A clever turn of phrase can make wrong seem right and clear seem complicated. As a general rule, whoever is able to get their verbiage accepted as the correct words to use, they gain a lot of ground in public debates.     One example is talking about babies. Choosing that word in and of [...]

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The New Zealand A1GP team, with racer Jonny Reid, managed to get seventh in A1GP feature race and picking up four championship points in the second round at Brno track, Czech Republic. After New Zealand managing to secure themselves first place in the qualifying race by being fastest in all four qualifying segments with a [...]

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     For decades the stereotype of the comic book or sci-fi geek has run rampant in pop culture. This is well enough known that the current number 2 video on VH1′s countdown is Weird Al Yankovich’s parody song “White and Nerdy” which centers on the difference between the comic book collecting, Stephen Hawking reading, pocket protectored nerd [...]

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I admit to be woefully ignorant about the Northwestern and Mountainous regions of China, specifically Tibet. But, I am grateful for the blog THE OPPOSITE END OF CHINA for his brave reports and engaging pictures of the area. A recent article on his blog via Dow Jones Commodities Service: Tibetan Refugees Reportedly Killed By China [...]

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A 13 year old student in Australia was failed in one of her classes after she refused to take part in an assignment on the basis of moral and religious beliefs. The students in the class were asked to take part in an assignment where they were to imagine living as a heterosexual among a [...]

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Why Mexico is so upset about installing a fence along 700 miles border? The fence is just a symbolic gesture by the White House to keep the republican voters happy. The US border with Mexico is 3000 miles long but fencing 700 miles is not going to stop the Mexicans from crossing into the United [...]

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Recent news of Iraqi policemen apparently being poisoned upon breaking their Ramadan fast reads oddly like something that happened at the end of World War II between Jewish concentration camp survivors and former S.S. guards being held by the Americans. According to historical reports, and some recent media reports about these Jewish fighters, “Joseph Harmatz [...]

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Washington, D.C. is an open cesspool. If you watch the local news in the evening, the first three stories will invariably be about people who have been shot, often for reasons unknown. Add to that the fact that the shooters have adopted a fresh approach in using their weapons: multiple shots, usually to the head. [...]

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Acting on complaints from a neighbor, city officials from Vancouver, British Columbia have told a couple that they must pay $3,500 to the city or tear down the tree house that they are building for their two children, aged 7 and 6. The parents, Andrew Dewberry and Jayne Seagrave, have been told that they must [...]

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The Chicago Cubs have not been to the World Series in 98 years. The reason for such a disparity lies heavily upon the management’s (or lack thereof) shoulders. They’ve repeatedly made bad decisions that have been detrimental to the most under-achieving team in baseball. And it sounds as if they’re going to continue their woes, [...]

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Students at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College have filed a lawsuit against the school in response to the school’s decision to begin admitting men after 115 years of being a strictly woman’s school. The lawsuit was filed by four freshmen, one sophomore and four juniors with the intention of delaying the admission of men until the year [...]

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The rebuilding of New Orleans gives room for a lot of speculation — what the new city will look like aesthetically and demographically, etc. This can’t be a good sign; prostitutes are seeing a boom in business as construction crews come to work on the city. Of course, the activity will probably calm back down [...]

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Fox News has long been criticized for its undeniably conservative outlook, but apparently the Web site editors don’t know their right-wing talk show hosts named “Laura” very well. The home page promises comments from “Dr. Laura and others on the Foley scandal,” but the story itself has an interview with Laura Ingraham, not Laura Schlessinger [...]

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British Gen. David Richards, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, said in a call earlier today that he would ‘understand’ if Afghans decided to switch their allegiance over to the Taliban. He also said that they still need more troops there. In a statement made earlier today, Gen. Richards was quoted as saying “By [...]

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Here is an interesting video of Donald Rumsfeld being unable to answer some tough questions. While he does make an attempt to talk around the question, the fact of the matter is he can’t explain away some of his inconsistency. This is something everyone should really see. By: R. Andrew Smith For more by theDonnybrook, [...]

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Recent media reports say Angelina Jolie misses doing steamy scenes with women, and wants to do more of them. And she likes to talk about shopping between the steamy scenes. It sounds to me like Angelina Jolie knows very well she can’t be trusted with hunky male co-stars, and Bradd Pitt probably knows that about [...]

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There have been some recent media reports about the precarious world of gay republicans serving in positions of power. And we, the public, regardless of politics or orientation, have to be left to wonder: WHAT gay republicans? It’s amazing that, for so long, Foley managed to keep his secret and live his life without exposure. [...]

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On October 6, the President released the administration’s new space initiative (you can find the official report here). The policy seems to open up the possibility of more space travel and exploration, though it uses limitations like “affordable.” Another interesting aspect of the policy is its anti-litter initiative that aims to reduce the amount of [...]

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It’s not hard to believe that rather than start a scandal by publicly ‘opening the door’ to ex-Congressman Mark Foley’s ‘closet’ when he first realized that the man was a walking political time-bomb, Dennis Hastert chose to “handle the situation” privately. The problem is, he didn’t handle the situation by convincing Foley to resign for [...]

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A movie about suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco called “The Bridge” is promoting discussion of the issue of suicide and, to some degree, landmarks which are suicide hotspots and whether anything can be done to decrease suicides at those landmarks. Consider, for example, the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. This place has been [...]

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I try not to come down on illegal immigrants too hard — it’s the U.S. government’s fault more than theirs, and if I was born poor in a stink-hole like Mexico I’d probably do the same thing — but this story beats out the McDonald’s coffee one for “most ridiculous lawsuit ever.” Suing your company [...]

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Those who follow the issue of Native American sports mascot controversies know that the University of North Dakota recently filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, suing for the chance to continue using their controversial “Fighting Sioux” logo. The University of North Dakota is in quite a fix, since it accepted the gift (with many strings) [...]

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If you are a Star Trek fan, Christie’s auction house was the place to be on Saturday. CBS Paramount Television decided it was time to unload some of the props used in both the TV shows and the 10 movies.  Initial estimates were that the auction would bring in $3 million, reality was somewhat different. Star [...]

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Students attending the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis are worried about their safety in light of seemingly random, violent assaults in neighborhoods near the campus. One student was attacked by “five or six men” who beat him, then turned on a second student. A student from Bethel University was also assaulted near the University of Minnesota, [...]

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In Larimore, North Dakota, citizens have become so upset with a new, overzealous police chief named Steve Jones that (according to a blogger in Grand Forks, “Voice of Dakota”) Jones has said there are “implied death threats.” Here’s what the blogger, Dakota Huseby, reported:       “I have spoken with the Larimore Police Chief Steve Jones… [...]

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Some might consider it a bit strange that after twelve years of service, the Chicago Cubs’ team president Andy MacPhail resigned. Did he voluntarily do so because he felt the Cubs lack of success rested solely upon his shoulder, or did he do so to save face? Rumors have been aplenty during the second half [...]

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Last year’s right fielder for the Chicago Cubs, Jeremy Burnitz, was ousted due to his lack of offensive prowess. His replacement was Jacque Jones. After witnessing horrendous throws by Jones, throws that occurred all season long, fans began to suspect that something had to be physically wrong with the man. On Sunday, Jacque Jones confirmed [...]

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Former relief pitcher Jason Grimsley is under federal investigation regarding his illegal use of performance enhancing drugs while under the employment of Major League Baseball. He aided the investigation further by naming ex-teammates as fellow indulgers of the illegal substances. He claims Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, David Segui, and Jay Gibbons [...]

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In the third quarter of Sunday’s football contest between the Tennessee Titans and the Dallas Cowboys an ejection of mass proportions occurred. That was the least of defensive lineman, Albert Haynesworth’s concerns. Actions such as his should warrant a year long suspension. During a play that yielded a Cowboy’s touchdown, the Cowboy’s center, Andre Gurode [...]

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Why is it that punishments for crimes committed by celebrities should be treated any differently than if they were committed by a color-collared citizen? Lord knows there isn’t a lay-person alive that could spin an overdose/suicide attempt into an accident, all in the span of less than twenty-four hours. But such an achievement was nothing [...]

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A baby’s mother left her child with her two younger brothers while she went off to work. The 13 and 10 year-old boys wandered off, leaving the front door ajar. The baby crawled out on to the balcony of their Shadow Wood condominium in Denver, Colorado. The baby enjoyed the three story high view a [...]

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A survey was conducted at 15 middle schools in New Hampshire and Vermont. The study examined 4,500 students and tried to correlate the amount of television watched to the kind of schoolwork the students performed. The study concludes that the more television watched, or video games played on weekdays, the worse students performed in school. [...]

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The beauty of cyberspace is that age is typically a non-factor. What’s the matter? Is such an observation troubling? Weina Scott might have people believing otherwise. She’s seventeen years-old, still in high school, and yet she has an annual salary of $40,000. No, she didn’t accrue such a salary working at McDonalds, the local grocery [...]

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Google.com has enabled anyone who chooses to use their services with the ability to discover things normally out of their reach. Simply type in a proper name in the search box, click search, and discover John Doe’s recent top five finish in a marathon, or that he’s member of the Willow Pines Crochet Club. And [...]

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In rural Pennsylvania, in a small Amish community, a man entered a small one room schoolhouse wielding weapons and 600 rounds of ammunition. He let several boys and women go, before attempting to execute 11 young girls. He killed four girls, injured three others, and then turned the gun on himself. This is the fourth [...]

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Forty two year-old Tom Morello set aside his guitar and went to bat for immigrants that work in hotels. He was protesting the lack of rights immigrant hotel workers possess. His stage wasn’t a hotel though; rather it was the Los Angeles International Airport. This stage seemed a bit odd, especially considering the stage he [...]

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Rescue Riders is comprised of volunteers that will be trained by The Kane County Medical Reserve Corps. to handle emergency responses. They will be trained in CPR, first aid, and will help transport supplies and other volunteers during natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Their method of transportation will be motorcycles. It’s believed to be the [...]

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State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the beneficiary of a three year contract with the NFL. The contract allows State Farm to sponsor the event, and use of the league’s trademarks in TV promotions, and on the NFL’s website, www.NFL.com. Mark Gibson, assistant vice president for State Farm’s advertising department expressed his excitement, “This [...]

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Do you have problems keeping the interior of your car clean? Well, don’t throw away those wrappers spilling out from under your seats just yet. First, take a picture or two, or five, if you want a chance to win a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica. Contestants for “America’s Messiest Car” have until October 16 to photograph [...]

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For the first time in 35 years the National Basketball Association changed the game balls that will be used in all professional basketball contests. In a press release the NBA reports, “The new model is a micro-fiber composite with moisture management that provides a superior grip and feel throughout the course of the game.” Shaquille [...]

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Encouraging signs from Venezuela: Many marched recently against leftist leader Hugo Chavez. By voting Chavez out, they could install what they call a more pro-democracy, pro-liberty president. I’m really in no position to say whether Manuel Rosales will really be an improvement, but dissent in itself is a good thing, and a country can’t go [...]

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The National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell issued Titan’s Albert Haynesworth a five-game suspension, without pay, for his act in Sunday’s contest. Although it is the most severe penalty ever issued for an on-field atrocity, it still won’t deter future incidents from occurring. Haynesworth will only lose roughly $190,000 in pay, and he’ll miss less [...]

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After a four year stint with the Chicago Cubs, Dusty Baker (the manager) is finally ousted. Yes, he did manage to lead the team into the playoffs, but it’s also debatable whether or not he mismanaged them right out of a certain World Series bid. And after this year’s team performance, which measure up to [...]

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Two years ago, brothers Kevin and Brian Gaughan filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The two young men alleged that former Marengo (a small town northwest of Chicago) police officer Scott Crawford used excessive force during their trespassing arrest on Oct. 8, 2004.  They claimed that Crawford handcuffed Brian Gaughan [...]

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Every day, cell phones become more and more of a travel companion than say, a warm body in the passenger seat.  Now cell phones provide an invaluable service that will supercede the mindless communication between two parties meant to ease the tension traffic jams can inevitably cause.  In fact, with this new technology, people may [...]

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Earlier this year, Naperville (a Chicagoland suburb) was ranked the #2 town in the nation to raise a family.  This was an improvement, for last year it was ranked #3.  But such rankings don’t necessarily decrease the town’s susceptibility to danger.  In fact, on Tuesday, October 3, the Naperville Central High School experienced a campus [...]

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Every day, cell phones become more and more of a travel companion than say, a warm body in the passenger seat.  Now cell phones provide an invaluable service that will supercede the mindless communication between two parties meant to ease the tension traffic jams can inevitably cause.  In fact, with this new technology, people may [...]

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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it Took a stroll on over to House Democrats dot gov today, and it’s always an enjoyable trip. As I read line after line, paragraph after paragraph, I could hear House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi whispering to the website editors in the background. The gist of the page is [...]

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According to mainstream media reports, “Tower Records, a venerable but bankrupt chain of more than 90 U.S. music store is going out of business after its sale Friday to a new owner.” Good riddance, I say. I used to “dumpster dive” one of Tower’s locations in Seattle and, good grief, these people acted like they’d never [...]

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Baldness, a trait which involves loss of hair in men, is usually triggered by lack of a hormone called dihydrotestosterone. Baldness can now be effectively treated by a new technique developed by a UK biotechnology firm. This firm is in the process of developing a robot that could grow hair follicle cells. The new treatment [...]

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E.A. Renfroe & Co, an Alabama based insurance firm, teamed with State Farm Insurance Co. to acknowledge or deny insurance claims for Hurricane Katrina victims.  Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, an attorney, has filed suit against the insurance companies, alleging the companies manipulated engineers’ reports on damages, providing the insurer with the ammunition to wrongfully deny insurance [...]

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According to reports in the mainstream media, “the Bush family on Saturday christened a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier named after the 82-year-old former president.” Bad idea. History already shows that the senior Bush is a target for terrorists. Did we run out of obscure, much-deserving heroes from World War II and the Korea Conflict that we have [...]

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It is pretty obvious that we are now reaping the consequences of having supported the al Qaeda and the Taliban resistance to Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Throw in the fact that 16 of the 19 9/11 attackers came from authoritarian regimes supported by us (15 Saudis and 1 Egyptian) and it becomes pretty clear that [...]

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Huntington disease, an inherited neurological disorder affecting nearly 8 persons in every 100,000 people, around the world, is a result of a mutation in the gene called Huntington gene. Scientists from the Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND) have unearthed the mechanism behind the death of brain cells in patients suffering from this disease. [...]

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German ingenuity in matters of integration? Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble may have just initiated something that could soon be finding imitators across the rest of Europe and beyond: The German Islam Conference. Held in Berlin’s Charlottenburg Schloß, just down the road from the now so controversial Deutsche Oper (think cancelled Mozart opera Idomeneo), this surprisingly [...]

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Insomnia, a widely prevalent sleep disorder among elderly patients can be treated using behavioral therapy, which is a kind of psychotherapy. Insomnia can lead to severe depression and excessive daytime sleepiness, if left untreated. A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine studied two groups of elderly people – one group [...]

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Child labor will be banned in India effective from October 10. India is one of those countries, which is believed to be employing a large number of children under the age of 14; an estimated 130 million children are currently working as child laborers in India. The ban will play an important role in controlling [...]

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The father of biodiversity, Dr. Edward Osborne Wilson, has warned of a mass extinction of Earth’s species by the year 2100, as a result of climate change. Dr. Wilson feels that the growing human population, rapidly changing climate and pollution could lead to the extinction of nearly half the earth’s species. Dr. Wilson hopes that [...]

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Third in line to the British throne, Prince Harry, has officially been barred from fighting on the front lines of Afghanistan with the English army. Prince Harry, who serves in the military as a Second Lieutenant, said in April “If I am not allowed to join my unit in a war zone, I will hand [...]

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An internal investigation has been ordered after it was revealed that a school in England made five emergency calls within a 50 minute time frame to report an armed intruder who had entered the premises and begun to threaten faculty with a large lump of wood only to have police never respond or arrive to [...]

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