Best Quote of 2007 "You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named Bush, Dick, and Colon.” By Chris Rock, comedian 2-28-07

QUOTE of the WEEK "If we don't abhor the most vicious mistreatment of animals, then we are not that far removed from accepting child and spouse abuse, neglect of the poor, and the destruction of our environment. Intolerance of cruelty is what makes us civilized." Washington Post, 8-25-07- Eliot Applestein's in part response to Courtland Milloy's Aug. 22 Metro column, "Animal Cruelty Isn't Judged on a Level Playing Field".

North-West Passage is now plain sailing Guardian Unlimited Tuesday August 28 2007 The North-West Passage – the sea route running along the Arctic coastline of North America, normally perilously clogged with thick ice – is nearly ice-free for the first time since records began. "Since August 21 the North-West Passage is open to navigation. This is the first time that it happens," Nalan Koc, head of the Norwegian Polar Institute's climate change program, told reporters in Longyearbyen, a town in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

China searches for 8 kg of "missing" uranium Fri 24 Aug 2007, 1:51 GMT BEIJING (Reuters) - Eight kg (17 lb) of radioactive uranium has gone missing in China, delaying the verdict in a trial of four men charged with attempting to sell it on the black market, state media said on Friday. A court in Guangzhou, capital of China's southern province of Guangdong, heard the four tried to sell the material, which can be used in making nuclear weapons, between 2005 and January 2007, the China Daily said. The men were arrested in January after a potential buyer in Hong Kong reported them to the authorities, the paper said. However, despite having the four men in custody, police were unable to locate the uranium. "The men claimed it had been lost because it had been moved around so much between potential buyers," the paper said. A verdict had yet to be reached "as the court said the trial would continue until authorities tracked down" the uranium. Under Chinese law, the illegal trade in uranium carries a sentence of between three and 10 years in prison. In exceptional cases, it can carry the death sentence. "The radioactive substance uranium does not explode when it is in its raw state, but it is very harmful to people's health," Jiang Chaoqiang, director of the Guangzhou No 12 People's Hospital, told China Daily. "Therefore it needed to be found as soon as possible.“

Wisconsin cheese factory workers win Powerball again MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Some of the cheese factory workers who won a $208.6 million Powerball jackpot have won again - this time a $10,000 prize. Seven of the 100 people who won last August matched four of the five regular numbers plus the Powerball in the July 11 Powerball jackpot and won $10,000, Wisconsin Lottery spokesman Andrew Bohage said Thursday. Fifteen people - nine men and six women - won in all. They turned in the ticket July 27. One hundred workers at Sargento Foods Inc. in Plymouth said they had been playing for three years before winning the $208.6 million Powerball last year. They called themselves the "100 Miracles."It's not unprecedented for winners to cash in again, Bohage said." These are folks who had a great deal of notoriety associated with a large prize and to turn around and have it happen to them again makes this a little more unusual," he said. Many people play the lottery for entertainment or suspense, he said. The group has to take the winnings in cash, but they first have to go to court to legally split them, Bohage said. Associated Press

Weapons sell for just £50 as suspects and victims grow ever younger Senior police officers have been warning for several months that a growing number of teenagers in big cities are becoming involved in gun crime. The age of victims and suspects has fallen over the past three years as the availability of firearms in some cities has risen. Liverpool and Manchester are the cities where illegal guns are most readily available, with criminals claiming that some weapons are being smuggled from Ireland. Sawn-off shotguns are now being sold for as little as £50, and handguns for £150. Despite a ban on handguns introduced in 1997 after 16 children and their teacher were shot dead in the Dunblane massacre the previous year, their use in crimes has almost doubled to reach 4,671 in 2005-06. Official figures show that although Britain has some of the toughest anti-gun laws in the world, firearm use in crime has risen steadily .

Women accused of taking boy, 12, to prostitutes Friday, August 24, 2007 A woman was accused of taking a 12-year-old boy to two houses of prostitution and paying for him to have sex there. Linda Van Pool, 36, of Donora, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors and other crimes. Ms. Van Pool is the second person charged in the case. In May, Kathleen Waggoner, also of Donora, was arrested on child endangerment and corruption charges. Ms. Waggoner, a bartender, gave Ms. Van Pool the money to pay for his time with at least two prostitutes, police said. Ms. Van Pool is charged with actually taking the boy to the prostitutes. Both women have pleaded not guilty.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Down on the Farm Have a look at the map of Manhattan below (used recently by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in a speech). The red dots indicate people who live in Manhattan (and so clearly are neither hurting for money nor tilling the soil on the family farm) but receive agricultural subsidies from the federal government. The larger red blobs mark people receiving more than a quarter of a million dollars in farm subsidies annually . The farm bill passed by House Democrats in July would continue giving millionaires farm subsidies (setting the income threshold for payments at $1 million a year, and keeping loopholes in place that allow some making much more to qualify). The Bush administration has proposed sharply reducing the income threshold to $200,000 a year and ending many of those loopholes. That would reduce the number of subsidy recipients by less than 40,000 (of the current million or so recipients). nationalreview

Excuse me, I'd like to buy your B-52 Fri Aug 24, 8:15 AM ET A wealthy Russian tried to buy a U.S. B-52 bomber from a group of shocked American pilots at an air show near Moscow, a Russian newspaper reported Friday. The unidentified Russian, wearing sunglasses and surrounded by bodyguards, approached the U.S. delegation and asked to buy the bomber, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper said. An astounded member of the U.S. delegation said the bomber was not for sale but that it would cost at least $500 million if it were to be sold on the spot. "That is no problem. It is such a cool machine," the Russian was quoted as saying by the newspaper, which said its reporter overheard the conversation. The bomber was not sold. Russia's new rich, who built fantastic fortunes trading commodities and contacts after the fall of the Soviet Union, have made a name for themselves as ostentatious purchasers of everything from British football clubs to Faberge eggs.

There's a Lesson Here ... A presumed lottery winner will likely check his own numbers after a Roseville store clerk allegedly told him he'd won only $4 and then pocketed the $555,000 winning lottery ticket herself. Rajinder Kaur, 40, is free on $50,000 bail after her arrest Tuesday on grand theft. She is accused of stealing the winning Mega Million ticket at the 7-Eleven market at 1900 Douglas Boulevard where she works. California Lottery spokeswoman Cathy Doyle Johnston said the ticket's presumed rightful owner came into the store after the Aug. 14 lottery drawing and presented the winning ticket to Kaur. Kaur ran the ticket through a validation machine and reportedly told the owner it was a $4 winning ticket, giving him that amount, Johnston said. The owner did not become suspicious until hearing Tuesday that the owner of the winning ticket had yet to come forward. He contacted lottery officials who began an investigation. Kaur was taken into custody Tuesday. The ticket owner's name is being withheld until the lottery completes its investigation, Johnston said. News10/KXTV

Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sexual offense Baltimore Sun August 29, 2007 Former Howard County teacher Kirsten Ann Kinley pleaded guilty yesterday in Circuit Court to one count of third-degree sex offense for improper sexual conduct with a 15-year-old boy at her Columbia apartment more than two years ago. Similar charges against her involving a second boy were dropped after he refused to cooperate with prosecutors. Neither youth was one of her students. As part of a plea agreement, Kinley, 27, a former special-education teacher at Marriotts Ridge High School in Marriottsville, could receive up to 18 months in jail. She is to be sentenced Nov. 15. In May, similar allegations were made against Kinley by a second male student. A grand jury indicted Kinley on three counts of third-degree sex offense involving that boy, who was age 14 when the incidents allegedly occurred in late 2004. That youth did not cooperate with investigators, making it impossible to prosecute Kinley on those charges, Murphy said. Kinley's case follows some well-publicized incidents involving female teachers in the area. In May 2001, Kimberly L. Merson, 24, a substitute teacher at Carroll County's Francis Scott Key High School, was arrested on multiple sex-related charges involving eight male students. She was sentenced to 18 months in jail after she pleaded guilty to four counts of felony sexual child abuse. Four days after Merson's arrest, Tracie L. Mokry, 21, a student teacher at Francis Scott Key, was arrested and charged with felony child abuse after she invited seven male students to a home for a party. Prosecutors dropped the abuse charges, and she pleaded guilty to allowing an underage student to drink alcohol.

93-year-old charged with cocaine trafficking Durham police have arrested a 93-year-old man on cocaine-trafficking and related charges. William C. Tinnen was arrested Thursday during a raid at 204 Teel St., police said in a news release issued today. Police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said she assumed police had a tip that drug activity was taking place there. In addition to trafficking, Tinnen is charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to sell or deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a dwelling for the sale of drugs. Officers also confiscated three firearms from the house. Tinnen's bond was set at $200,000. newsobserver

Splish Splash Sure, winter is a way off, but it's never too soon to begin preparing—especially when you're talking about a hot tub. With no plumbing or electricity involved, this wood-fueled hot tub might look disconcertingly cannibal-kettlish at first glance, something you're bound to forget about as soon as you find yourself soaking your cares away while your friends stare jealously on. dutchtub $6,000; dutchtub.com http://dutchtub.com/

This image provided by Britain's Department of Health showing a healthy lung, left and a diseased lung, right, is one of the graphic pictures to be place on packs of cigarettes to discourage smokers. Words failed to stamp out smoking, so Britain will require graphic pictures of diseased organs on cigarette packs next year, the government announced Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007. The images include a diseased lung, a chest cut open for heart surgery, and a large tumor on a man's neck. In all, Britain chose 15 images from a selection developed by the European Commission. Britain will be the first member of the European Union to require such warnings, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said. The new warnings will be required on cigarette packs in the second half of 2008, the department said.

'Drug dealer' tarred, feathered August 30, 2007 12:00am THE past is supposed to be just that, but in Northern Ireland it refuses to go away. In a chilling reminder of the darkest days of terrorist "justice", a man has been tarred and feathered by hooded attackers. In a scene reminiscent of the 1970s, when the Provisional IRA regularly meted out this savage treatment in areas where it held sway, the loyalist Ulster Defence Association is suspected of leaving the victim tied to a lamppost in a street in South Belfast. The attack took place on Sunday in the strongly loyalist Taughmonagh estate, where the UDA has influence. Pictures of the attack appear to have been recorded on a mobile telephone camera. They show passersby watching as the punishment is administered. After tar was poured on the man's head, feathers were emptied over him and a placard was hung around his neck claiming the victim, said to be a local man in his 30s, was a drug dealer. It read: "I'm a drug dealing scumbag." The victim has not been identified, nor has he come forward to the authorities. Police and politicians called the incident "barbaric".

US customs bust coke-smuggling 'submarine‘ Stealth vessel packed with $352m of Colombian naughty salt US Customs are feeling pretty pleased with themselves after busting a stealthy "semi-submerged smuggling vessel" packed with $352m of Bolivian marching powder. The unlikely craft was spotted on Sunday off the coast of Guatemala in the Eastern Pacif by a Florida-based US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) P-3 Orion aircraft, which guided a US Navy ship to intercept. The four smugglers aboard duly scuttled the vessel and were subsequently taken into custody along with 11 bales of charlie weighing in at 1,210lbs. CBP estimated the value of the contraband at $352m . P-3 aircraft operating from Jacksonville have "coordinated more than 32 metric tons of cocaine interdictions this fiscal year worth $2.2bn ", according to the CBP.

Top 3 World’s Most Expensive Beer

Vielle Bon Secours: This tops the list of the world's most expensive beer, costing around £500 (equivalent to around $1,000) per bottle or about £39 (equivalent to around $78) per pint. It can only be found in a bar called the Bierdrome in London.

Samuel Adams' Utopias: This beer is brewed by the Boston Beer Company, using the brand name of Samuel Adam's Utopias, named after one of the founding fathers of the USA. This comes second in the list of the world's most expensive beer which costs around $100 per bottle (24 oz) or about $67 per pint, sold in copper bottles resembling the copper brewing kettles which are used by brewers for hundreds of years. The alcohol content is 25%, making it the strongest beer in the world (listed in the Guinness Book of Records). The process of making this beverage can take up to 12 years, giving it the unique and rich flavors. It is said that the production was limited to 8,000 bottles per year.

Tutankhamen Brew: The recipe of this brew is prepared according to the recipe and brewing method discovered by a team of University of Cambridge archaeologists/Egyptologists in the Queen Nefertiti's Temple of the Sun in Egypt. The brewery found in the corner of the said temple is believed to have been built by King Akhenaton who is King Tutankhamen's father. This is also the place where King Akhenaton queen, Nefertiti worshiped. The archaeologists sought expert advice from Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, Edinburgh and the beer is brewed in the Cambridge laboratory, costing around $52 per bottle. The production is also limited and the edition is also numbered.

Peace Through Superior Firepower

POSTED Monday, August 27, 2007 5-mile laser rifle in the terrifying works Movies about the future are slowly becoming a reality one new technology at a time. Take, for example, laser guns. A staple of sci fi movies for years, they've never quite come to fruition — until now. A California company called TRW Systems is working on a laser beam rifle that'll be able to burn things from 5 miles away.

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