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'Get Smart' Not Nearly Smart Enough

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:08:55 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Get Smart" the movie has precious little to do with "Get Smart" the iconic TV series from the 1960s -- but then again, the movie has precious little to do with screen comedy, either.

This is a slapdash effort whose producers threw money and stunts onscreen instead of the satirical gags and one-liners that made the old spy spoof so memorable.

It's hard to see how this lame puppy will gain any boxoffice traction other than by waving the banner of star Steve Carell opening weekend. His younger fans, who wouldn't know "Get Smart" from "I Spy," might laugh at the overblown action swirling around their poker-faced hero, but are more likely to advise friends to wait for the DVD.

Secret Life Of Barak Obama

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:32:42 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.worldnetdaily.com

In a few short months, the young and relatively unknown politician Barack Hussein Obama may very well be elevated to the presidency of the United States and command the mightiest military in world history.

Would the eloquent and charismatic Obama unite, inspire and renew a troubled nation, as tens of millions of voters passionately believe? Or is it possible he's a Manchurian candidate – harboring an ominous secret agenda few understand, a man destined to wreak havoc on America should he become president?

That's the question that is explored definitively in the April issue of WND's acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine, titled "THE SECRET LIFE OF BARACK OBAMA."

Many consider him nothing less than a savior. They're entranced by Obama and his messianic campaign, which regularly has seen swooning women fainting in his presence. But in addition to the public, the cultural elite and even much of the news media have been likewise captivated.

Man Falls To Death At Ballgame At Turner Field

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:24:20 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

ATLANTA — Alcohol was a factor in the death of a 25-year-old man who fell down a stairwell at Turner Field during the game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.

Justin Hayes of Cumming, Ga., suffered head injuries Wednesday night and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. He fell about 150 feet from the club level to the landing on the field level during the eighth inning.

The investigation is "pointing toward drinking. Alcohol was a factor," said Atlanta police department spokesman Ronald Campbell on Thursday.

Campbell said Hayes may have been sliding down the hand rails when he fell.

"We are still waiting for the police report to be completed," Campbell said. "We had officers working at the game."

Mark Guilbeau, the senior investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, said an autopsy will be performed.

The Braves issued a statement Thursday expressing sympathy for Hayes' family.

Polygamist Kids Removal Illegal !

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:13:53 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Texas overstepped its authority when it removed some of about 460 children from a polygamist compound last month, a state appeals court ruled on Thursday.

The ruling is the latest twist in an unfolding saga that has riveted Texas with lurid tales of adolescent brides, teen pregnancies and a secretive religious sect following its faith in a dusty corner of the state.

Texas Child Protective Services and heavily armed police units last month raided the isolated compound in west Texas and removed the children in response to allegations of abuse.

But the appeals court said that the state had not proven that the children were in immediate physical danger, and therefore were improperly separated from their parents.

"The department ... failed to establish that the need for protection of the children was urgent and required immediate removal of the children," the court said.

Woman Strips in Response to Whistles

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:08:30 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Road workers in a small New Zealand town got their wish granted when a woman stripped saying she was fed up with their wolf-whistles.

The Israeli tourist was about to use an ATM in the main street of Kerikeri, in the far north of the country, when the men whistled, the New Zealand Press Association reported.

She calmly stripped off, used the cash machine, before getting dressed and walking away.

The woman told police she didn't take too kindly to the whistling from the men repairing the road.

"She said she had thought 'bugger them, I'll show them what I've got'," Police Sergeant Peter Masters told NZPA.

"She gave the explanation that she had been ... pestered by New Zealand men. She's not an unattractive looking lady," Masters said.

"She was taken back to the police station and spoken to and told that was inappropriate in New Zealand."

Man Admits Having Sex With 1,000 Cars

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:20:45 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Edward Smith with one of his former partners

A man who claims to have had sex with 1,000 cars has defended his "romantic" feelings towards vehicles.

Edward Smith, who lives with his current "girlfriend" – a white Volkswagen Beetle named Vanilla, insisted that he was not "sick" and had no desire to change his ways.

"I appreciate beauty and I go a little bit beyond appreciating the beauty of a car only to the point of what I feel is an expression of love," he said.

"Maybe I'm a little bit off the wall but when I see movies like Herbie and Knight Rider, where cars become loveable, huggable characters it's just wonderful.

"I'm a romantic. I write poetry about cars, I sing to them and talk to them just like a girlfriend. I know what's in my heart and I have no desire to change."

He added: "I'm not sick and I don't want to hurt anyone, cars are just my preference."

Mr Smith, 57, first had sex with a car at the age of 15, and claims he has never been attracted to women or men.

Man Offers $5K For Miss Right

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:22:42 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.myfoxtampabay.com

WELLS, Maine -- A 39-year-old man from Wells is looking for love -- in the classifieds.

Charles Haeberle hasn't been able to find Miss Right since moving to Maine six years ago, so he's taken out a newspaper ad offering $5,000 to the woman he marries. Actually, he says he'll pay $400 after the fourth date, $1,100 at the engagement and $3,500 at the wedding.

Haeberle manages a hotel in Kennebunk, travels widely and likes to hike, kayak and stay physically active.

He knows his ad sounds silly, but says it costs no more than an online dating service. He hasn't had much luck with those, so he figures he's simply cutting out the middleman.

In the ad, Haeberle says he's no Brad Pitt, but he's "not the elephant man, either." The ad says he already has a four-carat engagement ring and a one-year anniversary gift.

He put the ad in the York Weekly, and he's also running it on the Craigslist classified ad Web site.

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Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com

MLB May Try Instant Replay in Fall League

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:28:19 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: sports.espn.go.com

Major League Baseball is making tentative plans to experiment with instant replay in the Arizona Fall League, according to a baseball official with knowledge of those discussions.

If that experiment proves practical and successful, MLB then is likely to continue the experiment next March during the World Baseball Classic and spring training games.

If no insurmountable problems arise, baseball could begin using replay -- though only to decide home run calls -- as soon as next season.

A top baseball official confirmed to The Associated Press Thursday that he will formulate a proposal for instant replay, although he wouldn't put a timetable on a replay plan.

"The times are such that our fans are used to seeing all the high technology and they're used to seeing the other sports that use these systems to make determinations, and the fans are clamoring for all the sports to look at that," said Jimmie Lee Solomon, the sport's executive vice president for baseball operations.

Battle Of The Illegal Bacon Hot Dogs

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:46:08 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.reason.com

Amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Los Angeles, there exists another world, an underground world of illicit trade in-not drugs or sex-but bacon-wrapped hot dogs. Street vendors may sell you an illegal bacon dog, but hardly anyone will talk about it, for fear of being hassled, shut down or worse. Our camera caught it on tape. One minute bacon dogs are sold in plain view, the next minute cops have confiscated carts, and ordered the dogs dumped into the trash.

Elizabeth Palacios is one of the few vendors willing to speak publicly. "Doing bacon is illegal," she explains. Problem is customers love bacon, and Palacios says she loses business if she doesn't give them the bacon they demand. "Bacon is a potentially hazardous food," says Terrence Powell of the LA County Health Department. Continue selling bacon dogs without county-approved equipment and you risk fines and jail time.

time from work, fines, and attorney's fees, she fears she might lose the house that bacon dogs helped buy

Fluoride: Miracle Drug Or Toxic-Waste Killer ?

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:45:37 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.worldnetdaily.com

Water treatment plant

WASHINGTON – From Pennsylvania to Nebraska and from Europe to New Zealand, there is growing and fierce opposition to plans to fluoridate public drinking water, fueled by a battery of shocking new studies that seriously question a practice routine among U.S. municipalities for nearly the last 50 years.

In Clearfield, Pa., the municipal authority asked the state Department of Environmental Protection for permission to stop adding fluoride to its water. But before city officials got an answer, they got a lawsuit threat from the Pennsylvania Dental Association, which promised not only an injunction against any plans to stop adding the chemical to drinking supplies but litigation against the individual board members who approved the action. The city backed down and continues to fluoridate water.

"Fluoride is cumulative in your body. ... There's a fairly large body of scientists that believe it's not good for your health."

'Right To Die' Cards For The Healthy

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:47:44 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.worldnetdaily.com

'You have to wonder why public money is being spent on things like this'

A city in the United Kingdom has started promoting "right-to-die" cards for its young, healthy residents, earning the condemnation of pro-life organizations who have called it a "move towards legal suicide."

The plan in Salford, near Swinton, has been outlined in a report in the Salford Advertiser, which described the program as "controversial."

The report said cards designating a person's "Advanced Decision to Refuse Treatment" already had been available for people suffering from terminal health problems.

But now, "in the first scheme of its kind in the UK," the cards are being made available to the young and the healthy, in fact, anyone.

"Cards can now be picked up from Swinton Library, instructing doctors not to treat a patient should they lose the capacity to make decisions, due to an accident or illness," the report said.

3 Accused of Using Corpse Head To Smoke Pot

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:31:08 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.chron.com

Matthew Gonzalez, left, and Kevin Jones have been charged with the misdemeanor offense of abuse of a corpse.

The Kingwood teenager's story of decapitating a corpse and using the head to smoke marijuana was so outlandish that at first Houston Police Department senior police officer Jim Adkins did not believe it.

Yet, Kevin Wade Jones Jr., 17, appeared almost indifferent as he relayed the bizarre description of his and two friends' activities at an Humble area graveyard, Adkins said.

"I just doubted it because it's very morbid, and I couldn't see anybody doing something like this," Adkins said Thursday.

"He regurgitated in his plate of food when I asked him about it," Adkins said. "So I knew there was some truth to the story."

Now, Jones, Gonzalez and a juvenile whose name has not been released are each charged with abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor. All three were arrested Wednesday night.

Houston police believe the teens disturbed the grave of an 11-year-old boy who died in 1921.

Wanna Be Cremated Or Pressure Cooked?

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:36:22 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

April 7: Brad Crain, president of BioSafe Engineering, stands by one of the company's steel tissue-digestion cylinders in Brownsburg, Ind.

CONCORD, N.H. — Since they first walked the planet, humans have either buried or burned their dead. Now a new option is generating interest — dissolving bodies in lye and flushing the brownish, syrupy residue down the drain.

The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses. It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.

No funeral homes in the U.S. — or anywhere else in the world, as far as the equipment manufacturer knows — offer it. In fact, only two U.S. medical centers use it on human bodies, and only on cadavers donated for research.

But because of its environmental advantages, some in the funeral industry say it could someday rival burial and cremation.

Storm Chaser Arrested

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:34:13 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.kwes.com

CRANE COUNTY--Chasing storms is what Brian Barnes does for a living. And it was while he was doing just that, that he says he found himself in a difficult and strange situation involving a Crane County Sheriff's Deputy. Barnes was out on Tuesday in Crane County as severe weather moved across the region. Crane County was under a tornado warning for about an hour Tuesday night.

"I told him that I was helping out the National Weather Service in San Angelo, and they were relaying my reports to Midland. He told me he didn't care, and that I needed to go."

Barnes thought it was his obligation to stay put and follow the storms, a decision that landed him in jail.

"He jumped out and put me in handcuffs. I turned around and I remember him slamming me up against his vehicle, and then it all got kind of scary."

"His first words to me were, 'are you a blankety-blank idiot?' He told me if I didn't leave, I was going to jail, flat out," Greer said.

Couple Who Lost 3 Kids In Crash Have Triplets

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:37:11 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.examiner.com

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (Map, News) - An Orange County couple whose three children died in a highway crash nearly a year ago have become parents to triplets.

Lori Coble gave birth late Wednesday to two girls and a boy. Ashley, Ellie and Jake were each born a minute apart, each weighing about 4 pounds.

"Lori's in very good condition," Marvin Posner, a doctor at Children's Hospital of Orange County at Mission told KCBS-TV on Thursday. "Both (husband) Chris and Lori are in good spirits today."

The couple's children Kyle, 5; Emma, 4; and 2-year-old Katie were killed on May 4, 2007 when a tractor-trailer rig slammed into the back of the family minivan on Interstate 5 in Mission Viejo. The minivan was stopped in the slow lane of traffic. The trucker was traveling an estimated 70 mph.

Lori Coble, who was driving, and her mother were injured.

The truck driver, Jorge M. Romero, has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter