It doesn’t take much to make yourself look like a fool, but in the case of The UK’s Sun and Daily Mail newspapers, they have to be feeling quite idiotic right about now. Perhaps not, as these tabloids have a history of running fabulous stories about celebrities, politicians, and the supernatural as a matter of daily business.

John Ware, a 47-year old builder, sent the newspapers a photo he had taken with his iPhone that allegedly showed a ghostly little boy dressed in turn-of-the-20th-century clothing, balefully looking at the photographer. You can see the little boy at the right side of the photo, standing in the foreground. The papers dutifully ran the story, with the Sun’s example shown at the top of this post.

There’s only one problem: as Macenstein pointed out, the same little boy haunts the US$0.99 iPhone app Ghost Capture. That’s right — it’s apparent that Mr. Ware snapped a shot of a demolition site with the app, and then submitted the photo. Our guess is that Ware was having a little fun with the papers, and that the “Got a story? We pay £££.” tag line you see at the top of the page might have provided some motivation.

Har!


‘Atheist Agenda’ Group Starts ‘Smut for Smut’ Campaign – myFOXphoenix.com: It’s part of a campaign called ‘Smut for Smut’ sponsored by the student group, ‘Atheist Agenda.’
“We are comparing their religious text to pr0n..” says group member Carlos Morales.

Oh, brother…


This Episode’s Executive Producers: Rene Swertz, Adam Miller
Associate Executive Producer: Stephen Guerreri
Artwork by: Paul T.
Knighthoods: Rene Swertz and Larry Roik
PR Associate: Leigh Brown, Paul Bausemer

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Show notes here.
Donate to show here or here.


  • Apple iPhone WiFi finders banned from app store.
  • Apple looking for a long battle with HTC.
  • MSFT secret phone going to Verizon.
  • Methane threatens the world.
  • Dinosaur extinction linked to crater.
  • Sony comes up with PSP phone. Cripes.
  • White House Cyber Czar says there is no Cyberwar. OK, whatever.
  • Gartner sees huge PC sales coming.
  • Where will Google go?
  • How much is Microsoft going to spend on research. You will not believe it.

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The Vatican’s leading expert on missionary activities

The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict’s household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting.

Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Vatican chorister, over the specific physical details of men he wanted brought to him. Transcripts in the possession of the Guardian suggest that numerous men may have been procured for Balducci, at least one of whom was studying for the priesthood…

Balducci was arrested on 10 February, suspected of involvement in widespread corruption. A senior Italian government official, he is alleged to have to steered public works contracts towards favoured bidders. He has not been charged.

It was during this investigation into corruption that wiretaps revealed his alleged sexual activity. In one conversation, Ehiem tells Balducci: “I saw your call when I was in the Vatican, because I was doing rehearsals … in the choir … in St Peter’s.” He then suggests Balducci meet a man who he describes is “two metres tall … 97 kilos … aged 33, completely active.”

Balducci is also a senior adviser to the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the department that oversees the Roman Catholic church’s worldwide missionary activities…

According to a report by the Carabinieri for prosecutors in Florence investigating the corruption scandal, there was a hidden side to Balducci’s life. “In order to organise casual encounters of a sexual nature, he availed himself of the intercession of two individuals who, it is maintained, may form part of an organised network, especially active in [Rome], of exploiters or at least facilitators of male prostitution.”

Har!


My nomination for video of the month. Nice!



Michael Moore: ‘Democrats are a bunch of wusses…It’s disgusting… I’m sick of them’

Just over a year ago, Michael Moore vigorously campaigned for President Obama and the Democratic Party. But watching them jettison the public option from health care legislation appears to have been the final straw. “These Democrats are a bunch of wusses,” Moore told Raw Story in a hard-edged interview Wednesday. “They don’t have the courage of their convictions. They won’t stand and fight.”

Health care is a uniquely important issue for the liberal filmmaker, whose 2007 documentary “Sicko” explored the heartbreaks and inequities in the US health care industry. He says he’s fed up with the Democrats’ reticence to take on insurance companies. “It’s embarrassing, it’s disgusting and I won’t have it anymore,” he told Raw Story, mocking them in a baby’s voice. “I’m sick of them.” His views on the Republicans? Well, at least they have cojones, Moore said.

“You really have to admire the Republicans on some level, because they stand up for what they believe in,” he said. “They come into town, and when they win, oh they win. They come in with guns blazing.”

Next up, Michael Moore backs Ron Paul…he he.


The view, of course – coming from a Fortune magazine survey – is defined by other businessmen.

And the winners are

Which companies have the best reputations? Apple tops the list for the third year in a row. Who else made the top 50 this year?

Apple, Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, Amazon.com

If you’d like to see the whole list, look over here.

And here’s how they ran the survey.

Why did this catch my eye? Think back a decade. Did you ever think 3 of the Top 5 most admired companies would come from the world of high tech?



The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”

The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”

The presentation was delivered by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart to top donors and fundraisers at a party retreat in Boca Grande, Florida on February 18, a source at the gathering said.
[…]
“What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate…?” it asks.

The answer: “Save the country from trending toward Socialism!”
[…]
The 72-page document was provided to POLITICO by a Democrat, who said a hard copy had been left in the hotel hosting the $2,500-a-head retreat, the Gasparilla Inn & Club. Sources at the event said the presentation was delivered by Bickhart and by the RNC Finance Chairman, Peter Terpeluk, a former ambassador to Luxembourg under President George W. Bush.

Aren’t the Republicans already doing this? Oh wait, I’m thinking of Fox News. Nothing like fresh ideas to invigorate a campaign though, eh?


Here is the latest conversation I had with money manager Andrew Horowitz…. new insights for anyone who invests in anything. This week we discover new stocks to watch and short! Plus a discussion about the implications of the weird situation in Europe, back to Greece, Spain to come. PLUS predictions.

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An air traffic controller at New York’s Kennedy Airport was suspended for allowing his young son to radio instructions to several pilots.

The few quick exchanges between the elementary-school-aged child and jets waiting to take off from JFK, one of the nation’s busiest airports, appeared to delight pilots at the time.

“I wish I could bring my kid to work,” one said, wistfully.

But the Federal Aviation Administration suspended the controller and a supervisor on Wednesday after recordings of the calls were posted on the internet, then reported on by a Boston television station.

“This lapse in judgment not only violated FAA’s own policies, but common sense standards for professional conduct. These kinds of distractions are totally unacceptable,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement. “This kind of behaviour does not reflect the true calibre of our work force.”

On the recording, which lasts about a minute, the boy appears to repeat instructions fed to him by his father. At no time does the child tell aircraft how to manoeuvre or where they should go.

Should he have been suspended? Must have been a thrill for the kid.


Yahoo News

NEW YORK – The comedians who played presidents on “Saturday Night Live” have gathered for a comedic summit in a new Web video on FunnyOrDie.com.

The video, posted Wednesday, stars Fred Armisen as President Barack Obama. During the night he is visited by the ghosts of presidents past, who urge him to push for financial reform.

Will Ferrell reprises his President George W. Bush, Darrell Hammond plays President Bill Clinton, Dana Carvey returns as President George H.W. Bush, Dan Aykroyd plays President Jimmy Carter and Chevy Chase returns as President Gerald Ford.

Jim Carrey, the lone comedian not a veteran of “SNL,” appears as Ronald Reagan. The “SNL” player who typically played Reagan on the show was Phil Hartman, who died in 1998. (Maya Rudolph, another former “SNL” cast member, also plays Michelle Obama.)

The video was directed by Ron Howard, who previously worked with Funny Or Die for a popular video that brought him back to his days with “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Happy Days” to support Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.


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