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Tell us what you liked about his answers and what you didn’t. What questions asked did you like or hate? What would you have asked that wasn’t?
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 “Prepare to repel boarders” |
A British vacationer is being hailed a hero after he thwarted gun-toting pirates attacking a cruise ship — by throwing a deck chair at them.
Wyn Rowlands was celebrating his 62nd birthday with a dream cruise onboard the MSC Melody near the Seychelle Islands when he spotted armed pirates in a speedboat trying to clamber on to the vessel. Quick-thinking Wyn, a retired engineer from Bangor-on-Dee, picked up a deck-chair and flung it down at the gang before raising the alarm.
The ship’s captain, Ciro Pinto, was then able to out-manoeuvre the pirates to prevent them boarding the cruise ship.
The MSC Melody and its 1,000 passengers and 500 crew were 600 miles off the coast of Somalia — notorious for pirate attacks — when the incident happenedon Sunday evening. “Mr. Rowlands was on deck with his wife when he saw the pirates approaching and firing automatic weapons,” a spokeswoman for the MSC Melody told Sky News Online.
“He is understandably very proud that his rapid response helped save the day.”
Ha! Take that scoundrels!
Too big to fail? Here we go again…
At least six of the 19 largest U.S. banks require additional capital, according to preliminary results of government stress tests, people briefed on the matter said.
While some of the lenders may need extra cash injections from the government, most of the capital is likely to come from converting preferred shares to common equity, the people said. The Federal Reserve is now hearing appeals from banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., that regulators have determined need more of a cushion against losses, they added.
By pushing conversions, rather than federal assistance, the government would allow banks to shore themselves up without the political taint that has soured both Wall Street and Congress on the bailouts. The risk is that, along with diluting existing shareholders, the government action won’t seem strong enough.
“The challenge that policy makers will confront is that more will be needed and it’s not clear they have the resources currently in place or the political capability to deliver more,” said David Greenlaw, the chief financial economist at Morgan Stanley, one of the 19 banks that are being tested, in New York.
Final results of the tests are due to be released next week.
Federal officials knew that sending two fighter jets and a 747 from the presidential fleet to buzz ground zero and Lady Liberty might set off nightmarish fears of a 9/11 replay, but they still ordered the photo-op kept secret from the public. In a memo obtained by CBS 2 HD, the Federal Aviation Administration’s James Johnston said the agency was aware of “the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes” in an around New York City. But they demanded total secrecy from the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor’s office and threatened federal sanctions if the secret got out. “To say that it should not be made public knowing that it might scare people it’s just confounding,” Sen. Charles Schumer said. “It’s what gives Washington and government a bad name. It’s sheer stupidity.”
The flyover — apparently ordered by the White House Office of Military Affairs so it would have souvenir photos of Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty in the background — had President Obama seeing red. He ordered a probe and apologized.
The cost of the frivolous flight was about $60,000 an hour and that was just for the presidential aircraft. That doesn’t include the cost of the two F-16s that came along. The flight by the VC-25, a modified Boeing Co. 747, and two F-16 fighter jets cost $328,835, Air Force spokeswoman Vicki Stein said. That includes $300,658 for the larger plane, which flew a three-hour mission, and about $28,178 for the F-16 jets, which flew 1.8 hours each, Stein said in an e-mailed statement.
The NYPD was so upset about the demand for secrecy that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly vowed never to follow such a directive again and he accused the feds of inciting fears of a 9/11 replay.
So are we being used as guinea pigs? Was this just a Psyop to see how we would react? It wouldn’t surprise me.
Zak Gunter took on a smoker at Health Canada for lighting up where she wasn’t supposed to, and the smoker won.
Gunter, 24, was stunned when he lost his job with a fire-alarm testing company as a result of a confrontation with a public servant who had been smoking near the main entrance of Health Canada’s Jeanne Mance Building at Tunney’s Pasture.
Gunter’s troubles began near the end of his second day at Jeanne Mance, on April 7, when he noticed yet another smoker, a couple of metres outside the lobby’s main doors, puffing away beside a No Smoking sign. He says that, as he was working in the lobby area and the main doors were in constant use, he had to put up with continuous bursts of cigarette smoke and odour from groups of smokers who were huddled near the entrance. The weather was pretty crummy both days that he worked there, with snow, rain, wind and cool temperatures…
As he had done on eight or nine other occasions with other smokers over the two days at Jeanne Mance, Gunter rapped on the window, got the attention of the woman, and pointed to the No Smoking sign near where she was standing.
But unlike the other smokers, who he says sheepishly took the hint and finished their cigarettes away from the main entrance, the middle-aged woman gestured at Gunter to leave her alone. When she came inside, she confronted Gunter and gave him a piece of her mind.
She told him that his rapping on the window frightened her and that he had no business telling her what to do.
When he arrived for work the next morning, Gunter was told by Siemens to leave the premises because the company was investigating his “altercation” with the woman. The next day, Gunter was told that he had been relieved of his job. When Gunter defended his rights as a non-smoker, he says a Siemens supervisor told him, “I don’t care about your rights.”
Forget reason, forget law!
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
NBC News
Published: April 29, 2009
A Texas bus driver has lost his job, after causing a crash because he was texting on his cell phone, while driving.
Security video from inside the San Antonio public transportation bus shows traffic stopped on the highway in June of 2008, as the bus barrels toward cars at a standstill.
Video from inside the bus shows the driver pulling the phone from his pocket and texting, taking his eyes off the road for up to six minutes before the crash happens.
A Google search of “texting bus drivers” brings up way too many hits.
Édgar Hernández can rattle off the fierce flu symptoms he suffered a few weeks back, like a boy far beyond his five years: His head was hot. He coughed until his belly and his throat were sore. He did not want to eat, which was strange for him, someone who gobbles up everything he can.
“I was very bad,” he said Tuesday, with his worried parents looking on. “I feel good now,” he said later, flashing a smile.
The government has identified Édgar as the first person in Mexico to have become infected with a virulent strain of swine flu, a notoriety that could raise questions about how Mexican officials reacted — or failed to react — to the early stages of what might become a global epidemic.
Édgar was one of hundreds of people in La Gloria who came down with flulike symptoms in an outbreak that federal officials say began March 9. Local residents accuse public health officials of discounting the outbreak at the time, reassuring them that it was nothing grave…
In La Gloria, a town that has a major pig farming industry, two children died of the flu in March and early April, though the authorities said they had yet to determine whether it was the same strain that infected Édgar and spread widely to other locales. That and other questions have left residents here unnerved and confused.
 |
Here is a special report on pig farming in La Gloria. It ain’t some local truck farmer cranking out a couple hundred porkers every year. It’s a factory farm owned by Joseph Luter III, the Pig Baron of the world, the man who owns Smithfield – a corporation that has been busted in the United States and Europe for corrupting environments where he builds his pig warehouses. |
Is this a real story or fiction? Popular Mechanix — which is still around, although the ‘x’ is gone — was never exactly a hotbed of tawdry tales, so it probably is true. With tasering and all the rest of the crap that some cops and courts do now, and considering the times (1960) which didn’t have some of the protections we have now, it is believable in a pulp novel kinda way.
And isn’t it a treat to have things like entire issues of old magazines online? A treasure trove of history, of a sort.
CORRECTION: As intrepid commenter, BenFranske, pointed out, this is really from a magazine called Whisper, a rag which appears to be a tad ‘sinsational’ in its ‘reporting.’ Still, an interesting read.
(need to turn AdBlock off)
Oops. Sorry. We aren’t supposed to call it “swine” flu because Jews and Muslims might object. Calling it the “Mexican flu” isn’t offensive at all. Also, pork producers want it called “H1N1 human influenza” so people don’t stop eating pork products like bacon. Hmmm… bacon…
Although I’m a fan of free enterprise, America really doesn’t have a banking system. I’m trying to buy a house and I have excellent credit, 15% to put down and excellent documentation. I’ve borrowed and repaid millions of dollars in my life but the lending world has gone bizarre.
First, I’m probably going to end up with a lender that has a lower net worth than I do who is going to lend me money they borrowed from my taxes, to give me a loan that I’ll have to buy insurance to cover, and they are paying nothing in interest for. I’d rather borrow money from the government than put up with the crap I’ve been dealing with. I’m no fan of socialism, but this is hardly capitalism. It’s just plain insanity!
Anyone else having problems getting a home loan? Got any tips and tricks?
Most animal lovers would be happy to have a dog, or even a cat as their constant and loyal companion.
But naturalist Casey Anderson has taken that a step further and adopted an 58-stone grizzly bear called Brutus, who he has raised since birth. The pair are inseparable and are so close that when Anderson married Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actress Missi Pyle in August last year, the bear stood in as best man. In fact, the creature is so fond of humans that he has become an integral part of the family, and even has the occasional place at the kitchen table and has appeared in a move with Pyle.
And while most cynics might argue the pictures are the result of Photoshop technology, Anderson and National Geographic have vouched for their authenticity. ‘He’s my best friend,’ Anderson told Good Morning America. ‘He gives me unconditional love.’ Anderson said the creatures were his passion and it was his aim to educate the public about how important it was to preserve their environment. He added many people wrongly assumed that bears were blood-thirsty man eaters which in fact the opposite is true and they normally shun human contact.
‘It’s the biggest misconception. When you hear about a grizzly bear, it’s because they have done something wrong.’ Anderson said. ‘We’re trying to cure the myths, educate the public.’ He added there was a way of coexisting with these animals but that humans had to play by the rules.
 “Guess who’s coming to dinner” |
This could end badly. See more photos here.
Daylife/Getty Images used by permission
|
Senator Arlen Specter’s abrupt move to switch allegiance to President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party was a sharp blow to Republicans and will likely generate more soul-searching for the minority party…
* If he had remained a Republican, he faced a tough challenge for the party’s nomination in Pennsylvania’s 2010 Senate race from conservative Pat Toomey. The moderate Specter beat Toomey in a tight primary in 2004 but faced an even tougher battle this time.
* As far as the Republican base was concerned, his biggest Achilles’ heel was his support for Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus bill. That bill passed the U.S. Congress in February with support from only three Republicans — Specter and Maine senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
* Specter’s announcement sharply criticized Republicans, who lost control of the U.S. Congress in 2006, and lost the White House and more seats in Congress in 2008. “I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans,” his statement said…
* Republican strategist John Feehery said Republican leaders in the Senate did all they could to hang on to Specter. More broadly, however, he said: “What it says about the party is they have to make a determination on whether they want to be in the majority or whether they want to be intellectually pure…”
* Republican strategist Scott Reed said: “I always thought Specter would consider switching to become an independent to get re-elected, and it’s too bad that Michael Steele pushed him into the Democrat Party.”
Overdue. And crafty.
Daylife/Getty Images used by permission
|
Five House Democrats, including civil rights pioneer John Lewis of Georgia, were among the eight people arrested during a demonstration outside the Sudanese Embassy Monday morning. The representatives were protesting Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s expulsion last month of 16 aid groups from war-ravaged Darfur.
The other four lawmakers arrested were Donna Edwards of Maryland, James McGovern of Massachusetts, Lynn Woolsey of California and the first Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison of Minnesota.
The Secret Service arrested the lawmakers and charged with them crossing a police line, which is a misdemeanor.
The three other activists arrested during the protest were Jerry Fowler, president of Save Darfur Now; John Prendergast, a co-founder of the Enough Project who worked in the State Department during the Clinton Administration; and Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
You didn’t expect any “pro-life” Republicans, did you?
ANDERSON, S.C. — Two young brothers caused an uproar in Anderson Friday morning when they wandered away from their home and into a neighbor’s home. Neighbors and public safety officers launched an intense search after John and Matthew Farrar disappeared from their home.
The boy’s mother called to report the 2- and 3-year-olds missing at about 9:45 a.m.
About 100 city and county emergency workers scrambled into the neighborhood to search for the boys. Little did they know that the toddlers were next door in the home of a sleeping neighbor, playing out their own version of Goldilocks gone bad. Angie Lovorn was sound asleep on the other side of the house after working a third shift and said she had no idea the boys were in her house.
“I would have right away looked through my house if I’d known they were missing,” Lovorn said.
But she didn’t know. And while she slept, the toddlers ransacked her cupboards, munching on Teddy Grahams, marshmallows and chips. Lovorn finally awoke and saw the emergency workers outside her home at about the same time searchers spotted the boys coming out her back door. One of the brothers was wearing a Clemson University football helmet that belongs to Lovorn’s son. “They even got on the top bunk,” Lovorn said. “These items — stuffed animals — were on the top bunk.”
From the looks of the house, the boys enjoyed their visit. “They played for a while, I think,” Lovorn said.
 Re-created scene from the movie |
How do you film a movie set largely in the Vatican when the Holy See itself has banned you from shooting within its walls? If you are the producers of Angels and Demons, the prequel to the church-baiting worldwide blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, you send in cameramen posing as tourists to take more than 250,000 photographs and shoot hours of video footage…
Special effects supervisor Ryan Cook told Italian film magazine Ciak: “The ban on filming put us in serious difficulty because we were not able to carry out the photographic surveys necessary to reconstruct the setting. So for weeks we sent a team of people who mixed with tourists and took thousands of photos and video footage.”
The move was necessary because leaders of the Catholic church, still smarting from The Da Vinci Code’s assertion that Christ married and fathered children with Mary Magdalene, had banned the film-makers from filming in or around any of Rome’s churches. Father Marco Fibbi, spokesman for the diocese of Rome, said at the time: “Normally we read the script, but this time it was not necessary. The name Dan Brown was enough.”
Angels and Demons director Ron Howard hinted in an interview in December on US TV show Shootout that his team had been forced into unusual measures by the ban. “We didn’t shoot at the Vatican officially. But cameras can be made really small,” he said.
Har!
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