Monday - January 28, 2008
Blogger loses retail job over shoplifting
Too many people think “The customer is always right” when in truth it’s “The customer is always king”; in the retail business this means that you try to do whatever you can to make the customers happy so that they spend their money in your establishment. And then come back and do it again. It does not mean that the customers can do whatever the hell they want, and it certainly doesn’t include allowing the customers to steal things from your store.
Well, that’s what most of us would like to believe. Rather famous blogger Risawn found out that the real world doesn’t always make sense, and that our society seems to be going to Hellena Handbasket right quick. In between being in the Army, doing a tour of duty for a year in Kosovo, pursuing a college degree, getting promoted to Staff Seargent, running three or four blogs simultaneously, and becoming a qualified Drill Instructor, she’s been working as a clerk in a record store. I guess her employer just didn’t realize that when you hire someone like that you get a lot more than some fuzzbrained schlubb standing around collecting a paycheck. You get an employee with sharp wits, self confidence, and a straight moral compass ... who isn’t about to put up with petty theft by a bunch of punk-ass kids. So in between stocking the shelves and running the cash register she managed to snag shoplifters left and right without much effort.
I used to work in retail, once upon a time (about a month after the last dinosaurs died). We caught the little sneaks all the time too, but the company would never press charges. We’d just take back our stuff and throw them out. And we almost never beat the crap out of them. Almost. Never. Mostly. Probably lost a few customers that way, but they were stealing, so who cares?
I guess times have changed. When the Little Darlings get caught red handed, mommy probably threatens a lawsuit. And forget expecting a judge to take the side of the business, the same way they do for traffic cops. Nope, it’s hardly worth it, even if you have the theft on surveilance video. So stores go beyond not trying to stop losses, they actively work against loyal employees who assume Loss Prevention is part of their job. That’s the case here, and now Risawn is out of a job. (BTW, the con she twigged to is older than Moses. Any manager who isn’t wise to it, or who let’s it happen, doesn’t deserve to run a business.)
But it seems like it might be against business to prosecute shoplifters because laws these days are more in favor of the shoplifters then the businesses. You just accused me of putting this cd in my pocket? Do you have proof of this? It is fully one hundred percent substantiated? Hah, you didn’t get me on camera, I’m going to take you to court for defamation despite the fact that indeed, I stole the CD. But the court is going to back me because you don’t have enough proof.
So if you have an employee, such as me for instance, that can’t stand shop lifters and want to see the whole lot of them burn in hell, when I get on the case of one and save my employer money by doing a little research to discover that indeed, this product was stolen, guess what happens?
The Employee gets fired and the shoplifter walks away, scott free. Even though, the employee can verify that the product the shoplifter returned was not product properly purchased.
So, the lesson that business is teaching us today kids, is that they care more for keeping you happy then keeping you honest. You see a CD that you like but you don’t have the money to purchase it? Just grab that CD off the shelf outside of the camera and employee’s view, walk up to the counter and ask to return it. When you can’t produce the receipt, and you won’t get cash back, tell them you changed your mind and they’ll let you walk right out of the store with the product you tried to ‘return’.
Indeed, that would be my former employer’s policy. Me? I find that bloody ridiculous.
So she’s out of a job for bravely doing the right thing. Do you think she’s sorry about it?
Posted by Drew458
on 01/28/2008 at 12:17 PM
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Permalink • CONSRV.(?) BRIT MP IS “FED UP” WITH BUSH AND CHRISTIAN RIGHT, GOES TO USA TO WORK FOR SHILLERY.
Will I get flamed for using any four letter words? OK, that establishes what I’m thinking. But the hell with it. I am really so fuckin pissed off I’m having a hard time getting the words right. Look ... this bastard is an MP. That’s a Member of Parliament! He is supposed to be representing a district in his own freekin country. Not sticking his unwanted foreign assed nose in our affairs.
I thought we ousted their sorry asses in ‘76 with the don’t tred on me thing. But ... Theiiiiiiiirrrrrrr Baaaaaaaack! And I wouldn’t approve even if he went to work for our side. They don’t belong in the USA and if they do ya may as well give em the vote too. No I’m jolly well not thru!
Tory MPs back Hillary Clinton for president
By Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor
Last Updated: 2:09am GMT 28/01/2008Tory MPs are forging links with Hillary Clinton as the traditional alliance between the Conservatives and the Republican Party shows signs of increasing strain.
One Conservative MP is so convinced by the Democratic senator and wife of former president Bill Clinton that he travelled to the US this month to work on her campaign.
Simon Burns, the MP for West Chelmsford, has spent nine days pounding the streets as a member of Team Hillary. Other Tories backing Mrs Clinton include Alan Duncan, the shadow secretary of state for enterprise, and Nadine Dorries, the MP for Mid-Bedfordshire.
While most Conservatives support John McCain, the Republican senator who addressed the party’s conference in Bournemouth two years ago, some modernisers are turning to Mrs Clinton because they fear Mr McCain will lose the nomination to a more Right-wing candidate such as Mitt Romney.
Mr Burns turned up unannounced at the Clinton campaign headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire, offering to work for free. He said: “I walked in and I said ‘I want to see Hillary Clinton as president and I’m prepared to work in any way you want to try to help’.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m British so the accent might not be helpful and I happen to be a Tory MP’. For those who understood what a Tory MP was politically, they were very good about it. They immediately put me to work. I did a considerable amount of telephone canvassing and helped with ‘visibilities’.”
This is a technique whereby campaigners stand at crossroads with placards chanting slogans as drivers hoot their horns. Mr Burns, who met Mrs Clinton at a rally, said he had told the Tory leader, David Cameron, about his activities.
“He asked, ‘Did you have a good time?’ and I explained what I had done and he just listened. I can’t speak for him, but he is an intelligent and astute politician, so he must be interested in Hillary.”
An increasing number of Tories have become alienated from the Republicans during George W Bush’s presidency because of the situation in Iraq. Mr Burns said: “Maybe it’s perceived as a bit odd for a Tory MP to want to support Hillary Clinton but the Republican Party has moved so far to the Right and has been captured by a rather unpleasant religious agenda, and the Tory Party under David Cameron is not equivalent to that. I have nothing in common with them and I wouldn’t have thought many of my Conservative colleagues had either.”
Mr Duncan, who supported the Democrats in the last two American elections, said: “I’m for Hillary unless it’s McCain, in which case I’m for McCain. Over the last 10 years I have been worried about the American deficit, the increasing dominance of the Christian Right and the need for deeper understanding of the Middle East.”
Ms Dorries, one of several female Tory MPs in the Clinton camp, said: “If it is going to be a Democrat I want Hillary to win the nomination. She’s a woman with a lot of substance and experience. It will be great to have a woman as president.”
Oh what a really good reason for this foreign assed slag pile of crap to support Mrs. Clinton. I’d like nothing better had I the opportunity, then to use these interfering goobers for target practise. Really I would. Why doesn’t someone shoot their sorry asses?
A Clinton victory is an interesting prospect for Mr Cameron who last year distanced himself from “neo-con” Republicanism. MPs point out that Clinton and Cameron have similar stances on childcare and health and that Mr Cameron has much more in common with a centrist Clinton than he does with the American religious Right.
Mr Cameron has not declared a preference, although earlier this month he said he admired Barack Obama, the rival Democratic contender, whom he called a “brilliant speaker”.
One senior Tory said: “He likes the fact that some of his MPs are Democrats. In the end it’s the big picture that counts for him and if it’s Hillary he will make it work.”
Posted by Drew458
on 01/28/2008 at 11:12 AM
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Permalink • Gordon B. Hinckley R.I.P.
I’m really sad. Gordon B. Hinckley was the last of the Church leadership I knew as a teen. He will be sorely missed.
Officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced this evening that Church President Gordon B. Hinckley has passed away.
He passed away at his home about 7 o’clock this evening with his family was at his side. President Hinckley was 97 years old. He was the 15th president of the Church.
Born in Salt Lake City on June 23, 1910; he graduated from the University of Utah and served a mission to Great Britain. After he returned, he embarked on a lifetime of service for the Church.
He was employed as the executive secretary of the Church Radio, Publicity, and Literature committee, before he was called to be an Apostle in 1961.
He was later called to serve as a counselor to President Kimball, President Benson and President Hunter.
Since becoming Church President on Mar. 12, 1995, he has directed the most intense temple building program in the history of the Church in an effort to extend temple blessings to more members.
He has exhibited vitality and energy as he has traveled about the world meeting and speaking to members of the Church.
Through television interviews and national press publications, he has increased media attention and improved the public image of the Church. He has counseled Church members to fellowship new converts, befriend members of other faiths, live exemplary lives, and avoid the evils of the world.
UPDATE: Here is a photo essay about President Hinckley.
Posted by Christopher
on 01/28/2008 at 12:19 AM
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Permalink • Sunday - January 27, 2008
An Englishman who beat the system?
"An Englisman’s home is his castle.” So what’s a loyal and true citizen of the realm supposed to do when he wants to fullfill his natural right? Well, he builds himself a castle. Problem is, Old Blighty has gone so fascist that they’re up to their necks in zoning boards, planning boards, neighborhood committees and other such muck that it’s nearly impossible to get approval to build the home you want on your own land, even if it meets or exceeds the building codes. If you don’t get the “royal nod” from the local Committee of Public Safety, then it’s off with your head. Mostly. (Yes, that is a reference to the Reign of Terror in fwance after their revolution. While England isn’t actually using the good Doctor G’s timesaving vertical chopper, they are sending people to jail if they don’t comply with building or remodeling their homes exactly as the planning boards demand, right down to the style and color. Aside from the buckets of blood, I don’t see a huge difference.)
So one smart fellow, a farmer named Robert Fidler, looked at the law and figured he found a loophole. See, the law says you can actually build what you want, as long as nobody complains about it for four whole years. So he got hold of a huge amount of hay, built an enormous circle of it 40 feet high in the middle of his field, and put a big blue tarp over the whole thing.
For more than four years, this is what the neighbors saw:
Meanwhile the hammering, sawing, and masonry commenced. Neighbors were aware that something was going on, but didn’t seem to care. And I guess they were happy to look at a mountain of slowly rotting hay year after year after year.
Finally, once the four years and some had gone by, down comes the hay ... and this is what the neighbors saw in the morning:
Farmer Fidler and his family have been living in this for quite some time now, and went to great lengths to keep it a secret. Naturally the neighbors are now having fits, and the local councils are crying foul, because the “4 year law” was sure to have a hidden meaning of “4 years of us looking at it every day”.
Mr. Fidler’s case will be decided next month. If things go against him he could be forced to tear it down in as little as six months, at his own expense.
My hat’s off to this man for giving the locals one of the biggest ”Sod Off”s in the country. Zoning and planning boards should only have rules to enforce a quality level of building, minimum property size per building, and how close to the road and property edges you can build. Everything else should be up to the owner ... it’s a little thing called freedom.
Full article can be read here
Posted by Drew458
on 01/27/2008 at 08:09 PM
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Permalink • Saturday - January 26, 2008
Hillary is Magnificent
This is fantastic. The Democratic Parties in Michigan and Florida decided last year to move up their primary dates so that their voters wouldn’t be playing Follow The Leader any more. The DNC came down on them hard, and said that if they moved the primaries to before February 5, then none of the delegates would be allowed to be seated (ie vote) at the DNC Convention. Both states went ahead and scheduled earlier primary dates anyway. The DNC prohibited any of the candidates from campaigning or running local advertisements in those states. Authoritarian for sure, but it’s their party and they can make what rules they want. Obama and Edwards were good little boys and took their names off the ballots there.
The other day Hillary won Michigan with 55% of the vote, netting herself 73 delegates. Not that they could vote. The other two weren’t even on the ballot. Funny, I must have missed the MSM repeatedly telling me that these delegates were “illegal” and that the whole primary was “illegal”. No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear that, not once, but I wasn’t paying the Dem stuff much heed.
Florida’s Dem primary is Tuesday. You’d think it was another “illegal” primary, going nowhere, right? Wrong-o! Now the Hildabeast is playing the “disenfranchised voters” card, and you just know she’s gonna win her quest ... to make both primaries “legitimate” again. Problem is, is that the campaign officials/laws/rules/whatever won’t allow Edwards and Obama back onto the ballot at this late date! (now if this was the NJ primary this wouldn’t even be an issue. We have the magic “Torricelli Option” in this state that moots all legal deadlines. When it’s a Democrat we’re talking about, of course)
Major slickness from Mrs. Slick Willy. Screw over the other two totally and get away with it because she’s doing it “for the voters”. Don’t even consider that such a move is giving every Democratic voter in the country an aneurysm, hell no. She will win her point, screw the collateral damage.
Here’s her latest piece of Teflon:
“I know other campaigns have tried to downplay the significance of these two states,” Clinton told reporters in South Carolina Friday. “I think that is not a good strategy for Democrats or any of us who cares about the outcome of this election.”
I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee.
I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention.
I hope my fellow potential nominees will join me in this.
I will of course be following the no-campaigning pledge that I signed, and expect others will as well.
Isn’t the last line just superb? “Oh, and I’ll follow the rules too. What, me cheat? Never.”
This is a total WIN-WIN for the wicked witch. If she gets her way she gets all those delegates. If she loses she gets the total support of the dems in both those state because “I stood up for you, even when your own party disenfranchised you”. Like I said, magnificent.
Via the Rottie who snagged it from The Loony Bin who had the bravery to go read a lefty publication here
news links:
MLive
Yahoo News
PS - I wanted to check her campaign page to see if I could find a press release. Being a loyal Republican I didn’t have the slightest idea what the URL was, so I just typed in this one, which turns out to be a dead stub. But get a load of the moronic slogan there ... I wonder what happens when I pull the lever in the voting booth? Is this what they mean by an “Election Day Knockout”? 
Posted by Drew458
on 01/26/2008 at 01:37 PM
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Permalink • Friday - January 25, 2008
More self-writing posts
Peiper, I don’t know how you missed this one ...
Suicide bomber falls down stairs ... From correspondents in Khost, Afghanistan
January 24, 2008 12:39pm
A WOULD-be suicide bomber fell down a flight of stairs and blew himself up as he headed out for an attack in Afghanistan, police say.
It was the second such incident in two days, with another man killing himself and three others on Tuesday when his bomb-filled waistcoat exploded as he was putting it on in the southern town of Lashkar Gah.
Yesterday’s blast was in a busy market area of the eastern town of Khost, a deputy provincial police chief said.
The would-be attacker tripped as he was leaving a building apparently to target an opening ceremony for a mosque that was expected to be attended by Afghan and international military officials, said Sakhi Mir.
“Coming down the stairs, he fell down and exploded. Two civilian women and a man were wounded,’’ Mir said.
Suicide attacks are regular feature of an insurgency led by the extremist Taliban movement that was in government between 1996 and 2001. The most deadly was in November 2007 and killed nearly 80 people, most of them school students.
I think it’s high time the Brits made an Al-Black Adder, Terrorist series for the telly.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/25/2008 at 02:35 PM
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Permalink • DRIVER KILLS CYCLIST, SUES FAMILY OF CYCLIST. LOGICAL
As Drew points out on another post ... some of these write themselves.
<
b>Killer Spanish driver sues for damage to car
By Fiona Govan in Madrid
Last Updated: 5:13pm GMT 25/01/2008A Spanish driver who killed a 17-year old cyclist in a traffic accident is suing the boy’s parents for €20,000 (£14,800) for the damage caused to his luxury car. Businessman Tomas Delgado, 43, claims his Audi A8 suffered €14,000 (£10,400) of damage when he collided with Enaitz Iriondo, who died instantly in the crash on the night of Aug 26, 2004.
Mr Delgado, who faced no criminal charges for the incident despite allegedly travelling at more than 100 mph on a road with a speed limit of 50 mph, is also asking for a further €6,000 (£4,400) to cover the cost of hiring another vehicle while his was being repaired.
Enaitz had been staying at a campsite on a family holiday in the Rioja region at the time of the accident.
He was cycling back alone after a night out with friends and was not wearing reflective clothing or a helmet, according to a report cited by Spanish daily newspaper El Pais.
His family won €33,000 (£24,500) compensation from Mr Delgado’s insurance company after the firm acknowledged he had been driving at excessive speed and this could have contributed to the incident.
“I’m also a victim in all of this, you can’t fix the lad’s problems, but you can fix mine,” Mr Delgado told the newspaper, ahead of a court ruling on his claim expected on Jan 30.
The parents of the dead boy said they had previously pitied Mr Delgado for the guilt he must feel at killing their son but were now disgusted that his greatest concern appeared to be money.
“This was the final straw, a kick in the teeth,” Enaitz’s mother Rosa Trinidad said. “How can someone be so shameless?”
http://tinyurl.com/2ncghd
Posted by Drew458
on 01/25/2008 at 02:12 PM
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Permalink • IOW - Idiot of the Week … contender 2
Angry Employee Deletes All Of Company’s Data
Call it a tale of revenge gone wrong.When Marie Lupe Cooley, 41, of Jacksonville, Fla., saw a help-wanted ad in the newspaper for a position that looked suspiciously like her current job — and with her boss’s phone number listed — she assumed she was about to be fired.
So, police say, she went to the architectural office where she works late Sunday night and erased 7 years’ worth of drawings and blueprints, estimated to be worth $2.5 million.
“She decided to mess up everything for everybody,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ken Jefferson told reporters. “She just sabotaged the entire business, thinking she was going to get axed.”
It didn’t take Steven Hutchins, owner of the architectural firm that bears his name, much time to figure out who’d done it — Cooley was the only other person who had full access to the files.
Police arrested Cooley Monday evening and charged her with causing greater than $1,000 damage to computer files, a felony. She was bailed out the following afternoon.
Hutchins told one TV station he’d managed to recover all the files using an expensive data-recovery service.
As for the job, Cooley originally wasn’t in danger of losing it. The ad was for Hutchins’ wife’s company.
The firm told FOXNews.com that Cooley no longer is employed there.
I can’t add anything to this story. Sometimes posts just write themselves!
Posted by Drew458
on 01/25/2008 at 09:25 AM
Filed Under: • Stoopid-People •
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Permalink • A SHORT CROCK STORY
Nothin’ to do with Moonbats I know but an interesting piece (and a short one).
See photo:
Man shot while being rescued from crocodile
By Mark Chipperfield in Sydney
Last Updated: 2:48am GMT 24/01/2008An Australian man shot his friend in the arm while trying to rescue him from a crocodile.
Jason Grant was collecting eggs at a crocodile farm at Marrakai Station, 75 miles east of Darwin, Northern Territory, when a saltwater crocodile snatched him by the arm. His colleague, Zac Fitzgerald, immediately grabbed a pistol and fired two shots.
Bite to eat: crocodile farm worker Zac Fitzgerald, who accidentally shot his friend in the arm in rescuing him from one of the beasts
A police spokesman said: “The male colleague shot at the crocodile causing it to let go of the victim’s arm, but a further shot hit the victim in the upper right arm.”The injured man was flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital where he underwent surgery for a broken arm, crocodile bites and a bullet wound.
A spokesman said that Mr Fitzgerald saved his colleague’s life, but could not confirm whether Mr Grant would regain the full use of his arm. Mr Grant, apparently, is not holding a grudge against his mate.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/25/2008 at 09:13 AM
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Permalink • YESTERDAYS NEWS AND NOTHIN’ IS NEW .. death for insulting Islam
YESTERDAYS NEWS AND NOTHIN’ IS NEW .. death for insulting Islam
Afghan journalist gets death for insulting Islam
By David Blair, Diplomatic EditorLast Updated: 2:30am GMT 24/01/2008
The Taliban-style intimidation of Afghan newspapers came to the surface after a journalist was sentenced to death for distributing an article deemed to have “insulted Islam”.
Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh’s crime was to have passed around a piece taken from a website questioning why Muslim women cannot have multiple husbands in the same way as their menfolk can legally take four wives.Mr Kaambakhsh, who works for “The New World”, a newspaper in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, was prosecuted for downloading this article, apparently gleaned from an Iranian website, and distributing it to his friends.On Tuesday, a court found him guilty of “insulting Islam” and sentenced him to death."Based on the crimes Parwez Kaambakhsh committed, the primary court sentenced him to the most serious punishment which is the death penalty,” said Hafizullah Khaliqyar, the province’s deputy attorney general.No lawyer represented Mr Kaambakhsh, 23, during the critical hearing, which appears to have taken place in secret in Mazar-i-Sharif.
The journalist will appeal against the verdict and both Afghan and international campaigners denounced his treatment. “This is unfair, this is illegal,” said Rahimullah Samander, president of the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA). “This is too big for a small mistake - he just printed a copy and looked at this and read it. How can we believe in this ‘democracy’ if we can’t even read, we can’t even study?” The AIJA urged President Hamid Karzai to intervene in the case and quash the death sentence. The penalty must be confirmed by a higher court before it can be inflicted. But campaigners believe that the court’s real motive was not protecting the honour of Islam. Mr Kaambakhsh’s brother, Yaqub Ibrahimi, also works as a journalist and has written a series of reports on atrocities committed by senior politicians in northern Afghanistan.
The authorities may have been trying to silence him by threatening Mr Kaambakhsh’s life. Jean MacKenzie, country director for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, which trains Afghan journalists, said: “We feel very strongly that this is a complete fabrication on the part of the authorities up in Mazar, designed to put pressure on Parwez’s brother, Yaqub, who has done some of the hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some very powerful commanders in Balkh and the other northern provinces.
“The overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 brought a new era of media freedom in Afghanistan. Dozens of newspapers and television stations have sprung up across the country. In practice, however, the authorities are deeply suspicious of journalists and all media outlets face pressure and harassment. Laws protecting the good name of Islam can often be invoked to stifle press criticism.
-30-
Posted by Drew458
on 01/25/2008 at 08:13 AM
Filed Under: • Insanity • RoPMA • Terrorists •
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Permalink • Thursday - January 24, 2008
Random clicking leads to The biggest link on the internet
Philip Atkinson explains it all, from poor management, to the root cause of gun control, to how we got stuck with Political Correctness, to the decline of civilazation everywhere, to explaining the Nazis and AIDS. He even throws in an entire library of classic literature at the end. There are enough cross links to get lost in, so open lots of new tabs in your browser as needed.
This is more than a web site, more than a Magnum Opus. It’s an entire book ... no, it’s almost an entire course in Western Civ, looked at from the “what went wrong” perspective.
My guess is that there is 12 hours of reading here, not including the library at the end. While I am not sure about the AIDS info, the rest seems like solid gold so far.
The Amazing & True Great Works of Philip Atkinson (the main link is “A Study of Our Decline” in 20 or more chapters.)
All this and a collection of jokes that were ancient 100 years ago, plus some rough edged humor about Idi Amin which might have been funny in 1973 but is distinctly racist today.
PS - And all of this turned up because I Googled on Little Black Sambo in response to a comment exchange this afternoon. Which lead to this place, a bastion of political incorrectness with a strong British flavor. And some rather racist-y bits. But hey, at least they wrote up the Johnny Seven, perhaps the greatest toy gun ever made. No, that’s not right. The greatest toy guns ever made were the Johnny Eagle series. They were nearly full size, and so well made they were hard to tell from the real thing. The rifles used spring loaded ammo that, with a double green dot blackpowder cap, could shoot a large plastic bullet clean across the back yard hard enough to put holes in paper bags. Ah, memories. Pretty sure we had the Lieutenant and the Mugambo series. Whereas the coolest toy guns ever made were the Agent Zero-M spy guns. (Man, if I had my toychest from back then I’d be rich!!)
Posted by Drew458
on 01/24/2008 at 08:49 PM
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Permalink • FYI
Thought I would announce my new photo gallery is up.
I’ll be posting whatever images catch my eye for various reasons. Funny, strange, sexy, or just downright political. No pRon, but since artwork of scantily-clad or nude women is fair game it’s NSFW.
There’s 12 up there now. One of which is dedicated to peiper. I’ll let you figure out which one.
Here’s an example: (Probably NSFW)
I used to like Boris Vallejo… 
There’s even an RSS feed.
So come on by. Click here!
Posted by Christopher
on 01/24/2008 at 08:24 PM
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Permalink • Three little pigs ‘could offend builders, Muslims’ (DUH award for the year this early in ‘08?)
Somethin’ AWFUL STUPID would have to come along to beat this one for awful damn dumb. When’s it gonna stop? Right, once the West is won. But it doesn’t look as tho it’ll be won by the Brits and europeans.
Three little pigs ‘could offend builders, Muslims’
By Graeme Paton, Education Editor
Last Updated: 3:00am GMT 24/01/2008A story based on the Three Little Pigs has been rejected by a government quango in case it offends Muslims.
The digital remake of the children’s classic was criticised by Becta, the education technology agency, because “the use of pigs raises cultural issues”.
Officials also attacked the story - called The Three Little Cowboy Builders - for stereotyping the building trade.
The comments were condemned by the computer program’s creator as “a slap in the face”.
It is the latest in a string of bans slapped on seemingly innocuous children’s stories and nursery rhymes.
In the past, Baa Baa Black Sheep has become Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep to satisfy race relations, the Seven Dwarfs have been axed from Snow White to avoid offending the vertically challenged and the ending of Humpty Dumpty has been censored for fear of upsetting sensitive children.
The latest controversy was sparked during an awards ceremony designed to honour the best educational stories, programmes and teaching aids for children.
Dozens of companies submitted entries to the annual BETT awards, led by Becta, which heaped praise on a robot with 67 different manoeuvres, a computer
program which allows children to recreate Jackson Pollock paintings and a game helping pupils to learn French.But Newcastle-based publishers Shoo Fly were shocked when judges told them that their interactive 3D book was unsuitable for children.
In a feedback form, Becta told the company: “Judges would not recommend this product to the Muslim community in particular.”
They also said that the subject was “questionable for certain groups within the UK” and that “only an exceedingly creative teacher could find this innovative”.
The story for primary school pupils replaces pigs with “cowboy builders” as part of a light-hearted tale designed to spark interest in reading and design
technology skills.
OK wait a damn minute here! Man I am soooooo frakin sick ‘n’ tired of the constant use of “Cowboy” over here as a term of denigration. That isn’t to say they were all cub scouts but my read of history does NOT show em to be the wankers, cheats and inefficient bumblers the term implies here.
Young children are encouraged to read the story and create their own versions using the software.
But its authors were also told that it portrays the building industry in a bad light.
Judges said “retelling a story” was acceptable, but it “should not alienate parts of the workforce”, adding that builders should be “positive” role models for
young children.“Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?” the judges asked.
Anne Curtis, the founder of Shoo Fly, which won a prize at the prestigious Education Resource Awards for the story, said: “The feedback amounted to a verbal assault.
“I feel these criticisms aim to close the minds of teachers and young people to some issues.”
Muslims criticised Becta’s response and insisted that a computer program based on the Three Little Pigs should be welcomed in state schools.
Tahir Alam, the head of education at the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “We are not offended by that at all.”
Yesterday, the quango stood by the verdict, which was made by 70 independent judges, mainly teachers.
A spokesman said: “The feedback makes clear that the issues highlighted were a small selection from a much broader range of comments.”
Posted by Drew458
on 01/24/2008 at 07:05 AM
Filed Under: • Insanity • Outrageous • RoPMA • Stoopid-People •
• Comments (6)
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Permalink • ANOTHER FREEBE FROM THE NANNY STATE? WHY NOT? The Taxpayer has too damn much money anyway.
Check out the link and get a load (no pun) of the photograph but mostly, interesting letters from the citizens on the subject.
They’re talking about spending the equiv. of $100 BILLION on this.
Should fat people be paid to lose weight?Thursday, January 24, 2008
Daily TelegraphFat people will be offered cash incentives to lose weight and take exercise as part of a new Government strategy to tackle the obesity epidemic, which could ultimately cost the NHS £50bn a year to treat.
Employers will be encouraged to set up competitions with cash, vouchers and other rewards for people taking up a healthier lifestyle.
Similar schemes have worked in the US, while private medical insurance companies in Britain are already offering discounts to people who regularly go to the gym.
Should the overweight be paid to slim? Should employers monitor their employees’ fitness regimes?
What is the best way to encourage people to lead a healthier lifestyle?
Posted by Drew458
on 01/24/2008 at 06:42 AM
Filed Under: • Government • Health-Medicine •
• Comments (3)
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:
It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.
- Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
- Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
- Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
- Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere
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Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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