Clipmarks | Odd news Clips

All that's left

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:33:20 GMT

clipped by: 4ensic
clipper's remarks: The linked story isn't there. Odd, all of the older stories come up just fine. Anyone smell a spike? http://cli.gs/gJ26T0 for details of resig,er, retirement.

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

High Flying Officials
... Service, Alexander Lazaroff, was spotted gambling at a casino while in ... he arranged. Lazaroff is under internal investigation following ... to resorts. Lazaroff initially told ABC News that he did not remember ...
Oct. 9, 2008

Tags: lazaroff, inspector, postal inspector, uspis, shame

Sometimes it really is a small world

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:15:57 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: It had to happen sometime.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Online sweethearts 'lived on same street'

A British couple who met on a dating website turned out to be neighbours who had lived only a few houses apart for 17 years, a local news report said.

Teacher Julie McIlroy began emailing electrician Allan Donnelly after seeing his picture on a dating website, an increasingly common way of meeting people with the rapid rise of broadband internet access.

It was only after several weeks of online contact that the 46-year-old phoned him - and realised they lived seven houses apart on the same street in the Welsh capital Cardiff.

"While we were chatting I said I'd just been to the shop. He said that was the shop he always went to," she told the South Wales Echo.

"When he told me he lived in (the same street), I thought it was a wind-up.

"I was stunned... He asked me over for a cup of tea, and that was that," she said, while Mr Donnelly, 53, added: "We've got the perfect compatibility. I'm a very lucky man."

The couple are now planning to marry.

Tags: odd

And then the cowards left Washington for yet another "vacation"

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:03:38 GMT

clipped by: gmentgen
clipper's remarks: People, it's time to get rid of these "A"-holes and elect people who will serve as our representatives and not shills for Wall Street and the corporations...

Clip Source: www.canada.com

The people know when something is wrong

Here is how John Cochrane, Myron S. Scholes Professor of Finance in the University of Chicago, characterized the bailout, in an interview with Fox News: "The legislation is like this: some boats are sinking, so rather than bailing those boats out, you blow up the dam and drain the whole lake."

It is worth adding that not one of the politicians voting on the 450-odd-page bill can possibly have read the whole thing, let alone deeply considered the implications of its parts. Few of them have an understanding of the crisis they are legislating for. The blind are leading the blind.

5 Famous Financial Fraudsters

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:20:37 GMT

clipped by: lovemorgul

Clip Source: blog.knowyourmoney.co.uk

Fraud is nothing new - the Old Bailey has records going back to the 1750s of cases where sailors were charged with sinking their own ships. But in recent years a number of high-level fraud cases have made the headlines and continue to do so. Here are five of the biggest fraud cases from the 20th and 21st centuries, both from the UK and overseas:

According to the DTI report, Maxwell routinely used the pensions of his employees to provide cash for investments and then “window dressed” the company accounts to disguise the shortfall. In 1986 particularly, the pensions were used to purchase Maxwell House in Holborn, London, as well as to lend £34 million in cash to Mirror Group Newspapers. While this was exchanged for shares in news agency Reuters, the pensions fund did not receive the “significant profits” derived from an increase in share prices soon after.

Tags: crime, bizarre, odd, fraud, fraudster

Obama Campaign Text Msg: Watch The Debate On CNN

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:06:22 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: First, can you imagine the heartbreak at MSNBC? I mean, the Olbermann network has been trying so hard to be the Obama Network, and then to get this punch in the gut!

Second, can you imagine what would have been the reaction if John McCain had texted his supporters, saying, "Watch Fox"? Well, the roof would have caved in, media-criticism-wise.

Looks like the campaign figured out how to speak SMS short-hand and thus free up enough characters to type out "any of the major networks or cable" vs. "CNN."

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Watch Barack debate John McCain tonight at 9pm Eastern on CNN. Also, remind friends to register to vote at VoteForChange.com. Please forward this message.

This is particularly odd given that the debate will be airing on every network, both broadcast and cable, at 9pm Eastern. Has the Obama campaign officially endorsed CNN?

In July, the campaign blasted a text promoting Obama's speech in Berlin saying, "The speech will be live on CNN."

Update 6:30 PM: The Obama campaign must have revised its message. I've just now received a follow-up text saying,

Watch Barack Debate John McCain tonight at 9pm ET on any of the major networks or cable. Fwd this msg & remind friends to register to vote at VoteForChange.com

Tags: : barack obama, barack obama cnn, cnn, presidential debate, media news

Bartiromo v. Burnett

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:46:21 GMT

clipped by: Joshua Zumbrun
clipper's remarks: (I suspect like most men who have CNBC on in the background of the office most of the day) I spend a good portion of the day pondering the Maria Bartiromo v. Erin Burnett question.

I think I come down in the Bartiromo fan club. I just think Bartiromo knows her stuff better. I can't point to anything specific. But every now and then you're watching Erin and Jim Cramer, and Cramer goes off on one of his rants, and then Erin asks some odd question that doesn't have much to do with the rant. Maybe she's just trying to bring him back under control, but sometimes I think she doesn't really know what he's talking about.

Clip Source: www.vanityfair.com

Who Is Wall Street’s Queen B.?

by Suzanna Andrews

Bankruptcies … fire sales … banks on the brink: these are dark days for Wall Street. But, for CNBC and Maria Bartiromo, things couldn’t be better. At 41, Bartiromo is a star, the Barbara Walters of business news, and the prize in an expected bidding war when her CNBC contract comes up for renewal. She has worked hard, for years, to get here, so the meteoric rise of another gorgeous CNBC anchor, 32-year-old Erin Burnett—“Street Sweetie” to Bartiromo’s “Money Honey”—has everyone talking catfight. The author gets the scoop from both women.

Tags: burnett, bartiromo, erin, maria, cnbc, money honey, street sweetie, rivalry

Vikings were looking for wives

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:16:16 GMT

clipped by: yewtree
clipper's remarks: So apparently the Vikings were just looking for a bit of cosy domesticity.

Hat tip to <a href="http://clipmarks.com/clipper/wiccantexan/">wiccantexan</a>

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

During the Viking Age from the late eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries, Scandinavians tore across Europe attacking, robbing and terrorizing locals. According to a new study, the young warriors were driven to seek their fortunes to better their chances of finding wives.

The odd twist to the story, said researcher James Barrett, is that it was the selective killing of female newborns that led to a shortage of Scandinavian women in the first place, resulting later in intense competition over eligible women.

"Selective female infanticide was recorded as part of pagan Scandinavian practice in later medieval sources, such as the Icelandic sagas," Barrett, who is deputy director of Cambridge University's McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, told Discovery News.

Tags: archaeology, viking

Odd News - World's Strangest Robbery

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:53:11 GMT

clipped by: radiohaminfo

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

DALLAS -- A robber rolled into a Dallas convenience store came armed with a bat and a knife. He left with a lot of condoms and an energy drink.

Dallas police Cpl. Kevin Janse said Friday that a man in a wheelchair entered a Dallas 7-Eleven Wednesday afternoon, rolled straight toward the cash register and beat it with a baseball bat until it opened.

But he didn't grab any cash. Instead, police say he stole 10 boxes of condoms and an energy drink before making his getaway Wednesday afternoon.

Janse says the suspect may have been homeless and was likely intoxicated at the time of the robbery.

Hey ... WAKE UP everybody!

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:38:28 GMT

clipped by: patden
clipper's remarks: Are we going to let the press bamboozle us AGAIN?

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

We're Gonna Frickin' Lose this Thing

Something is not right. We have a terrific candidate and a terrific VP candidate. We're coming off the worst eight years in our country's history. Six of those eight years the Congress, White House and even the Supreme Court were controlled by the Republicans and the last two years the R's have filibustered like tantrum throwing 4-year-olds, yet we're going to elect a Republican who voted with that leadership 90% of the time and a former sportscaster who wants to teach Adam and Eve as science? That's not odd as a difference of opinion, that's logically and mathematically queer.

there is no more functioning press in this country. And without a real press the corporate and religious Republicans can lie all they want and get away with it

Four corporations own all the TV channels. All of them. If they don't get ratings they get canceled or fired. All news is about sex, blame and anger, and fear

Tags: politics

Animal Kingdom's Odd Couples

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:41:19 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: Can't we all just get along?Are we more savage than these?I think not..

Clip Source: sajha.com

Animal Kingdom's Odd Couples

Three-month-old tiger cub Zoya, rejected by her mother, plays with Alsatian puppy Frida, who's the same age, in a special enclosure at the Warsaw Zoo Aug. 13, 2008. The dog, owned by a zoo employee, was introduced to the tiger so that she could have a companion for the next few months.

Isabella, a yellow lab at the Safari Zoological Park east of Caney, Kan., has adopted three white tiger cubs that were abandoned by their mother in this July 30, 2008, photo.

dog feeds two Siberian tiger cubs and her puppy at a zoo in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. The mother of the cubs was not able to feed them after giving birth, according to local news reports.

Norma, left, a Chihuahua from Cundy's Harbor, Maine, with two of three orphaned squirrels that she is raising along with her own two puppies.

Norma, a Chihuahua from Cundy's Harbor, Maine, snuggles with one of three orphaned squirrels that she's mothering.

Chihuahua pup named Zachary cozies up to his new adopted "sibling"

Tags: animal kingdom

Nigerian man to divorce 82 of his wives

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:14:51 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: "All my wives are with children and some of these are people I have married and stayed with for over 30 years. How can they expect me to leave them within two days?" he reportedly told local newspapers.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A Nigerian religious leader with 86 wives has accepted an Islamic decree ordering him to divorce all but four of them, local authorities say.

A spokesman for the emir of Bida told the BBC that Mohammadu Bello Abubakar, 84, agreed on Saturday to comply with the decree.

Last week one of Nigeria's top Islamic bodies, the Jamatu Nasril Islam, sentenced him to death.

The sentence was lifted but he was threatened with eviction from his home.

Earlier, Mr Abubakar had challenged Islamic scholars, saying there was no punishment stated in the Koran for having more than four wives.

"I have not contravened any established law that would warrant my being banished from the land... There is no law that says one must not marry more than four wives," the AFP news agency reported him as saying.

Many of the wives live three to a room, some have seven children

The former teacher and Islamic preacher lives in Niger State with his wives and at least 170 children.

Tags: odd, polygamy, nigeria, abubakar

Missing Launch Devices at Minot AFB

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:41:27 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: The number of odd circumstances at Minot Air Force Base which was the center of attention after the discovery of mis-shipped nuclear weapons without proper authorization is real interesting. This is about the 5th news report, which follows up on some of the previous oddities.

The Air Force also announced Thursday that three ballistic missile crew members from the Minot Air Force Base who fell asleep while holding classified launch code devices have been sanctioned and "decertified from missile operations."

See Minot AFB Nuclear Mishap Oddities

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

Air Force Searches For Lost Launch Devices

Three Crew Members Removed Over Allegations Of Sex Abuse And Equipment Tampering

The bomber wing at the Minot base has been under scrutiny for the past year, after nuclear missiles were mistakenly flown to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. (USAF)

(AP) The Air Force says at least three ballistic missile crew members at bases in North Dakota and Montana have been taken off the job while the military investigates allegations ranging from sexual abuse to missing classified components used in underground launch control centers.

The Air Force announced Thursday that an officer who earlier worked at Minot Air Force Base's 91st Space Wing notified the military in May that he and another officer had lied about destroying classified launch components in July 2005.

"They were supposed to destroy them and they signed documents saying they destroyed them," said Maj. Laurie A. Arellano, an Air Force spokeswoman. Instead, she said, "they took them home."

Tags: minot afb, nuclear missiles, minot oddities

Pakiston ruling coalition splits after six months

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:37:26 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: Zardari is the Peoples Party's candidate to replace Musharraf as president. Now that he appears to be the front-runner, the Peoples Party is in no hurry to take away the president's power to dissolve Parliament – another sticking point with Sharif.

"Zardari becoming the president would be the most unfortunate event in Pakistan's history," said engineer Raheel Rehman, 27.

"A thug is going to be the president of this country," said palm reader Tawakkul Hussain, 35. "We have no options ahead of us. Once again, they are taking turns in power. This is Zardari's turn. After that, it will be Nawaz's turn. He is equally irresponsible and corrupt."

The provincial and national assemblies will vote for the president Sept. 6.

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After a dysfunctional six-month marriage, Pakistan's political odd couple parted ways on Monday, adding to the uncertainty and fear in a country facing a Taliban insurgency.

The Pakistan Muslim League of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif pulled out of a coalition with its longtime rival, the Pakistan Peoples Party. "It was an unnatural alliance and it has reached its natural end," Peoples Party Vice Chairman Makhdoom Ameen Fahim told Dawn News television.

The defection of Sharif's Muslim League-N Party won't bring down the government. Combined with allies from smaller parties, the Peoples Party has enough seats in the country's parliament to stay in power.

as soon as Musharraf left, the alliance foundered.

The main reason: Zardari reneged on a promise to restore chief justice Chaudhry and the other judges within 24 hours of Musharraf's departure.

a Monday deadline to introduce a motion

came and went, and Sharif's party withdrew from the alliance.

Tags: pakistan, sharif, ppp

its not big foot, its chupacabra!

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:53:23 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.star-telegram.com

You know it's summer when chupacabra shows up

Right on schedule in the middle of a sleepy news summer, the famous fanged beast of Latino folklore has emerged again in South Texas.

On Friday, sheriff’s deputies near Cuero caught on video a weird animal running along a county road.

Judging by their video, this one looks like the other four hybrid coyotes found dead near Cuero since last year — all odd, hairless creatures with long fangs.

They look like miniature versions of the mythical devil beast El Chupacabras, less formally known as the chupacabra.

They rounded a corner on Theime Road and saw an animal sitting in the roadway.

"It had big teeth, a big head, short legs in front and long legs in back. I was raised on a ranch, and I’d never seen anything like it."

(Say it: chew-pah-KAH-brah. The word means goatsucker. Think of a flying Bigfoot.)

Since last summer, Cuero has become the Chupacabra Capital of the World.

"You can’t live in Cuero," she said, "and not recognize the chupacabra."

This Makes Me Eel

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:47:55 GMT

clipped by: tebvox
clipper's remarks: I will have to confess I wonder what it would taste like. Drinking seafood does seem to have a type of liquid symmetry.

Clip Source: www.weirdasianews.com

Sky News reports that the Japan Tobacco Company has launched a new ‘fizzy’ drink called Unagi Nobori or ‘Surging Eel’. The drink went on sale this month during the country’s eel-eating season.

The yellow-colored fizzy drink contains extracts from the head and bones of eel plus five vitamins that are contained in the fish. It’s said to be the best way to stay cool in hot weather.

“It’s mainly for men who are exhausted by the summer’s heat,” said company spokesman Kazunori Hayashi.

Eel is a sought after delicacy in Japan often prepared in a style called ‘kaba-yaki’ in which it is broiled and covered in a sweet sauce.

The drink costs about one-tenth as much as broiled eel but is said to have a similar flavor.

I suppose the next step will be to use it as a mixer with rice wine and offer it as liquid fish cakes.

Tags: eel, odd, drink, japan