and tigers.
Authorities said they had received about 35 calls about the menagerie over the years, ranging from animals running loose to animals not being treated properly, Lutz said.
"We've handled numerous complaints here, we've done numerous inspections here," he said. "So this has been a huge problem for us for a number of years."
There were complaints that Thompson left horses undernourished, then fed them to lions when they died, said Larry Hostetler, executive director of the Muskingum County Animal Shelter.
However, he met the bare minimum requirements for keeping the animals, he said.
Thompson was released last month from federal prison on a firearms conviction. Lutz said Thompson's wife, Marian, was no longer living at the farm. She will return to care for some remaining horses, he said.
DANGEROUS ANIMALS
Lutz described the freed animals found as "mature, very big and aggressive."
The sheriff said they tried to shoot some of the animals with tranquilizer guns but encountered problems.
"We just had a huge tiger, an adult tiger that must've weighed 300 pounds that was very aggressive," Lutz said. "We got a tranquilizer in it and this thing just went crazy."
Barbara Wolfe, a veterinarian, said she shot a tranquilizer dart into the tiger, but it got up and charged her from 15 feet away. A deputy shot the tiger dead.
"I've never been in fear of my life more than then," Wolfe said. She works at The Wilds, a refuge not far away from Zanesville that keeps exotic animals like rhinos and giraffes.
Lutz said he issued a shoot-to-kill order on Tuesday evening and stationed officers on Interstate 70 about a mile west of the Zanesville city limits to prevent animals from crossing.
He said he also ordered the schools closed on Wednesday. "We didn't want kids standing at the bus stop" while wild animals were loose, Lutz said.
Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, told the news conference Lutz and his deputies did the right thing.
"These are dangerous animals," Hanna said. "If you had 18 Bengal tigers running around these neighborhoods, you wouldn't have wanted to see what would have happened."
Charging bear got close to police before shot dead
A deputy sheriff shot dead an aggressive bear that got within a few feet of him as police confronted dozens of dangerous animals set loose by a collector who then killed himself, authorities said on Thursday.
The bear was one of the first animals put down as deputies hunted 56 lions, tigers, bears and other beasts freed on Terry Thompson's Zanesville, Ohio, farm, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matthew Lutz.
The bear, which was "showing aggressive behavior," got within 7 feet of the deputy, Lutz said, one of several instances of close encounters his deputies had with the animals. Lutz said the aggressive animal was a factor in his decision to issue a shoot-to-kill order.
Thompson, 62, an exotic animal collector, set off a panic in the Zanesville area by freeing the animals before killing himself with a gun. An autopsy showed Thompson's head was bitten by one of the animals, likely a big cat, shortly after he committed suicide, Lutz said.
The last of the animals that was unaccounted for, a macaque monkey, may have been eaten by one of the big cats,
The sheriff would not speculate on Thompson's motive in releasing the animals, which prompted alarm in the rural Ohio community, with schools ordered closed and residents told to stay indoors as deputies hunted down the beasts.
The sheriff said no note was found with Thompson's body. Thompson and his wife had been living apart, the sheriff said.
Thompson was released late last month from a year-long prison sentence for violating federal gun laws, according to the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Attorney's office in Columbus.
Police said they visited the farm more than 30 times since 2004 after complaints about loose or mistreated animals, and Thompson was charged several times with animal cruelty.
Of the 56 animals in the menagerie, 49 were killed and buried on the farm. Three leopards, a young grizzly bear and two macaque monkeys were recaptured and sent to the Columbus Zoo animal hospital, where a spokeswoman said they were doing well.
The fresh remains of a monkey on the farm suggested that the big cats killed and devoured it, leading authorities to believe the missing monkey may also have been consumed.
Lutz defended his order to shoot to kill the animals, which included 18 Bengal tigers and several adult lions.
"It was a terrible situation, incredibly chaotic," Lutz said.
There was only an hour of daylight left when deputies arrived; they used sidearms and rifles to shoot the animals.
It was not known where Thompson acquired the animals, Lutz said, which once included camels and a giraffe.
Two Ohio state legislators proposed legislation on Thursday that would sharply restrict private ownership of dangerous exotic animals.
"Most private citizens do not have the proper training or resources to take care of wild animals ... which poses a danger to themselves as well as other community members, said Democratic state representative Debbie Phillips.
The proposal allows existing owners with federal licenses to keep their animals but owners must register them with the state and embed microchips in them in case of escape.
The Humane Society of the United States said Ohio is among several U.S. states that do little to regulate exotic animal ownership.
The bear was one of the first animals put down as deputies hunted 56 lions, tigers, bears and other beasts freed on Terry Thompson's Zanesville, Ohio, farm, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matthew Lutz.
The bear, which was "showing aggressive behavior," got within 7 feet of the deputy, Lutz said, one of several instances of close encounters his deputies had with the animals. Lutz said the aggressive animal was a factor in his decision to issue a shoot-to-kill order.
Thompson, 62, an exotic animal collector, set off a panic in the Zanesville area by freeing the animals before killing himself with a gun. An autopsy showed Thompson's head was bitten by one of the animals, likely a big cat, shortly after he committed suicide, Lutz said.
The last of the animals that was unaccounted for, a macaque monkey, may have been eaten by one of the big cats,
The sheriff would not speculate on Thompson's motive in releasing the animals, which prompted alarm in the rural Ohio community, with schools ordered closed and residents told to stay indoors as deputies hunted down the beasts.
The sheriff said no note was found with Thompson's body. Thompson and his wife had been living apart, the sheriff said.
Thompson was released late last month from a year-long prison sentence for violating federal gun laws, according to the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Attorney's office in Columbus.
Police said they visited the farm more than 30 times since 2004 after complaints about loose or mistreated animals, and Thompson was charged several times with animal cruelty.
Of the 56 animals in the menagerie, 49 were killed and buried on the farm. Three leopards, a young grizzly bear and two macaque monkeys were recaptured and sent to the Columbus Zoo animal hospital, where a spokeswoman said they were doing well.
The fresh remains of a monkey on the farm suggested that the big cats killed and devoured it, leading authorities to believe the missing monkey may also have been consumed.
Lutz defended his order to shoot to kill the animals, which included 18 Bengal tigers and several adult lions.
"It was a terrible situation, incredibly chaotic," Lutz said.
There was only an hour of daylight left when deputies arrived; they used sidearms and rifles to shoot the animals.
It was not known where Thompson acquired the animals, Lutz said, which once included camels and a giraffe.
Two Ohio state legislators proposed legislation on Thursday that would sharply restrict private ownership of dangerous exotic animals.
"Most private citizens do not have the proper training or resources to take care of wild animals ... which poses a danger to themselves as well as other community members, said Democratic state representative Debbie Phillips.
The proposal allows existing owners with federal licenses to keep their animals but owners must register them with the state and embed microchips in them in case of escape.
The Humane Society of the United States said Ohio is among several U.S. states that do little to regulate exotic animal ownership.
Half in U.S. support legalizing marijuana use, poll finds
Half of Americans now support legalizing marijuana use, a record level, amid growing support for decriminalization that could build pressure to eventually change U.S. laws on the drug, a Gallup poll showed on Monday.
The poll showed that support was highest among liberals and adults under age 30, with more than 60 percent of respondents in those categories favoring legalization. Support was lowest, at just 31 percent, among Americans over age 65.
"Support for legalizing marijuana has been increasing over the past several years, rising to 50 percent today, the highest on record," a summary of the poll said. Another 46 percent said marijuana should remain illegal.
"If this current trend on legalizing marijuana continues, pressure may build to bring the nation's laws into compliance with the people's wishes," the summary added.
Gallup said support for legalization had crept up from just 12 percent in 1969 to 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009. Last year, a Gallup survey found 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana to relieve pain and suffering.
California in 1996 became the first state to decriminalize medical marijuana, and a number of other U.S. states have followed suit with their own statutes. Cannabis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under federal law.
A separate national survey released last month showed that marijuana was increasingly becoming the drug of choice among young adults in the United States, with nearly 7 percent of Americans aged 12 and older having used marijuana in 2010.
The Gallup poll released on Monday showed that Democrats, at 57 percent, were more likely to support legalization than Republicans, only 35 percent of whom favored such a move. Men, at 55 percent, were also more likely to back legalization than women, at 46 percent.
By geography, more than half of Americans in the West, Midwest and East supported legalization while in the South, 44 percent favored such a move.
The poll was based on telephone interviews conducted between October 6-9 with a random sample of 1,005 adults across the country. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The poll showed that support was highest among liberals and adults under age 30, with more than 60 percent of respondents in those categories favoring legalization. Support was lowest, at just 31 percent, among Americans over age 65.
"Support for legalizing marijuana has been increasing over the past several years, rising to 50 percent today, the highest on record," a summary of the poll said. Another 46 percent said marijuana should remain illegal.
"If this current trend on legalizing marijuana continues, pressure may build to bring the nation's laws into compliance with the people's wishes," the summary added.
Gallup said support for legalization had crept up from just 12 percent in 1969 to 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009. Last year, a Gallup survey found 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana to relieve pain and suffering.
California in 1996 became the first state to decriminalize medical marijuana, and a number of other U.S. states have followed suit with their own statutes. Cannabis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under federal law.
A separate national survey released last month showed that marijuana was increasingly becoming the drug of choice among young adults in the United States, with nearly 7 percent of Americans aged 12 and older having used marijuana in 2010.
The Gallup poll released on Monday showed that Democrats, at 57 percent, were more likely to support legalization than Republicans, only 35 percent of whom favored such a move. Men, at 55 percent, were also more likely to back legalization than women, at 46 percent.
By geography, more than half of Americans in the West, Midwest and East supported legalization while in the South, 44 percent favored such a move.
The poll was based on telephone interviews conducted between October 6-9 with a random sample of 1,005 adults across the country. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Los Angeles police "embarrassed" after gun cache stolen
Los Angeles police officials searched on Monday for a stolen cache of submachine guns and semi-automatic handguns that disappeared from a SWAT training facility, and said they were embarrassed by the loss. More than 30 Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns and M1911 pistols that had been stored at the training facility were stolen, Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Karen Rayner said.
The weapons had been altered to fire blanks, and it would be "difficult" -- although not impossible -- to convert them back to full use, she said.
"If somebody knew what they were doing, it would be rather labor intensive but it is possible to get them fully functional again," Rayner said.
The guns were discovered missing last week after they were kept overnight in a warehouse without cameras or alarms on the SWAT training grounds, Rayner said. She said there have so far been no arrests in the case or leads in the recovery effort.
Police were considering the possibility of the theft being an inside job, Commander Andrew Smith told a news conference to announce the thefts.
"It's embarrassing," Smith said. "Once in a while we'll have a police car get stolen. That's certainly embarrassing, and any time we lose any of our property it's embarrassing and we want to get it back."
The weapons had been altered to fire blanks, and it would be "difficult" -- although not impossible -- to convert them back to full use, she said.
"If somebody knew what they were doing, it would be rather labor intensive but it is possible to get them fully functional again," Rayner said.
The guns were discovered missing last week after they were kept overnight in a warehouse without cameras or alarms on the SWAT training grounds, Rayner said. She said there have so far been no arrests in the case or leads in the recovery effort.
Police were considering the possibility of the theft being an inside job, Commander Andrew Smith told a news conference to announce the thefts.
"It's embarrassing," Smith said. "Once in a while we'll have a police car get stolen. That's certainly embarrassing, and any time we lose any of our property it's embarrassing and we want to get it back."
Ice cream vendor gets prison for selling drugs with treats
An ice cream vendor who peddled prescription painkillers from the same truck he sold frozen treats to kids, was sentenced on Tuesday to three and a half years in prison. The sentence was part of a plea deal struck by Louis Scala, 30, the head of a $1 million drug-trafficking ring run out of his Lickety Split truck, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Scala, 30, obtained the drugs with a prescription pad stolen by an accomplice from a Manhattan doctor's office. Through a network of more than two dozen runners, he was able to get nearly 43,000 oxycodone pills between July 2009 and June 2010, with a street value of $20 apiece, prosecutors said.
Scala drove his Lickety Split truck through neighborhoods in Staten Island, selling ice cream to children while inviting adults into the back to buy pills.
Recreational use of oxycodone, often known by the brand name OxyContin, produces an addictive, heroin-like high.
The city's Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor says the number of oxycodone prescriptions filled in New York City doubled between 2007 and 2010 to 1 million, evidence of a "dangerous drug epidemic."
Scala, wearing a sweater and casual pants, was kissed by his father and uncle in court and then faced Judge Jill Korviser. He declined the chance to speak before he was sentenced.
Scala's relatives declined to speak after the hearing.
"The family now just want to move on," Patrick Parrotta, Scala's attorney, told reporters.
Charges against Scala's alleged partner in crime, Joseph Zuffalo, are still pending.
Scala, 30, obtained the drugs with a prescription pad stolen by an accomplice from a Manhattan doctor's office. Through a network of more than two dozen runners, he was able to get nearly 43,000 oxycodone pills between July 2009 and June 2010, with a street value of $20 apiece, prosecutors said.
Scala drove his Lickety Split truck through neighborhoods in Staten Island, selling ice cream to children while inviting adults into the back to buy pills.
Recreational use of oxycodone, often known by the brand name OxyContin, produces an addictive, heroin-like high.
The city's Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor says the number of oxycodone prescriptions filled in New York City doubled between 2007 and 2010 to 1 million, evidence of a "dangerous drug epidemic."
Scala, wearing a sweater and casual pants, was kissed by his father and uncle in court and then faced Judge Jill Korviser. He declined the chance to speak before he was sentenced.
Scala's relatives declined to speak after the hearing.
"The family now just want to move on," Patrick Parrotta, Scala's attorney, told reporters.
Charges against Scala's alleged partner in crime, Joseph Zuffalo, are still pending.
For Christmas at U.S. store: a $75,000 yurt
Looking for a Christmas present for someone who has everything? A U.S. department store may have the perfect gift -- a $75,000 yurt.
A luxury version of the tent usually associated with Mongol nomads is one of the fantasy gifts in the 2011 Neiman Marcus Christmas book.
At 18 feet in diameter, the hand-painted yurt is "the ideal simulation of a genie's posh bottle," the catalog says. The portable structure includes one-of-a-kind designer down-filled pillows and a crystal chandelier.
Not interested in nomadic outdoor living? How about a $125,000 custom-built library from luxury book publisher Assouline? It has custom-carpeting, objets d'art and framed prints, as well as 250 current or vintage books of the customer's choice.
For those with a bit more to spend, there is a $420,000 international flower show tour, arranged by JetWay private air. The tour, for 10 people, begins at the tulip festival in Merges, Switzerland, and makes stops at the Kifissia flower show in Athens, the Altera rose festival in Avignon, France, and the Chelsea flower show in London.
Neiman Marcus will also make contributions to charities like FirstBook, which provides access to new books for children in need, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
The Christmas book, first published in 1926, has become an annual display of pricey fantasy gifts mixed in with more prosaic items such as $95 sterling silver earrings.
Neiman Marcus will donate $10,000 to Water.org, an organization that helps provide safe drinking water and sanitation in developing countries, in return for the $1 million purchase of his-and-her dancing water fountains from Wet, which designed the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
This year's edition comes as the wealthy are facing assaults from various directions, including the Occupy Wall Street protest movement and its global offshoots, an expected drop of 20 percent or more in investment banking bonus pools and a volatile stock market.
For something a bit less expensive there is a $5,000 Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky tasting, complete with an authentic Scottish bagpiper and master of whisky telling the history and attributes of the various spirits.
A luxury version of the tent usually associated with Mongol nomads is one of the fantasy gifts in the 2011 Neiman Marcus Christmas book.
At 18 feet in diameter, the hand-painted yurt is "the ideal simulation of a genie's posh bottle," the catalog says. The portable structure includes one-of-a-kind designer down-filled pillows and a crystal chandelier.
Not interested in nomadic outdoor living? How about a $125,000 custom-built library from luxury book publisher Assouline? It has custom-carpeting, objets d'art and framed prints, as well as 250 current or vintage books of the customer's choice.
For those with a bit more to spend, there is a $420,000 international flower show tour, arranged by JetWay private air. The tour, for 10 people, begins at the tulip festival in Merges, Switzerland, and makes stops at the Kifissia flower show in Athens, the Altera rose festival in Avignon, France, and the Chelsea flower show in London.
Neiman Marcus will also make contributions to charities like FirstBook, which provides access to new books for children in need, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
The Christmas book, first published in 1926, has become an annual display of pricey fantasy gifts mixed in with more prosaic items such as $95 sterling silver earrings.
Neiman Marcus will donate $10,000 to Water.org, an organization that helps provide safe drinking water and sanitation in developing countries, in return for the $1 million purchase of his-and-her dancing water fountains from Wet, which designed the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
This year's edition comes as the wealthy are facing assaults from various directions, including the Occupy Wall Street protest movement and its global offshoots, an expected drop of 20 percent or more in investment banking bonus pools and a volatile stock market.
For something a bit less expensive there is a $5,000 Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky tasting, complete with an authentic Scottish bagpiper and master of whisky telling the history and attributes of the various spirits.
Silver-screen strategy nets New York robbers $217,000
Accused New York thieves have been using a Hollywood-born strategy to rob dozens of small stores, telling police they were inspired by the 2010 movie "The Town" to splash bleach on the crime scenes, according to the police.
In what were dubbed the "splash-and-dash" robberies, the suspects would throw bleach over cash machines and cash drawers in a bid to erase their DNA evidence, the New York Police Department said.
They targeted dozens of corner stores, discount stores and pizzerias, netting $217,000 in the past year, police said.
"(The suspects) told detectives that they were inspired by the Ben Affleck movie 'The Town' in which the protagonists used bleach to cover their tracks," police said in a statement.
These suspects also would cut electrical power to the robbery locations and use miners' headlamps to work in the dark, the police said.
Four men have been charged in connection to 62 robberies, and two were scheduled to appear in Brooklyn criminal court.
In what were dubbed the "splash-and-dash" robberies, the suspects would throw bleach over cash machines and cash drawers in a bid to erase their DNA evidence, the New York Police Department said.
They targeted dozens of corner stores, discount stores and pizzerias, netting $217,000 in the past year, police said.
"(The suspects) told detectives that they were inspired by the Ben Affleck movie 'The Town' in which the protagonists used bleach to cover their tracks," police said in a statement.
These suspects also would cut electrical power to the robbery locations and use miners' headlamps to work in the dark, the police said.
Four men have been charged in connection to 62 robberies, and two were scheduled to appear in Brooklyn criminal court.
"Man-flu" is real to a fifth of British women
One in five British women believe that the debilitating "man-flu" disease which temporarily leaves sufferers prostrate on the sofa watching televised sports is real, according to a new study. The survey, which questioned 2,000 British adults about health and wellbeing, showed that misconceptions and old wives' tales, including the myth that eating carrots improves night vision, prevail among the population when it comes to beliefs about common illnesses.
"Unbelievably, there are still a lot of misconceptions around how minor illnesses and conditions are caused or prevented," study leader Mike Smith, said in a statement.
The top 10 health myths ranged from the theory that eating carrots will aid night vision to the belief that too much stress will turn your hair grey, both subscribed to by one in 10 of the population.
More than a third of people said that sugar makes children hyper, and 37 percent said they believed we lose most of our body heat through our heads -- the most popular misconception of the survey.
While the face, head and chest are more sensitive to temperature change than the rest of the body, covering one part of the body has as much effect as covering any other, researchers said.
"The Contagion study suggests that a large majority of the population are still under the illusion that they can, for example, get square eyes from watching too much television, or get better night vision from eating more carrots," Smith said.
"These are just not true, but do go to show that no matter how many millions are spent on health and education, some medical myths still prevail," he said.
When illness strikes, almost half of people agreed that men exaggerate their symptoms to get attention, with 38 percent also believing that men take longer to recover from illness than women.
Over half of respondents admitted to self-diagnosis, using the internet to research their symptoms.
"Old wives' tales are just that -- tales that should not be listened to or abided by. If the public are in any real doubt as to how to treat a condition, they should always refer to their GP (family doctor) or professional medical adviser," Smith said.
The study was specially commissioned to mark the release of Hollywood thriller "Contagion" starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law.
"Unbelievably, there are still a lot of misconceptions around how minor illnesses and conditions are caused or prevented," study leader Mike Smith, said in a statement.
The top 10 health myths ranged from the theory that eating carrots will aid night vision to the belief that too much stress will turn your hair grey, both subscribed to by one in 10 of the population.
More than a third of people said that sugar makes children hyper, and 37 percent said they believed we lose most of our body heat through our heads -- the most popular misconception of the survey.
While the face, head and chest are more sensitive to temperature change than the rest of the body, covering one part of the body has as much effect as covering any other, researchers said.
"The Contagion study suggests that a large majority of the population are still under the illusion that they can, for example, get square eyes from watching too much television, or get better night vision from eating more carrots," Smith said.
"These are just not true, but do go to show that no matter how many millions are spent on health and education, some medical myths still prevail," he said.
When illness strikes, almost half of people agreed that men exaggerate their symptoms to get attention, with 38 percent also believing that men take longer to recover from illness than women.
Over half of respondents admitted to self-diagnosis, using the internet to research their symptoms.
"Old wives' tales are just that -- tales that should not be listened to or abided by. If the public are in any real doubt as to how to treat a condition, they should always refer to their GP (family doctor) or professional medical adviser," Smith said.
The study was specially commissioned to mark the release of Hollywood thriller "Contagion" starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law.
Radio prophet gone from airwaves on new Judgment Day eve
An evangelical broadcaster whose end-of-the-world prophecy earlier this year stirred a global media frenzy has vanished from the public eye and airwaves ahead of his recalibrated doomsday date, set for Friday. Days after the apocalypse he originally predicted for May 21 conspicuously failed to materialize, Harold Camping emerged from a brief seclusion to say he had merely miscalculated by five months, and he pronounced a new Judgment Day, October 21.
The following month, the now 90-year-old former civil engineer was said by his California-based Christian radio network to have suffered a stroke that left him hospitalized.
He has largely dropped out of sight since then, and his daily radio program, "Open Forum," broadcast on more than 60 U.S. stations, has been canceled.
Moreover, there is little evidence that swarms of believers who once fanned out in cities nationwide with placards advertising Camping's message -- some giving up life savings in anticipation of being swept into heaven -- were following a new doomsday countdown.
Gone, too, are the billboards posted around the country by Camping's Family Radio network declaring that Judgment Day was at hand.
Reached by telephone on Thursday, network spokesman Tom Evans declined to comment on Camping or his prophecies, except to say that he had "retired" as a radio host but remained chairman of the board of Family Stations Inc.
Camping himself had little else to say when he answered the door of his home in nearby Alameda, wearing a bathrobe and leaning on a walker.
"We're not having a conversation," he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. "There's nothing to report here."
Municipal records show that a Sunday prayer group led by Camping, the Alameda Bible Fellowship, has continued to meet on a weekly basis in a large ground-floor room of the Veterans Memorial Building leased by the city Recreation and Parks Department.
Marcia Tsang, a facilities coordinator for the department, said receipts show Camping's group has been renting that space since at least 1996, paying the standard fee of $45 an hour. The room remains assigned to his fellowship under an evergreen reservation that extends beyond this week, she said.
Local American Legion officer Ron Parshall, 70, part of a veterans group that meets at the same building in an adjacent room one Sunday a month, said he sees Camping leading his Bible services there regularly.
He said the number of Camping's followers at the prayer meetings seems to have dwindled since the failed May 21 prophecy -- down to about 25 congregants on a typical Sunday -- plus about 20 youngsters who attend Sunday school classes in conjunction with the prayer group.
Parshall said he saw Camping about a month ago, that he showed no outward signs of debilitation and "wasn't limping at all."
"He was a nice man," Parshall said, adding "He was just too radical for me. Anyone who claims to be that close to God, I take it with a grain of salt."
The following month, the now 90-year-old former civil engineer was said by his California-based Christian radio network to have suffered a stroke that left him hospitalized.
He has largely dropped out of sight since then, and his daily radio program, "Open Forum," broadcast on more than 60 U.S. stations, has been canceled.
Moreover, there is little evidence that swarms of believers who once fanned out in cities nationwide with placards advertising Camping's message -- some giving up life savings in anticipation of being swept into heaven -- were following a new doomsday countdown.
Gone, too, are the billboards posted around the country by Camping's Family Radio network declaring that Judgment Day was at hand.
Reached by telephone on Thursday, network spokesman Tom Evans declined to comment on Camping or his prophecies, except to say that he had "retired" as a radio host but remained chairman of the board of Family Stations Inc.
Camping himself had little else to say when he answered the door of his home in nearby Alameda, wearing a bathrobe and leaning on a walker.
"We're not having a conversation," he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. "There's nothing to report here."
Municipal records show that a Sunday prayer group led by Camping, the Alameda Bible Fellowship, has continued to meet on a weekly basis in a large ground-floor room of the Veterans Memorial Building leased by the city Recreation and Parks Department.
Marcia Tsang, a facilities coordinator for the department, said receipts show Camping's group has been renting that space since at least 1996, paying the standard fee of $45 an hour. The room remains assigned to his fellowship under an evergreen reservation that extends beyond this week, she said.
Local American Legion officer Ron Parshall, 70, part of a veterans group that meets at the same building in an adjacent room one Sunday a month, said he sees Camping leading his Bible services there regularly.
He said the number of Camping's followers at the prayer meetings seems to have dwindled since the failed May 21 prophecy -- down to about 25 congregants on a typical Sunday -- plus about 20 youngsters who attend Sunday school classes in conjunction with the prayer group.
Parshall said he saw Camping about a month ago, that he showed no outward signs of debilitation and "wasn't limping at all."
"He was a nice man," Parshall said, adding "He was just too radical for me. Anyone who claims to be that close to God, I take it with a grain of salt."
NY may close bus service that makes women sit in back
New York City authorities said they will shut down a city bus service run by Orthodox Jews if the group doesn't stop making women sit at the back of the bus.
The Private Transportation Corp, which operates the city's public B110 bus under a franchise arrangement, has come under criticism following publicity about its practice of making women give up their seats in the front to promote Hasidic customs of gender separation.
New York City's Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Gastel said the agency's executive director Anne Koenig has asked the company to respond to the allegations and was waiting to hear back.
"Please be advised that a practice of requiring women to ride in the back ... would constitute a direct violation of your franchise agreement and may lead to termination of that agreement," Koenig wrote.
If such a violation is found, the franchise could be revoked, the DOT said in a statement.
The Private Transportation Corp declined comment.
The B110 bus runs through the sections of the borough of Brooklyn that are heavily populated by Orthodox Jews.
A student reporter at Columbia University in New York published a story about a woman told by other riders to give up her seat in the front. Other news organizations then sent reporters who encountered similar situations.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference on Wednesday that gender separation is "obviously not permitted" on public buses.
The DOT said the public bus has been franchised to Private Transportation Corp since 1973 and is not subsidized by city money. No exemptions have been granted to the company to comply with the city's anti-discrimination standards, it said.
Deborah Lauter, director of Civil Rights for the Anti-Defamation League, said in an e-mail to Reuters: "We oppose the practice of gender-segregation on public buses as discriminatory and unlawful. If a community feels it needs gender-segregated buses, then they should not involve the city."
The Private Transportation Corp, which operates the city's public B110 bus under a franchise arrangement, has come under criticism following publicity about its practice of making women give up their seats in the front to promote Hasidic customs of gender separation.
New York City's Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Gastel said the agency's executive director Anne Koenig has asked the company to respond to the allegations and was waiting to hear back.
"Please be advised that a practice of requiring women to ride in the back ... would constitute a direct violation of your franchise agreement and may lead to termination of that agreement," Koenig wrote.
If such a violation is found, the franchise could be revoked, the DOT said in a statement.
The Private Transportation Corp declined comment.
The B110 bus runs through the sections of the borough of Brooklyn that are heavily populated by Orthodox Jews.
A student reporter at Columbia University in New York published a story about a woman told by other riders to give up her seat in the front. Other news organizations then sent reporters who encountered similar situations.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference on Wednesday that gender separation is "obviously not permitted" on public buses.
The DOT said the public bus has been franchised to Private Transportation Corp since 1973 and is not subsidized by city money. No exemptions have been granted to the company to comply with the city's anti-discrimination standards, it said.
Deborah Lauter, director of Civil Rights for the Anti-Defamation League, said in an e-mail to Reuters: "We oppose the practice of gender-segregation on public buses as discriminatory and unlawful. If a community feels it needs gender-segregated buses, then they should not involve the city."
Artist can paint nude models only after dark
An artist arrested for applying body paint to a nude model in New York's Times Square will have charges against him dropped if his models strip naked only after dark, according to a court agreement reached on Thursday.
Police arrested Andy Golub, 45, in July and charged him with violating public exposure and lewdness laws. He has been painting nude models for about three years.
Golub's lawyer, Ronald Kuby, argued that New York laws do not prohibit public nudity in the name of art, and a compromise was reached that was the basis of the court ruling.
Under the agreement, "he is permitted to paint bare breasts any time, anywhere, but the G-strings have to stay on until daylight goes out," Kuby said after a hearing in Manhattan criminal court.
State laws against public exposure exempt "any person entertaining or performing in a play, exhibition, show or entertainment," Kuby said. Municipalities are allowed to devise their own restrictions, but New York City generally does not do so, Kuby said.
Golub, of Nyack, New York, said he likes to paint nude models because their bodies have energy and dynamism that he finds lacking in canvas.
"I feel that when I do live body painting it's a good thing, a positive thing," he said.
Charges against Golub will be dropped in six months if he abides by the terms of the agreement and is not arrested again. Charges against Karla Storie, a model from Texas arrested with him, will be dismissed if she too is not arrested again in the next six months.
Golub said he was planning to return to criminal court on Friday and paint a nude model in a park near the courthouse.
Police arrested Andy Golub, 45, in July and charged him with violating public exposure and lewdness laws. He has been painting nude models for about three years.
Golub's lawyer, Ronald Kuby, argued that New York laws do not prohibit public nudity in the name of art, and a compromise was reached that was the basis of the court ruling.
Under the agreement, "he is permitted to paint bare breasts any time, anywhere, but the G-strings have to stay on until daylight goes out," Kuby said after a hearing in Manhattan criminal court.
State laws against public exposure exempt "any person entertaining or performing in a play, exhibition, show or entertainment," Kuby said. Municipalities are allowed to devise their own restrictions, but New York City generally does not do so, Kuby said.
Golub, of Nyack, New York, said he likes to paint nude models because their bodies have energy and dynamism that he finds lacking in canvas.
"I feel that when I do live body painting it's a good thing, a positive thing," he said.
Charges against Golub will be dropped in six months if he abides by the terms of the agreement and is not arrested again. Charges against Karla Storie, a model from Texas arrested with him, will be dismissed if she too is not arrested again in the next six months.
Golub said he was planning to return to criminal court on Friday and paint a nude model in a park near the courthouse.
Hilary Swank "deeply regrets" attending Chechen party
Double Oscar winner Hilary Swank said on Thursday that she "deeply regrets" attending a birthday celebration last week in Chechnya for a leader accused of orchestrating torture and other human rights violations.
Swank, 37, was one of a number of celebrities who traveled to the Chechen capital Grozny to attend a glitzy opening ceremony for a skyscraper complex that coincided with the 35th birthday of regional strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.
"I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights," Swank said in a statement.
Swank gave Kadyrov birthday wishes at the ceremony and told him "people are better dressed here than in New York." When asked by a Russian host if she knew it was Kadyrov's birthday, she said: "I do my research, I study what is going on here."
The "Million Dollar Baby" actress said on Thursday she agreed to go because the project was described to her as a symbol of hope, and that she had been requested by organizers on the day to wish Kadyrov a happy birthday.
She added she was unaware of Kadyrov's policies that human rights groups say promote fear, abductions, and executions of those involved in Chechnya's Islamist insurgency.
"I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights," Swank said.
Other celebrities included Belgian action star Jean Claude Van Damme, who told Kadyrov "I love you with all my heart." Violinist Vanessa Mae and British singer Seal also attended.
The Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said it had written an open letter to all the entertainers before the event asking them not to attend.
Human Rights Watch has urged the celebrities to return any money or gifts they may have received for attending the celebration.
Swank won best actress Oscars for her roles in "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby" and also starred in romantic drama "P.S. I Love You" and "Amelia".
Swank, 37, was one of a number of celebrities who traveled to the Chechen capital Grozny to attend a glitzy opening ceremony for a skyscraper complex that coincided with the 35th birthday of regional strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.
"I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights," Swank said in a statement.
Swank gave Kadyrov birthday wishes at the ceremony and told him "people are better dressed here than in New York." When asked by a Russian host if she knew it was Kadyrov's birthday, she said: "I do my research, I study what is going on here."
The "Million Dollar Baby" actress said on Thursday she agreed to go because the project was described to her as a symbol of hope, and that she had been requested by organizers on the day to wish Kadyrov a happy birthday.
She added she was unaware of Kadyrov's policies that human rights groups say promote fear, abductions, and executions of those involved in Chechnya's Islamist insurgency.
"I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights," Swank said.
Other celebrities included Belgian action star Jean Claude Van Damme, who told Kadyrov "I love you with all my heart." Violinist Vanessa Mae and British singer Seal also attended.
The Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said it had written an open letter to all the entertainers before the event asking them not to attend.
Human Rights Watch has urged the celebrities to return any money or gifts they may have received for attending the celebration.
Swank won best actress Oscars for her roles in "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby" and also starred in romantic drama "P.S. I Love You" and "Amelia".
Marathon man undone by bus trip
A marathon runner was stripped of his third place medal after catching a bus to complete the last six miles of the race held in northern England last Sunday. Organizers of the event said Rob Sloan, 31, withdrew 20 miles into the race, caught a spectator bus, then completed the final section of the course and crossed the finish line in third place with a personal-best time.
"He's the only runner in the whole of the race who ran the second half of the race quicker than the first half," Kielder Marathon event director Steve Cram, an Olympic medal-winning former runner, told BBC television Wednesday.
"He either turned into an Olympic athlete over the last eight miles ... or he used some other method to get to the finish line," Cram said.
Sloan had originally dismissed as "laughable" the allegation that he had cheated, but later admitted to skipping part of the circuit in Northumberland when Organizers began an investigation into claims he hitched a ride.
"This was rightly questioned by several witnesses including the third place finisher who has been awarded his prize," added the Organizers.
"He's the only runner in the whole of the race who ran the second half of the race quicker than the first half," Kielder Marathon event director Steve Cram, an Olympic medal-winning former runner, told BBC television Wednesday.
"He either turned into an Olympic athlete over the last eight miles ... or he used some other method to get to the finish line," Cram said.
Sloan had originally dismissed as "laughable" the allegation that he had cheated, but later admitted to skipping part of the circuit in Northumberland when Organizers began an investigation into claims he hitched a ride.
"This was rightly questioned by several witnesses including the third place finisher who has been awarded his prize," added the Organizers.
Seattle's superhero vigilante has his day in court
Self-proclaimed Seattle superhero Phoenix Jones, a vigilante crime-fighter accused of assault, made his first court appearance on Thursday, but prosecutors have so far declined to charge him.
The onetime mixed-martial-arts competitor whose real name is Benjamin Fodor was arrested on Sunday after police said he pepper-sprayed a group of innocent nightclub patrons he believed were involved in a street brawl downtown.
He was jailed briefly on suspicion of four misdemeanor counts of assault and released on $3,800 bail.
He showed up for a brief hearing on Thursday in Seattle Municipal Court wearing a pinstriped shirt and his black-and-yellow mask, which he removed at the request of a court officer. He donned it again as he left the courtroom.
Fodor, with his hooded mask and a molded black-and-yellow suit of body armor, has become something of a local celebrity since he began patrolling downtown Seattle streets about a year ago to break up fights and alert police to other petty crimes.
In addition to pepper spray, he is known to carry a stun gun and a cell phone on his late-night rounds. He also attends charity events on request.
Prosecutors said they have not filed charges against Fodor but that he remains under investigation, and a case could be brought against him at a later time.
Fodor said he felt confident that a 13-minute video of Sunday's altercation, taken by a member of his entourage, proved him innocent of wrongdoing.
Police said Fodor assaulted a group of men and women as they were leaving a nightclub early on Sunday morning "dancing and having a good time" in the street.
The video, which was posted on the Internet, showed Fodor being alerted to what he believed to be a "huge fight," then rushing on foot toward a crowd yelling "call 911" and wading into the group with a can of pepper spray.
Some in the crowd angrily fought back, with one woman screaming and beating Fodor with her shoes before police finally arrived on the scene.
Fodor and his supporters were initially angry that his real identity was exposed by media reports after his arrest.
But flanked by his attorneys and speaking with reporters outside the King County Jail on Thursday, he dramatically removed the mask and confirmed his real identity.
"I'm Phoenix Jones. I'm also Ben Fodor. I also protect the city, I also am a father, I also am a brother. I'm just like everyone else," he said. "The only difference is that I decided to make a difference and stop crime in my neighborhood and my area. I intend to keep making that difference. The charges were false."
He left his pinstriped shirt behind on a sidewalk, striding off in his mask and a faded black rubber shirt he uses as a back-up costume, saying police still have his main costume.
Fodor said he planned to resume his vigilante work immediately, and called on Seattle citizens to join him downtown on Saturday night.
The onetime mixed-martial-arts competitor whose real name is Benjamin Fodor was arrested on Sunday after police said he pepper-sprayed a group of innocent nightclub patrons he believed were involved in a street brawl downtown.
He was jailed briefly on suspicion of four misdemeanor counts of assault and released on $3,800 bail.
He showed up for a brief hearing on Thursday in Seattle Municipal Court wearing a pinstriped shirt and his black-and-yellow mask, which he removed at the request of a court officer. He donned it again as he left the courtroom.
Fodor, with his hooded mask and a molded black-and-yellow suit of body armor, has become something of a local celebrity since he began patrolling downtown Seattle streets about a year ago to break up fights and alert police to other petty crimes.
In addition to pepper spray, he is known to carry a stun gun and a cell phone on his late-night rounds. He also attends charity events on request.
Prosecutors said they have not filed charges against Fodor but that he remains under investigation, and a case could be brought against him at a later time.
Fodor said he felt confident that a 13-minute video of Sunday's altercation, taken by a member of his entourage, proved him innocent of wrongdoing.
Police said Fodor assaulted a group of men and women as they were leaving a nightclub early on Sunday morning "dancing and having a good time" in the street.
The video, which was posted on the Internet, showed Fodor being alerted to what he believed to be a "huge fight," then rushing on foot toward a crowd yelling "call 911" and wading into the group with a can of pepper spray.
Some in the crowd angrily fought back, with one woman screaming and beating Fodor with her shoes before police finally arrived on the scene.
Fodor and his supporters were initially angry that his real identity was exposed by media reports after his arrest.
But flanked by his attorneys and speaking with reporters outside the King County Jail on Thursday, he dramatically removed the mask and confirmed his real identity.
"I'm Phoenix Jones. I'm also Ben Fodor. I also protect the city, I also am a father, I also am a brother. I'm just like everyone else," he said. "The only difference is that I decided to make a difference and stop crime in my neighborhood and my area. I intend to keep making that difference. The charges were false."
He left his pinstriped shirt behind on a sidewalk, striding off in his mask and a faded black rubber shirt he uses as a back-up costume, saying police still have his main costume.
Fodor said he planned to resume his vigilante work immediately, and called on Seattle citizens to join him downtown on Saturday night.
Sharks make Aussie golf course lake a real hazard
Golfers had better hope for a hole in one when playing at one course in the eastern Australian city of Brisbane -- the lake is home to aggressive bull sharks.
"It's daunting. Certainly if you lose a ball you definitely don't go in chasing it," said golfer Graham Casemore.
The Carbrook Gold Course was flooded in the late 1990s when the Logan River burst its banks and covered the fairways. When the flood waters drained away, it was noticed that the course lake -- between holes 12 and 15 -- had some new aquatic residents.
Today, fins can sometimes be seen breaking above the surface of the otherwise ordinary-looking lake, which is posted with yellow signs warning people not to swim.
If a ball ends up in the lake, it's best to resist a quick dive in to get it.
"No that's taboo, that's taboo. If you value your limbs you don't go anywhere near the lake," said Casemore.
But the warning signs are sometimes not enough to deter more daring players.
"I've had a member in recent months try to get a ball in a scoop and end up in waist deep water, trying to scamper out," said one golfer, who did not give their name.
Though wildlife is a common sight at many golf courses around the world, most aren't man eaters. The club hosts a tournament called the "Shark Lake Challenge" every month.
"I know there are a fair few golf courses around with deadly animals like crocodiles and alligators, but we are the only ones I know who have got sharks," another golfer said.
"It's daunting. Certainly if you lose a ball you definitely don't go in chasing it," said golfer Graham Casemore.
The Carbrook Gold Course was flooded in the late 1990s when the Logan River burst its banks and covered the fairways. When the flood waters drained away, it was noticed that the course lake -- between holes 12 and 15 -- had some new aquatic residents.
Today, fins can sometimes be seen breaking above the surface of the otherwise ordinary-looking lake, which is posted with yellow signs warning people not to swim.
If a ball ends up in the lake, it's best to resist a quick dive in to get it.
"No that's taboo, that's taboo. If you value your limbs you don't go anywhere near the lake," said Casemore.
But the warning signs are sometimes not enough to deter more daring players.
"I've had a member in recent months try to get a ball in a scoop and end up in waist deep water, trying to scamper out," said one golfer, who did not give their name.
Though wildlife is a common sight at many golf courses around the world, most aren't man eaters. The club hosts a tournament called the "Shark Lake Challenge" every month.
"I know there are a fair few golf courses around with deadly animals like crocodiles and alligators, but we are the only ones I know who have got sharks," another golfer said.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
POP QUIZ (WOMEN'S HEALTH)
1. Which fruit can help prevent osteoporosis?
a) Blueberries
b) Pomegranates
c) Apples
d) Prunes
2. True or False? After menopause, women should see their dentist more often.
3. True or False? Snagging a piece of your kids' Halloween candy could help you live longer.
4. Which piece of Mom's advice has been scientifically found to reduce stress in females?
a) "Eat your vegetables"
b) "Stand up straight"
c) "Wear clean underwear"
d) "Call your mother"
5. How many hours of shut-eye per night do women need, on average, for a long, healthy life?
a) 6 hours
b) 7 hours
c) 8 hours
6. True or False? Most women who get breast cancer have a family history of the disease.
7. What's the biggest health threat for women under 40?
a) Childbirth
b) Accidents
c) Cervical cancer
8. Scientists have found that "supermoms" are at a higher risk for which condition?
a) Depression
b) Migraines
c) Ulcers
d) All of the above
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. d ; 2. True ; 3. True ; 4. d ; 5. a ; 6. False ; 7. b ; 8. a
a) Blueberries
b) Pomegranates
c) Apples
d) Prunes
2. True or False? After menopause, women should see their dentist more often.
3. True or False? Snagging a piece of your kids' Halloween candy could help you live longer.
4. Which piece of Mom's advice has been scientifically found to reduce stress in females?
a) "Eat your vegetables"
b) "Stand up straight"
c) "Wear clean underwear"
d) "Call your mother"
5. How many hours of shut-eye per night do women need, on average, for a long, healthy life?
a) 6 hours
b) 7 hours
c) 8 hours
6. True or False? Most women who get breast cancer have a family history of the disease.
7. What's the biggest health threat for women under 40?
a) Childbirth
b) Accidents
c) Cervical cancer
8. Scientists have found that "supermoms" are at a higher risk for which condition?
a) Depression
b) Migraines
c) Ulcers
d) All of the above
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. d ; 2. True ; 3. True ; 4. d ; 5. a ; 6. False ; 7. b ; 8. a
POP QUIZ (HARPERS FERY RAID)
In the midst of marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it's worth noting that October 16th is the 152d anniversary of the beginning of John Brown's infamous raid on Harpers Ferry.
1. At the time of the raid, Harpers Ferry was part of this state.
a) West Virginia
b) Maryland
c) Virginia
d) Ohio
2. In the early hours of the raid, a descendant of this founding father was kidnapped at his farm while the raiders were en route to Harpers Ferry.
a) John Adams
b) George Washington
c) Thomas Jefferson
d) James Madison
3. After almost 40 citizens of Harpers Ferry were seized by Brown and his men, local militias quickly surrounded the armory, and soon this U.S. Army officer was put in charge of restoring order.
a) William T. Sherman
b) James Longstreet
c) Ulysses S. Grant
d) Robert E. Lee
4. This officer delivered the ultimatum for Brown to surrender himself, his men, and his prisoners.
a) J.E.B. Stuart
b) Thomas Jackson
c) Ulysses S. Grant
d) Robert E. Lee
5. True or False : According to the after action report, Brown's goal was "the liberation of the slaves of Virginia and of the whole South."
6. How many civilians were killed by the raiders?
a) 40
b) 25
c) 12
d) 4
7. How many of Brown's raiders were killed in the raid itself?
a) 40
b) 25
c) 12
d) 4
8. True or False : The captured John Brown was turned over to a military tribunal for trial.
9. This future Confederate leader was present at the execution of Brown on Dec. 2, 1859, as part of the contingent from the Virginia Military Institute.
a) Robert E. Lee
b) Thomas "stonewall" Jackson
c) Jefferson Davis
d) George Pickett
10. Where is Brown buried?
a) North Elba, N.Y.
b) Harpers Ferry, W. Va.
c) Torrington, Conn.
d) Osawatomie, Kan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. b ; 3. d ; 4. a ; 5. True ; 6. d ; 7. c ; 8. False ; 9. b ; 10. a
1. At the time of the raid, Harpers Ferry was part of this state.
a) West Virginia
b) Maryland
c) Virginia
d) Ohio
2. In the early hours of the raid, a descendant of this founding father was kidnapped at his farm while the raiders were en route to Harpers Ferry.
a) John Adams
b) George Washington
c) Thomas Jefferson
d) James Madison
3. After almost 40 citizens of Harpers Ferry were seized by Brown and his men, local militias quickly surrounded the armory, and soon this U.S. Army officer was put in charge of restoring order.
a) William T. Sherman
b) James Longstreet
c) Ulysses S. Grant
d) Robert E. Lee
4. This officer delivered the ultimatum for Brown to surrender himself, his men, and his prisoners.
a) J.E.B. Stuart
b) Thomas Jackson
c) Ulysses S. Grant
d) Robert E. Lee
5. True or False : According to the after action report, Brown's goal was "the liberation of the slaves of Virginia and of the whole South."
6. How many civilians were killed by the raiders?
a) 40
b) 25
c) 12
d) 4
7. How many of Brown's raiders were killed in the raid itself?
a) 40
b) 25
c) 12
d) 4
8. True or False : The captured John Brown was turned over to a military tribunal for trial.
9. This future Confederate leader was present at the execution of Brown on Dec. 2, 1859, as part of the contingent from the Virginia Military Institute.
a) Robert E. Lee
b) Thomas "stonewall" Jackson
c) Jefferson Davis
d) George Pickett
10. Where is Brown buried?
a) North Elba, N.Y.
b) Harpers Ferry, W. Va.
c) Torrington, Conn.
d) Osawatomie, Kan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. b ; 3. d ; 4. a ; 5. True ; 6. d ; 7. c ; 8. False ; 9. b ; 10. a
POP QUIZ (FOR YOUR TEEN DRIVER)
True or False
1. The recommended hand position on the steering wheel is 9 and 3 (as in hands of a clock).
2. If you experience a tire blow-out, you should firmly apply the brakes immediately to reduce speed.
3. To regain traction when the rear of your vehicle begins to skid, you should gently apply the brakes.
4. You are guaranteed the right of way if you are first to arrive at an intersection.
5. From the normal driving position, you should not be able to see the sides of your vehicle when looking into the side mirrors.
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Answers :
1. True. 10 and 2 used to be preferred before airbags became standard.
2. False. Ease off the accelerator and coast to reduce speed while regaining control.
3. False. Hitting the brake could make things worse. Keep your eye on your target and your hands and feet should get you where you aim.
4. False. No guarantees in driving. Pay attention to what other drivers are doing or may do.
5. True. Angling the mirrors out a bit more gives you better view of your blind spoots.
1. The recommended hand position on the steering wheel is 9 and 3 (as in hands of a clock).
2. If you experience a tire blow-out, you should firmly apply the brakes immediately to reduce speed.
3. To regain traction when the rear of your vehicle begins to skid, you should gently apply the brakes.
4. You are guaranteed the right of way if you are first to arrive at an intersection.
5. From the normal driving position, you should not be able to see the sides of your vehicle when looking into the side mirrors.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers :
1. True. 10 and 2 used to be preferred before airbags became standard.
2. False. Ease off the accelerator and coast to reduce speed while regaining control.
3. False. Hitting the brake could make things worse. Keep your eye on your target and your hands and feet should get you where you aim.
4. False. No guarantees in driving. Pay attention to what other drivers are doing or may do.
5. True. Angling the mirrors out a bit more gives you better view of your blind spoots.
POP QUIZ (WANDERLUST)
Not only is Monday Columbus Day, but Sunday is Leif Eriksson Day.
So let's explore them and other explores.
1. Before he set sail for the new world for Spain, Christopher Columbus approached the monarch of this nation to sponsor his voyage.
a) Italy
b) France
c) Portugal
d) Ottoman Empire
2. Which Spanish rulers eventually supported Columbus ?
a) Ferdinand V and Isabella I
b) Alfonso II and Joan III
c) Juan Carlos and Sofia
d) Felipe IV and Isabella II
3. The island where Columbus first landed is known as this today?
a) Haiti
b) Bahamas
c) Cuba
d) Puerto Rico
4. That first Columbus voyage occurred in 1492, but he didn't reach the mainland, South Amercia, until his third voyage, in this year.
a) 1505
b) 1503
c) 1500
d) 1498
5. About how many years before Columbus' first voyage did Leif Eriksson arrive in the New World?
a) 800
b) 600
c) 500
d) 200
6. From what country did Eriksson's trip to the New World begin?
a) Norway
b) Greenland
c) Iceland
d) Denmark
7. The area of the short-lived settlement that Eriksson called Vinland is now known as what?
a) Newfoundland
b) Maine
c) Nova Scotia
d) Prince Edward Island
8. Which explorer discovered the eastern shore of the Pacific?
a) Ferinand Magellan
b) Hernando Cortez
c) Juan Ponce de Leon
d) Vasco Nunez de Balboa
9. Prince Henry the Navigator hailed from this country.
a) Italy
b) Spain
c) Portugal
d) France
10. His crew was the first to sail around the world, although he didn't survive the voyage, which lasted from 1519 to 1522.
a) Francisco Pizarro
b) Ferdinand Magellan
c) Jacques Cartier
d) Sir Francis Drake
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. a ; 3. b ; 4. d ; 5. c ; 6. b ; 7. a ; 8. d ; 9. c ; 10. b
So let's explore them and other explores.
1. Before he set sail for the new world for Spain, Christopher Columbus approached the monarch of this nation to sponsor his voyage.
a) Italy
b) France
c) Portugal
d) Ottoman Empire
2. Which Spanish rulers eventually supported Columbus ?
a) Ferdinand V and Isabella I
b) Alfonso II and Joan III
c) Juan Carlos and Sofia
d) Felipe IV and Isabella II
3. The island where Columbus first landed is known as this today?
a) Haiti
b) Bahamas
c) Cuba
d) Puerto Rico
4. That first Columbus voyage occurred in 1492, but he didn't reach the mainland, South Amercia, until his third voyage, in this year.
a) 1505
b) 1503
c) 1500
d) 1498
5. About how many years before Columbus' first voyage did Leif Eriksson arrive in the New World?
a) 800
b) 600
c) 500
d) 200
6. From what country did Eriksson's trip to the New World begin?
a) Norway
b) Greenland
c) Iceland
d) Denmark
7. The area of the short-lived settlement that Eriksson called Vinland is now known as what?
a) Newfoundland
b) Maine
c) Nova Scotia
d) Prince Edward Island
8. Which explorer discovered the eastern shore of the Pacific?
a) Ferinand Magellan
b) Hernando Cortez
c) Juan Ponce de Leon
d) Vasco Nunez de Balboa
9. Prince Henry the Navigator hailed from this country.
a) Italy
b) Spain
c) Portugal
d) France
10. His crew was the first to sail around the world, although he didn't survive the voyage, which lasted from 1519 to 1522.
a) Francisco Pizarro
b) Ferdinand Magellan
c) Jacques Cartier
d) Sir Francis Drake
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. a ; 3. b ; 4. d ; 5. c ; 6. b ; 7. a ; 8. d ; 9. c ; 10. b
SO WHAT ARE THE MOST ANNOYING CLICHES?
The Plain English Campaign surveyed its 5,000 supporters in more than 70 countries and asked them what are the most irritating cliches in the English langauge.
The following cliches received the most nominations:
Winner : "At the end of the day"
Second : "At this moment in time"
Third : "Like" used as punctuation
Fourth : "With all due respect"
What do you think?
The following cliches received the most nominations:
Winner : "At the end of the day"
Second : "At this moment in time"
Third : "Like" used as punctuation
Fourth : "With all due respect"
What do you think?
SEPTEMBER
Ok, so you know the days of the month. But did you know September is also "claimed" as a designated month for these other groups?
- Classical Music Month
- Hispanic Hertage Month
- Fall Hat Month
- InternationalSquare Dancing Month
- National Blueberry Popsicle Month
- National Courtesy Month
- National Piano Month
- Chicken Month
- Baby Safety Month
- Little League Month
- Honey Month
- Self Improvement Month
- Better Breakfast Month
AND TO CELEBRATE THE START OF SCHOOL
- In elementary school, many a true word is spoken in guess.
- A high school is an education institution full of schoolboys who are sure they know more than their parents.
- The money that is saved on schools this year will be spent on jails ten years later.
- The first time many of us realize that a little learning is a dangerous thing is when we bring home a poor report card.
- Laugh, and the class laughs with you, but you stay after school alone.
F. Y. I.
Quotable
by Golda Meir, fourth prime minister of Israel
"Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh, either."
Did You Know?
Pearls melt in vinegar.
Warming Up
A grasshopper cannot jump unless the temperature outside is at least 62 degress.
First Came
Muppets creator Jim Henson first created Kermit in 1955 as a lizard, using his mother's coat and two halves of a Ping-Pong ball. He became a frog in 1968.
Still on the Books
In Providence, R.I., you may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.
So Called
A group of cheetahs is called a coalition.
by Golda Meir, fourth prime minister of Israel
"Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh, either."
Did You Know?
Pearls melt in vinegar.
Warming Up
A grasshopper cannot jump unless the temperature outside is at least 62 degress.
First Came
Muppets creator Jim Henson first created Kermit in 1955 as a lizard, using his mother's coat and two halves of a Ping-Pong ball. He became a frog in 1968.
Still on the Books
In Providence, R.I., you may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.
So Called
A group of cheetahs is called a coalition.
F. Y. I.
Still on the Books
In Hawaii, all residents may be fined as a result of not owning a boat.
Back Then
In Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, dill was considered a sign of wealth.
Fruit Aplenty
There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples grown in the world.
Actually Stated
notice from the Department of Social Services, Greenville, S.C.
"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away........You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances."
Fall Colors
The colors red, yellow and brown are in leaves all year long and only become exposed when the green chlorophyll disappears in the fall.
Name Change
The hippopotamus was once known as a river horse, originating from the Greek "hippos," meaning horse.
In Hawaii, all residents may be fined as a result of not owning a boat.
Back Then
In Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, dill was considered a sign of wealth.
Fruit Aplenty
There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples grown in the world.
Actually Stated
notice from the Department of Social Services, Greenville, S.C.
"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away........You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances."
Fall Colors
The colors red, yellow and brown are in leaves all year long and only become exposed when the green chlorophyll disappears in the fall.
Name Change
The hippopotamus was once known as a river horse, originating from the Greek "hippos," meaning horse.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Police seize weapons from Brad Pitt film
Hungarian police have seized a stockpile of weapons that was shipped to the Hungarian capital for the production of a film about zombies starring Brad Pitt, a film crew member said on Tuesday.
Weapons expert Bela Gajdos, who has worked on the filming of zombie movie "World War Z" to ensure the safe handling of the weapons used, told national news agency MTI that each firearm had been converted to restrict its use to blank ammunition.
Gajdos added that the weapons were completely harmless and had already been used on a shoot in London.
World War Z, a big-budget horror film directed by Marc Forster and slated for release in 2012, recently shifted filming to Hungary from Britain.
"We had a police permit to bring these guns into the country," Gajdos told MTI, adding that the production had contracted arms experts to establish whether the guns complied with Hungarian laws.
But the guns were seized before experts could inspect them.
Adam Goodman, the producer of the film, was not immediately available for comment.
Janos Hajdu, the chief of the Hungarian Anti-Terrorism Center on Monday said the agency seized a large stockpile of weapons, which arrived from England on a chartered plane. He could not confirm whether the weapons were intended for the World War Z shoot.
The National Bureau for Investigation, which took over the case, said in an emailed reply to Reuters questions that it was conducting an investigation for abuse of arms and ammunition, but would not release any further details.
The weapons included hand guns, machine guns, high-precision sniper rifles, hand grenades and a large quantity of high-caliber ammunition, according to photos and a video released by the Anti-Terrorism center.
According to the video, some weapons could be re-converted to use live ammunition by removing a single screw.
Hajdu said the firearms had not been properly disabled and could not be allowed into the country less than two weeks before a national holiday commemorating the 1956 uprising, MTI reported.
Weapons expert Bela Gajdos, who has worked on the filming of zombie movie "World War Z" to ensure the safe handling of the weapons used, told national news agency MTI that each firearm had been converted to restrict its use to blank ammunition.
Gajdos added that the weapons were completely harmless and had already been used on a shoot in London.
World War Z, a big-budget horror film directed by Marc Forster and slated for release in 2012, recently shifted filming to Hungary from Britain.
"We had a police permit to bring these guns into the country," Gajdos told MTI, adding that the production had contracted arms experts to establish whether the guns complied with Hungarian laws.
But the guns were seized before experts could inspect them.
Adam Goodman, the producer of the film, was not immediately available for comment.
Janos Hajdu, the chief of the Hungarian Anti-Terrorism Center on Monday said the agency seized a large stockpile of weapons, which arrived from England on a chartered plane. He could not confirm whether the weapons were intended for the World War Z shoot.
The National Bureau for Investigation, which took over the case, said in an emailed reply to Reuters questions that it was conducting an investigation for abuse of arms and ammunition, but would not release any further details.
The weapons included hand guns, machine guns, high-precision sniper rifles, hand grenades and a large quantity of high-caliber ammunition, according to photos and a video released by the Anti-Terrorism center.
According to the video, some weapons could be re-converted to use live ammunition by removing a single screw.
Hajdu said the firearms had not been properly disabled and could not be allowed into the country less than two weeks before a national holiday commemorating the 1956 uprising, MTI reported.
Assisted suicide machine for sale in Kevorkian auction
The "death machine" used by the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian in assisted suicides will be among the items up for auction in an estate sale in late October, according to the sale's coordinator. Kevorkian, known as Dr. Death for helping more than 100 people end their lives, died in June at the age of 83.
He started a polarizing national debate over assisted suicide by crisscrossing Michigan in a rusty Volkswagen van with a machine to aid sick and suffering people who wanted to die.
The sale will be held October 28 at the New York Institute of Technology in New York City, with a preview October 27, according to the website of David W. Streets, a California fine arts and celebrity memorabilia appraiser coordinating the sale for Kevorkian's estate.
Included at the auction will be Kevorkian's blue sweater, personal items, paperwork, and 13 paintings that have been on display at the Alma Museum in Boston, according to Streets.
Kevorkian left the bulk of his estate to find a cure for pediatric cancer, and the auction will benefit that cause, the web site said.
Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 after a CBS News program aired a video of him administering lethal drugs to a 52-year-old man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. Kevorkian served eight years in prison. As a condition of his parole, he promised not to assist in any more suicides.
He started a polarizing national debate over assisted suicide by crisscrossing Michigan in a rusty Volkswagen van with a machine to aid sick and suffering people who wanted to die.
The sale will be held October 28 at the New York Institute of Technology in New York City, with a preview October 27, according to the website of David W. Streets, a California fine arts and celebrity memorabilia appraiser coordinating the sale for Kevorkian's estate.
Included at the auction will be Kevorkian's blue sweater, personal items, paperwork, and 13 paintings that have been on display at the Alma Museum in Boston, according to Streets.
Kevorkian left the bulk of his estate to find a cure for pediatric cancer, and the auction will benefit that cause, the web site said.
Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 after a CBS News program aired a video of him administering lethal drugs to a 52-year-old man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. Kevorkian served eight years in prison. As a condition of his parole, he promised not to assist in any more suicides.
State bans use of tanning beds by minors
Minors in the state of California will no longer be allowed to use tanning beds after Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill on Sunday prohibiting anyone under the age of 18 from using ultraviolet tanning devices. California is the first state in the nation to ban minors from using tanning beds, legislators said.
Previously, California had banned minors under the age of 14 from using tanning beds, but allowed those between 14 and 18 years of age to use tanning beds with parental consent.
The bill was part of a cluster of legislation signed on Sunday designed to "improve the health and well-being of Calfornians," according to a statement from the Governor's office.
"I praise Gov. Brown for his courage in taking this much-needed step to protect some of California's most vulnerable residents -- our kids -- from what the 'House of Medicine' has conclusively shown is lethally dangerous: ultraviolet-emitting radiation from tanning beds," the bill's sponsor, state Senator Ted Lieu, said in a statement.
"If everyone knew the true dangers of tanning beds, they'd be shocked. Skin cancer is a rising epidemic and the leading cause of cancer death for women between 25 and 29."
The law will go into effect on January 1, 2012, according to Lieu's office.
Previously, California had banned minors under the age of 14 from using tanning beds, but allowed those between 14 and 18 years of age to use tanning beds with parental consent.
The bill was part of a cluster of legislation signed on Sunday designed to "improve the health and well-being of Calfornians," according to a statement from the Governor's office.
"I praise Gov. Brown for his courage in taking this much-needed step to protect some of California's most vulnerable residents -- our kids -- from what the 'House of Medicine' has conclusively shown is lethally dangerous: ultraviolet-emitting radiation from tanning beds," the bill's sponsor, state Senator Ted Lieu, said in a statement.
"If everyone knew the true dangers of tanning beds, they'd be shocked. Skin cancer is a rising epidemic and the leading cause of cancer death for women between 25 and 29."
The law will go into effect on January 1, 2012, according to Lieu's office.
New app uses brainwaves to track sleep quality
A new app that aims to improve both the quantity and quality of sleep uses brainwaves to track the amount of time spent in different stages of sleep. Called Sleep Manager, the app synchronizes with a headset that measures brain activity, eye movement and other signals in light, deep and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
"The thing about sleep is that it's not just about how much you get - it's about the quality of your sleep," said Ben Rubin, co-founder of Zeo, which makes the app.
"In general, you want to optimize to get as much REM and deep sleep as possible."
A soft-sensor headband measures brainwave activity, muscle tone and eye movements, the same signals that would be taken by a professional sleep lab, but at a consumer level.
The signals are relayed through Bluetooth to the user's iPhone, iPad, or Android smartphone and uploaded to Zeo's website.
Rubin said that sleep tracking is only the beginning. After benchmarking sleep quality, Zeo uses this information to coach the user's sleep habits.
Studies have shown that when people wake up during the light sleep phase they are more refreshed, so the app has the ability to rouse users while in this state.
It also syncs with other apps such as RunKeeper, a running application, and DailyBurn, a nutrition planning app, to allow users to see how their sleep quality relates to their fitness and diets.
But not everyone is convinced that Zeo can provide accurate sleep data.
Rubin agrees there are limitations to the measurements that can be done but he said the app comes close to replicating a sleep lab.
"If you have two experts in a sleep lab scoring the same record, they agree with each other about 83 percent of the time," said Rubin. "Zeo agrees with those guys about 75 percent of the time. So we're about 7/8th as accurate as a full sleep lab," he added.
The company has an in-house sleep expert on their team, as well as an advisory board made up of sleep experts from Harvard University and the University of Colorado Bolder.
"The thing about sleep is that it's not just about how much you get - it's about the quality of your sleep," said Ben Rubin, co-founder of Zeo, which makes the app.
"In general, you want to optimize to get as much REM and deep sleep as possible."
A soft-sensor headband measures brainwave activity, muscle tone and eye movements, the same signals that would be taken by a professional sleep lab, but at a consumer level.
The signals are relayed through Bluetooth to the user's iPhone, iPad, or Android smartphone and uploaded to Zeo's website.
Rubin said that sleep tracking is only the beginning. After benchmarking sleep quality, Zeo uses this information to coach the user's sleep habits.
Studies have shown that when people wake up during the light sleep phase they are more refreshed, so the app has the ability to rouse users while in this state.
It also syncs with other apps such as RunKeeper, a running application, and DailyBurn, a nutrition planning app, to allow users to see how their sleep quality relates to their fitness and diets.
But not everyone is convinced that Zeo can provide accurate sleep data.
Rubin agrees there are limitations to the measurements that can be done but he said the app comes close to replicating a sleep lab.
"If you have two experts in a sleep lab scoring the same record, they agree with each other about 83 percent of the time," said Rubin. "Zeo agrees with those guys about 75 percent of the time. So we're about 7/8th as accurate as a full sleep lab," he added.
The company has an in-house sleep expert on their team, as well as an advisory board made up of sleep experts from Harvard University and the University of Colorado Bolder.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Senators ditch pen and paper for iPads
Members of the Dutch Senate, or upper house of parliament, won't strain their backs or weigh down their bike panniers by carrying stacks of printed documents from work anymore, since they are all now expected to work on their Apple iPads.
When members of the Senate returned from the summer recess two weeks ago, they were told they had one week left of working with printed files: After that they must stop printing out documents and wasting paper, and learn how to use a new Senate app especially designed for their new iPads.
The Dutch Senate is the first in Europe to distribute digital documents through a tablet computer. Two weeks into the project the 75 senators are generally "delighted" with managing the reams of documents using their iPads, according to Secretary General of the Senate, Geert Jan Hamilton.
"We have had enormous piles of paper couriered to our houses every week, thick envelopes with planning and committee meeting documents, but now from 6 pm every Friday you just open the Senate app and find all the documents for the next week," Hamilton told Reuters on Thursday, a day after the man credited with inspiring the iPad's creation died.
Although printing the occasional document is permitted, it is expected that most of the senators will use the iPad exclusively once they are accustomed to using the tablet computer.
They can use their iPads to consult and manage information, including calendars, legislative bills, parliamentary correspondence, and meeting documents through an app developed especially for the Dutch Senate.
Creating the Senate app and buying the iPads, a plan which has been in the works for about a year, cost about 150,000 euros ($201,053) and according to Hamilton will save the Senate around 140,000 euros in printing and courier costs in the first year.
"I am very optimistic that this will reduce costs," said Hamilton, adding that after the first year, he expects the annual costs for the upkeep and occasional printing of some documents will be in the 35,000 euro range.
The iPads, considered an office tool and equipped only with various news-related approved apps, won't have any connectivity problems in the historic Dutch parliamentary buildings, since an extra 21 wifi transmitters were kitted out in the senate building in early September.
Security concerning the information stored on the app isn't a big concern, according to Hamilton who said that unlike other Dutch parliamentarians and government employees, senators normally handle documents which are already publicly available.
"I am very pleased with the reception, and many say they consider it a very well-organized way of providing all the necessary information they have to deal with as well as reducing the enormous amount of paper involved."
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs -- who inspired the Macintosh computer, iPod, iPhone and iPad -- died on Wednesday at age 56. ($1 = 0.746 Euros)
When members of the Senate returned from the summer recess two weeks ago, they were told they had one week left of working with printed files: After that they must stop printing out documents and wasting paper, and learn how to use a new Senate app especially designed for their new iPads.
The Dutch Senate is the first in Europe to distribute digital documents through a tablet computer. Two weeks into the project the 75 senators are generally "delighted" with managing the reams of documents using their iPads, according to Secretary General of the Senate, Geert Jan Hamilton.
"We have had enormous piles of paper couriered to our houses every week, thick envelopes with planning and committee meeting documents, but now from 6 pm every Friday you just open the Senate app and find all the documents for the next week," Hamilton told Reuters on Thursday, a day after the man credited with inspiring the iPad's creation died.
Although printing the occasional document is permitted, it is expected that most of the senators will use the iPad exclusively once they are accustomed to using the tablet computer.
They can use their iPads to consult and manage information, including calendars, legislative bills, parliamentary correspondence, and meeting documents through an app developed especially for the Dutch Senate.
Creating the Senate app and buying the iPads, a plan which has been in the works for about a year, cost about 150,000 euros ($201,053) and according to Hamilton will save the Senate around 140,000 euros in printing and courier costs in the first year.
"I am very optimistic that this will reduce costs," said Hamilton, adding that after the first year, he expects the annual costs for the upkeep and occasional printing of some documents will be in the 35,000 euro range.
The iPads, considered an office tool and equipped only with various news-related approved apps, won't have any connectivity problems in the historic Dutch parliamentary buildings, since an extra 21 wifi transmitters were kitted out in the senate building in early September.
Security concerning the information stored on the app isn't a big concern, according to Hamilton who said that unlike other Dutch parliamentarians and government employees, senators normally handle documents which are already publicly available.
"I am very pleased with the reception, and many say they consider it a very well-organized way of providing all the necessary information they have to deal with as well as reducing the enormous amount of paper involved."
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs -- who inspired the Macintosh computer, iPod, iPhone and iPad -- died on Wednesday at age 56. ($1 = 0.746 Euros)
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