Disabled man's crusade a bane to business owners
Living Legal - Banglagirl - 358 Comments
Tags: disabled, lawsuits, Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, vexatious litigant
01/06/09 -  -  - (Link)
Lingering fog shrouds the Venice boardwalk midday as Thomas Mundy rolls past ice cream vendors, T-shirt shacks and falafel stands, a discerning eye trained on the warrens of beach-themed kitsch and quick nibbles.
He's not looking for leather thong pendants or Jamaican trinkets in memory of Bob Marley, or to commune with the manic crowd of in-line skaters and street artists.
Mundy is trolling for barriers to his patronage -- a threshold too high for his wheelchair, a parking lot with blue-striped access lanes narrower than eight feet, a public restroom where the coat hook on the back of the door, if there is one, is above his reach.
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Afghan Shiites Embrace New Acceptance
Living Religion - EVILdogshu - 0 Comments
Tags: Afghanistan, Shiites, Sunnis, Muharram
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
For the past week, caravans of cars have raced triumphantly around the Afghan capital, trailing huge green and red banners. Overpasses are draped with black cloth, and loudspeakers blare hypnotic religious chants punctuated with the slow rhythm of clanking chains.
This is Muharram, the 10-day period of ritual mourning -- including emotional bouts of chest-beating and self-flagellation -- observed by Shiites throughout the world in remembrance of Imam Hussein and other Shiite martyrs who died defending their faith in the 7th century.
But in Afghanistan, a Sunni-dominated country where Shiites have been a despised and oppressed minority during many periods of history, this Muharram is being observed with new boldness and political acceptance. It is a dramatic sign of the rapid emergence of Shiism under democratic rule in the seven years since the overthrow of the ultraconservative Sunni Taliban.
Parents didn't report boy missing for a decade
Crime - Rafiki - 0 Comments
Tags: adoption, missing child, foster home, neglect
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
Authorities in Kansas are looking for a boy who disappeared about a decade ago, but was not reported missing until a few weeks ago.
Commerce Pick Richardson Withdraws, Citing N.M. Probe
Government Corruption - Dagobert the Inkblot - 0 Comments
Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Pay to Play, commerce secretary
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to be commerce secretary, withdrew from consideration yesterday, citing an ongoing federal "pay-to-play" investigation involving one of his political donors as a significant obstacle to his confirmation.
Traditional fairytales 'not PC enough'
Books News - Johnny Madhouse - 17 Comments
Tags: political correctness, emotional damage, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, bedtime stories
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
Favourites such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Rapunzel are being dropped by some families who fear children are being emotionally damaged.
Mexican warlock predicts US troops on border
Living Weird - enki don't - 3 Comments
Tags: mexico, Predictions, Grand Warlock, tarot cards, bad track record
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
Mexico's self-proclaimed "Grand Warlock" says the United States will pull troops out of Iraq in 2009 and send them to the border with Mexico in an attempt to expand its territory.
A President Forgotten but Not Gone
News Opinion - Chet - 1 Comment
Tags: George Bush, new york times, farewell, Frank Rich
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
WE like our failed presidents to be Shakespearean, or at least large enough to inspire Oscar-worthy performances from magnificent tragedians like Frank Langella. So here, too, George W. Bush has let us down. Even the banality of evil is too grandiose a concept for 43. He is not a memorable villain so much as a sometimes affable second banana whom Josh Brolin and Will Ferrell can nail without breaking a sweat. He’s the reckless Yalie Tom Buchanan, not Gatsby. He is smaller than life.
Child elopers' Africa plan foiled
Living - Triggerbaby - 3 Comments
Tags: Germany, Africa, children, marriage, adorable
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
Two German children - aged five and six - have been stopped by police from eloping to Africa to tie the knot in the sun, reports say.
The budding lovebirds, identified as Mika and Anna-Lena, packed bathing costumes, sunglasses and a lilo and headed for the airport.
They even had the presence of mind to invite along an official witness - Anna-Lena's seven-year-old sister.
Bush first ex-prez to face limit on Secret Service protection
Government - Banal Intercourse - 11 Comments
Tags: George Bush, Secret Service
01/06/09 - - - (Link)
President George W. Bush's "after-life," as Laura Bush calls the post-presidency, is shaping up to be pretty comfortable, with a Dallas office, staffers, Secret Service protection, a travel budget, medical coverage and a $196,700 annual pension, all at taxpayers' expense.
However, Bush will be the first president not to benefit from one former lifetime benefit: Secret Service protection.
"He'll be the first one to receive it for 10 years," said Malcolm Wiley, Secret Service spokesman. Congress changed the law in the 1990s so that any president elected after Jan. 1, 1997, and his or her spouse will receive the federal protection for only 10 years.
Panel to declare Franken winner of Senate race
Government Elections - Space Helicopter - 53 Comments
Tags: Recount, Minnesota, Al Franken, Election 2008, Norm Coleman
01/05/09 - - - (Link)
A state election board on Monday will announce Democrat Al Franken has defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, state officials told CNN Sunday.
The canvassing board on Monday will say a recount determined Franken won by 225 votes, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie told CNN.
Fears over Yellowstone earthquakes
Living Nature - Repomancer - 13 Comments
Tags: Earthquakes, Yellowstone, supervolcano
01/05/09 - - - (Link)
Hundreds of earthquakes have hit Yellowstone National Park, raising fears of a more powerful volcanic eruption.
The earthquake swarm, the biggest in more than 20 years, is being closely monitored by scientists and emergency authorities.
Honey bees get a real buzz from cocaine
Science - Murder Yellow Teeth - 29 Comments
Tags: drugs, australia, cocaine, bees
01/05/09 - - - (Link)
An Australian scientist is doping up honey bees with cocaine to study how their brain reacts to the drug, and possibly find a way to stop addiction in humans.
The research found similarities between honey bees and humans, in that they are both are driven by rewards and both have their judgment altered by cocaine.
Ambulance men arrested for 'ignoring dying man'
Crime Stupid - Steve Airport - 12 Comments
Tags: ambulance, paramedics, resuscitate
01/05/09 - - - (Link)
Ambulance controllers overheard a private conversation between the crew members in which they supposedly made disparaging remarks about the victim's untidy home, allegedly failed to attempt to resuscitate him, and then apparently decided to claim he was already dead when they arrived.
The year 2008 in photographs
News Buzz - Chet - 24 Comments
Tags: photographs, list, 2008, Best of
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
2008 has been an eventful year to say the least - it is difficult to sum up the thousands of stories in just a handful of photographs. That said, I will try to do what I've done with other photo narratives here, and tell a story of 2008 in photographs. It's not the story of 2008, it's certainly not all stories, but as a collection it does show a good portion of what life has been like over the past 12 months. This is a multi-entry story, 120 photographs over three days.
Man Covered In Feces Attacks Flight Attendant
Crime - brujas y mothman - 14 Comments
Tags: feces, houston, mental health patient, ruckus
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
An investigation is under way to figure out why a mental health patient was traveling alone on a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Omaha, Neb., KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.
Passengers said the man left the plane's bathroom covered in his own waste on the Dec. 26 flight.
Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases
Government - Chet - 16 Comments
Tags: taxes, transportation, fuel tax
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
Motorists are driving less and buying less gasoline, which means fuel taxes aren't raising enough money to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs.
That has the federal commission that oversees financing for transportation talking about increasing the federal fuel tax.
A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by the commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads.
Special-needs student, 22, left on NYC bus in cold
Living Education - Persephonides - 3 Comments
Tags: Left Behind, special-needs, cerebral palsy, short bus
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
A 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy spent a frigid New Year's night alone on a school bus after a caretaker left him there, police and his family said.
89-year-old Cincinnati woman arrested for keeping football sues neighbours
Living Legal - Derouin - 6 Comments
Tags: football, old woman, Grumpy, Get Off My Lawn
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
An 89-year-old Cincinnati-area woman arrested for confiscating the neighbour kid's football is now suing the boy's parents.
Eggs served cold on Detroit-area freeway
Living - Persephonides - 2 Comments
Tags: Detroit, eggs, puns
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
State troopers and road crews had to scramble when a tractor-trailer crashed and spilled its load of eggs on a Detroit-area freeway.
POE News Story of 2008
Features - Chet - 0 Comments
Tags: POE News, list, 2008, Best of
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
Help us pick the top stories of 2008.
To vote:
You need to register and login.
Go to a story page (example)
Click on Rate This under the main info block.
To get to a story page, you can either search for the story or click on the stupid envelope thing on the main page.
If you need help, here is a thread on voting
Voting will be tabulated at midnight Jan 6th.
Oregon looks at taxing mileage instead of gasoline
Government Bureaucracy - Chet - 21 Comments
Tags: taxes, Oregon, , Gas Tax
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
Oregon is among a growing number of states exploring ways to tax drivers based on the number of miles they drive instead of how much gas they use, even going so far as to install GPS monitoring devices in 300 vehicles. The idea first emerged nearly 10 years ago as Oregon lawmakers worried that fuel-efficient cars such as gas-electric hybrids could pose a threat to road upkeep, which is paid for largely with gasoline taxes.
Genes give Africans a better sense of taste
Living Food - enki don't - 30 Comments
Tags: genetics, Africa, Taste, bitterness, toxic plants
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
Some put forward France's decadent sauces or Spain's creative tapas as evidence of Europeans' delicate taste for food, while Asian gourmands would sing the praises of sushi.
But they might all be wrong. New research suggests that Africans have more sensitive palettes than Europeans and Asians – at least for bitter tastes.
Four arrested in N. California gang rape of lesbian
Crime Violent - Temple - 35 Comments
Tags: Rape, gang, Gang Rape, lesbian
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
Two men and two teens have been arrested on suspicion of gang-raping a woman last month in the San Francisco Bay area while allegedly taunting her for being a lesbian, police said Thursday.
Hello 911? I'm driving drunk
Crime Stupid - Chet - 1 Comment
Tags: 911, snitch, DWI, self-snitching
01/03/09 - - - (Link)
Police get calls about drunken drivers all the time, but rarely do they come from the alleged offender. A 17-year-old girl in Bismarck called 911 on New Year's Eve "to report herself driving under the influence," police Lt. Randy Ziegler said. "I've never heard of such a thing happening, and neither has anyone here."
Karl Lagerfeld:: The "beasts" fur comes from would kill us if they could.
Living - Jimmy The Headless Frog Boy - 40 Comments
Tags: hunting, fur, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, killed nicely
01/02/09 - - - (Link)
The fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has defended the fur industry saying it is justified because the "beasts" fur comes from would "kill us if they could."
9 Muslim Passengers Removed From Jet
Living - Chet - 13 Comments
Tags: Muslims, AirTran, Swarthy, suspicious remark
01/02/09 - - - (Link)
Officials ordered nine Muslim passengers, including three young children, off an AirTran flight headed to Orlando from Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon after two other passengers overheard what they thought was a suspicious remark.
Members of the party, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens who were headed to a religious retreat in Florida, were subsequently cleared for travel by FBI agents who characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, an airport official said. But the passengers said AirTran refused to rebook them, and they had to pay for seats on another carrier secured with help from the FBI.
Iraq takes control of Green Zone, US troops
Government War - Chet - 17 Comments
Tags: Iraq, sovereignty, Green Zone
01/02/09 - - - (Link)
The U.S. formally transferred control of the Green Zone to Iraqi authorities Thursday in a pair of ceremonies that also handed back Saddam Hussein's former palace. Iraq's prime minister said he will propose making Jan. 1 a holiday marking the restoration of sovereignty.
Under the new security agreement between Washington and Baghdad to replace a U.N. mandate for foreign troops in Iraq, the Iraqi government also now has control of American troops' actions and of the country's airspace.
Aspen bombs wrapped like Christmas gifts, police say
Crime - Chet - 0 Comments
Tags: Bomb threat, Aspen, Bitter old man
01/02/09 - - - (Link)
A man delivered bombs wrapped as Christmas presents to two banks Wednesday along with a note threatening "mass death" if they did not turn over tens of thousands of dollars, police in Aspen, Colorado, said Thursday.
1 out of 12 South Dakotans packing heat
People News - mumbly joe - 38 Comments
Tags: guns, south dakota, Second Amendment, concealed weapons
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
The number of South Dakotans receiving concealed weapon permits annually has risen more than 50 percent in the past four years, Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Wednesday.
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Israelis proudly call their fighter jets 'locusts'
Government War - SwissScientistAndHerInsaneSon - 0 Comments
Tags: Israel, Hamas, Palestine, locusts
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
The screen shows what look like two swarms of green locusts over the Mediterranean Sea, approaching the Gaza Strip.
These are not locusts, though, but more than 50 Israel Air Force fighter jets that participated last Saturday in the unprecedented and astonishing air strike that was the opening act for Operation Cast Lead against Hamas.
AIDS skeptic Christine Maggiore dies of AIDS
Death Stupid - Johnny Madhouse - 85 Comments
Tags: aids, hiv, psuedoscience, denial
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
Christine Maggiore, an activist who vehemently denied that HIV causes AIDS, declined to take anti-AIDS drugs and sued Los Angeles County for stating that her 3-year-old daughter succumbed to AIDS-related pneumonia, has died. She was 52.
Maggiore died at her Van Nuys home on Saturday. She had been treated for pneumonia in the past six months, but her official cause of death was pending, county coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter said Tuesday.
He said it was unclear whether her death was AIDS-related. She was diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus in 1992.
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Barkley: All I Really Wanted Was Oral Sex
People News - peterskb - 24 Comments
Tags: DUI, oral sex, Charles Barkley
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
This may be the very best police report of 2008. When Charles Barkley was busted in Arizona early this morning for DUI, he told cops he ran a stop sign because he was in a hurry to get some oral sex.
Alternative health capital turns its 'negative energy' on pioneering wi-fi syste
Living Health - B. Weed - 7 Comments
Tags: Wi-Fi, glastonbury, woo-woo, orgone
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
It is regarded as an oasis of calm and tranquility, and the nation's capital for alternative health therapies and spiritual healing remedies.
But now the residents of Glastonbury, which has long been a favoured destination for pilgrims, are at the centre of a bitter row in which many blame the town's new wireless computer network - known as wi-fi - for a spate of health problems.
No More Goodies for Doctors From Drug Makers
Business - Lurchi - 24 Comments
Tags: Doctors, pharmaceutical industry, drug companies, big pharm, trinkets
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
To Lehman Brothers, Linen ’n Things and the blank VHS tape, add another American institution that expired in 2008: drug company trinkets.
Starting Jan. 1, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on the kind of branded goodies — Viagra pens, Zoloft soap dispensers, Lipitor mugs — that were meant to foster good will and, some would say, encourage doctors to prescribe more of the drugs.
2 teens, $250K, 1 dumb spending spree
Crime Stupid - keinsignal - 2 Comments
Tags: Minnesota, teenagers, $250K, crappy cars
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
Two young Minnesota men — flush with a quarter-million dollars in cash stolen from a grandfather on Christmas Day — spread grief and cheer throughout the holidays with a flagrant trail of ill-gotten gifts, authorities said Wednesday.
Walking While Intoxicated
Living Health - TheLoneRetard - 5 Comments
Tags: Drunk driving, DUI, DWI, new years, drunk walking
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
Every year, New Year’s revelers are warned about the risks of drunk driving. But what about drunk walking?
It’s a little known fact that Jan. 1 is the deadliest day of the year for pedestrians. A fascinating 2005 article in Injury Prevention looked at accident data in the United States from 1986 to 2002 and found that 410 pedestrians were killed on New Year’s Day during the period. And 58 percent of the pedestrians killed had high blood alcohol concentrations. The second riskiest day for walkers is Halloween.
Viacom-Time Warner Cable in truce
Television News - Chet - 3 Comments
Tags: MTV, Time Warner, Viacom, Time Warner Cable
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
Time Warner Cable and Viacom worked Thursday to finalize details on an agreement that will allow TWC customers to continue to watch programming on Viacom's MTV Networks, said TWC president and CEO Glenn Britt.
The developing agreement is expected to benefit both companies and their audiences, Viacom chief Philippe Dauman said.
CN Tower Elevator Traps 17 People at 300 metres for 4 hours
Living - Ruteger - 0 Comments
Tags: malfunction, Toronto, elevator, CN Tower, glass elevator
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
Winds were howling, children were crying, one man was shouting and another stood paralyzed with fear, as a stalled elevator swayed 300 metres up the CN Tower.
"After about 2 1/2 hours, we started to go up a few metres," passenger Irene Klee, visiting from Costa Rica, recounted yesterday of their ordeal Sunday aboard the glass-walled elevator. "Something was scratching the side – it sounded like steel against rock ...
Report on Columbia Details How Astronauts Died
Death Accidental - enki don't - 7 Comments
Tags: NASA, helmets, safety, space shuttle Columbia, depressurization
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
Seven astronauts slipped into unconsciousness within seconds and their bodies were whipped around in seats whose restraints failed as the space shuttle Columbia spun out of control and disintegrated in 2003, according to a new report from NASA.
Gonzales Defends Role in Antiterror Policies
Government Bureaucracy - Robin Kestrel - 14 Comments
Tags: Alberto Gonzales, war on terror, Attorney, martyr
01/01/09 - - - (Link)
Alberto Gonzales, who has kept a low profile since resigning as attorney general nearly 16 months ago, said he is writing a book to set the record straight about his controversial tenure as a senior official in the Bush administration.
Mr. Gonzales has been portrayed by critics both as unqualified for his position and instrumental in laying the groundwork for the administration's "war on terror." He was pilloried by Congress in a manner not usually directed toward cabinet officials.
"What is it that I did that is so fundamentally wrong, that deserves this kind of response to my service?" he said during an interview Tuesday, offering his most extensive comments since leaving government.
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