By Mike Masnick (TechDirt) Charlie Savage of the NY Times filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out the federal government’s interpretation of its own law… and had it refused. According to the federal government, its own interpretation of the law is classified. What sort of democracy are we living in when the government can refuse to even say how it’s interpreting its own law? That’s not democracy at all.
You can bet that the feds will do everything they can to get out of this lawsuit, just as they did with the various lawsuits concerning warrantless wiretapping. Here’s hoping the court systems don’t let them. No matter what you think of this administration (or the last one) and how it’s handling the threat of terrorism, I’m curious how anyone can make the argument that the US government should not reveal how it interprets the very laws under which it’s required to operate.
By Mona Charen (Creators.com) You have to be living in a dream world not to face the other reality of co-ed wrestling: It puts the boy at a disadvantage.
Not only is any well brought up young man going to hesitate to use his full strength against a young lady, he is also going to have to be so, so careful about where he touches her. The genital areas of both sexes are off limits, obviously. But girls also have breasts. So the boys have to be very careful not to grab the girl in such a way as might cause his hands to touch her breasts if she moves in an unexpected direction. One finger slip and the wrestler becomes a sexual harasser, no? The girl, by contrast, can push and shove and grab the upper body of her opponent without impediment.
Supporters of co-ed wrestling insist that sex is the last thing on the kids’ minds when they’re in the arena, which is almost certainly false. These are, after all, teenagers.
via Should Boys Be Wrestling Girls? by Mona Charen on Creators.com – A Syndicate Of Talent.
(travel4press.com) Flying to 30 destinations around the world, Virgin Atlantic’s six million passengers all have their own individual demands and requests. Following a recent survey of over 3,000 of our cabin crew, Virgin Atlantic has compiled a selection of the strangest, most unusual requests received over the years. The survey revealed that the requests heard most frequently by the crew are “please can you open the window?” and “can you show me to the showers?” but the survey also revealed a few more unique examples.
1) Please can I have a cup of tea and book a massage for my Barbie doll?
2) Can you take my children to the playroom?
3) Please could you fix my hair?
4) I have dropped my glass eye, please could you help me find it?
5) Could you turn the engines down because they are too noisy?
6) Is there a McDonald’s onboard?
7) Please can the captain stop the turbulence?
Caroline Lynam, customer relations manager at Virgin Atlantic commented: “Virgin Atlantic crew will always go that extra mile to offer our customers the best possible service but there are some requests that even we find somewhat challenging!
One request which really shows the lengths our crew are prepared to go to was when a very famous celebrity pressed her call bell and asked the crew member to “fix her hair”. The crew member agreed to this slightly unusual request and headed back to the galley where the other crew members rallied round and provided him with a hair brush, comb and small can of hairspray. Off he went back to Mrs XXX armed with his array of hairdressing equipment where upon she roared with laughter and explained by saying ‘could he fix the AIR!’ and she pointed overhead. He quickly turned on the air vent and crept back to the galley sheepishly.
Virgin Atlantic flies to 30 destinations worldwide including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco & Los Angeles, Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo, Dubai, Lagos and Nairobi as well as many Caribbean destinations.
To book a flight with Virgin Atlantic, log onto www.virginatlantic.com or call 0844 20 92 770
(travel4press.com) Flying to 30 destinations around the world, Virgin Atlantic’s six million passengers all have their own individual demands and requests. Following a recent survey of over 3,000 of our cabin crew, Virgin Atlantic has compiled a selection of the strangest, most unusual requests received over the years. The survey revealed that the requests heard most frequently by the crew are “please can you open the window?” and “can you show me to the showers?” but the survey also revealed a few more unique examples.
1) Please can I have a cup of tea and book a massage for my Barbie doll?
2) Can you take my children to the playroom?
3) Please could you fix my hair?
4) I have dropped my glass eye, please could you help me find it?
5) Could you turn the engines down because they are too noisy?
6) Is there a McDonald’s onboard?
7) Please can the captain stop the turbulence?
Caroline Lynam, customer relations manager at Virgin Atlantic commented: “Virgin Atlantic crew will always go that extra mile to offer our customers the best possible service but there are some requests that even we find somewhat challenging!
One request which really shows the lengths our crew are prepared to go to was when a very famous celebrity pressed her call bell and asked the crew member to “fix her hair”. The crew member agreed to this slightly unusual request and headed back to the galley where the other crew members rallied round and provided him with a hair brush, comb and small can of hairspray. Off he went back to Mrs XXX armed with his array of hairdressing equipment where upon she roared with laughter and explained by saying ‘could he fix the AIR!’ and she pointed overhead. He quickly turned on the air vent and crept back to the galley sheepishly.
Virgin Atlantic flies to 30 destinations worldwide including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco & Los Angeles, Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo, Dubai, Lagos and Nairobi as well as many Caribbean destinations.
To book a flight with Virgin Atlantic, log onto www.virginatlantic.com or call 0844 20 92 770
"He trusts God to keep him safe," says RP2 Chute. "And I'm here just in case that doesn't work out."
By Michael M. Phillips (WSJ) SANGIN, Afghanistan — Navy Chaplain Terry Moran is steeped in the Bible and believes all of it. His assistant, Religious Programs Specialist 2nd Class Philip Chute, is steeped in the Bible and having none of it.
Together they roam this town in Taliban country, comforting the grunts while crossing swords with each other over everything from the power of angels to the wisdom of standing in clear view of enemy snipers. Lt. Moran, 48 years old, preaches about divine protection while 25-year-old RP2 Chute covers the chaplain’s back and wishes he were more attentive to the dangers of the here and now.
“He trusts God to keep him safe,” says RP2 Chute. “And I’m here just in case that doesn’t work out.”
Army chaplains represent 130 religions and denominations, including Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. The military says it’s common for assistants to be of different faiths from the chaplains they support, or of no faith at all.
“They don’t have to be religious,” says retired Navy Capt. Randy Cash, who served 30 years in the Chaplain Corps and now is its historian. “They have to be able to shoot straight.”
Read the rest: This Chaplain Is Protected By God—and by an Atheist–at War – WSJ.com.
"He trusts God to keep him safe," says RP2 Chute. "And I'm here just in case that doesn't work out."
By Michael M. Phillips (WSJ) SANGIN, Afghanistan — Navy Chaplain Terry Moran is steeped in the Bible and believes all of it. His assistant, Religious Programs Specialist 2nd Class Philip Chute, is steeped in the Bible and having none of it.
Together they roam this town in Taliban country, comforting the grunts while crossing swords with each other over everything from the power of angels to the wisdom of standing in clear view of enemy snipers. Lt. Moran, 48 years old, preaches about divine protection while 25-year-old RP2 Chute covers the chaplain’s back and wishes he were more attentive to the dangers of the here and now.
“He trusts God to keep him safe,” says RP2 Chute. “And I’m here just in case that doesn’t work out.”
Army chaplains represent 130 religions and denominations, including Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. The military says it’s common for assistants to be of different faiths from the chaplains they support, or of no faith at all.
“They don’t have to be religious,” says retired Navy Capt. Randy Cash, who served 30 years in the Chaplain Corps and now is its historian. “They have to be able to shoot straight.”
Read the rest: This Chaplain Is Protected By God—and by an Atheist–at War – WSJ.com.
By (USA Today) Last week in a series of morning TV interviews, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told consumers that they should reject over-easy eggs and avoid “runny egg yolks for mopping up with toast.”
Carol Tucker-Foreman, an assistant secretary of agriculture under President Carter who’s worked on food policy at Consumer Federation of America for decades, asks:
“Should egg cartons be required to carry a message that says ‘Warning — to protect your health and the health of those in your household, you should assume that these eggs are contaminated with Salmonella Enteriditis and must be handled carefully in order to avoid possible illness?’ ”
At IHOP, all egg dishes that can come undercooked are marked with an asterisk. A note at the bottom of the menu says “Notice: items marked with an * may be cooked to order. Consuming raw or undercooked meat or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.” At Denny’s the wording is “Eggs served over easy, poached sunnyside up or soft boiled may be undercooked and will only be served upon the consumers’ request.”
via Egg industry resorts to blaming the victim in recall, critics say – USATODAY.com.
By Cenk Uygur
As we can all see now, when Fox says jump, the Obama administration asks how high? (Then jumps one inch less and considers it a progressive victory). Is there anyone Obama won’t fire or throw under the bus if Fox asks him to? What if they ask Obama to fire himself? Would he do it? Or would he just fire Biden and say he met them halfway?
If the firing of Shirley Sherrod was the first time they had done this, then all of the criticism they have received might be a bit much. But as we have learned from this incident (which the rest of us already knew, with the apparent exception of Fox News and Andrew Breitbart), context matters. We’ve seen the rest of the tape on the Obama administration and it isn’t pretty.
Van Jones, ACORN, Dawn Johnsen, Shirley Sherrod. First sign of trouble, throw someone overboard. When they fired Van Jones, I said they were only encouraging Fox. But that wasn’t some genius prediction; it was only the most obvious thing in the world. Do you think the bully won’t take your lunch money tomorrow if you give it to him today? Continue reading »
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, ‘Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.’
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, ‘You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.’
She rolled her eyes and said, ‘You must be a Republican.’
‘I am,’ replied the man. ‘How did you know?’
‘Well,’ answered the balloonist, ‘ everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to me.’
The man smiled and responded, ‘You must be a Democrat.’
‘I am,’ replied the balloonist. ‘How did you know?’
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, ‘Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.’
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, ‘You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and
100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.’
She rolled her eyes and said, ‘You must be a Republican.’
‘I am,’ replied the man. ‘How did you know?’
‘Well,’ answered the balloonist, ‘ everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to me.’
The man smiled and responded, ‘You must be a Democrat.’
‘I am,’ replied the balloonist. ‘How did you know?’
‘Well,’ said the man, ‘you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You’ve risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it’s my fault.’
‘Well,’ said the man, ‘you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You’ve risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it’s my fault.’







