Man Cuts Off Penis Then Eats It

I realize that sensationalism may be offensive and I apologize in advance for this bizarre story. It has value, in that it shows that drugs are harmful. Reported on the web at www.news.com.au, an Australian site, the story is:

A MALAYSIAN man sliced off his own penis, then fried and ate it after taking hallucinatory pills that caused him to hear voices urging him to mutilate himself, police said today.

The 34-year-old man claimed he only realized what he had done when he saw blood oozing from his crotch, said a police spokesman in the town of Sitiawan, 300km north of Kuala Lumpur.

The man had taken hallucinatory pills before sleeping on Friday and awoke hearing voices telling him to chop off his penis and devour it, the spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.

He was hospitalised in stable condition, the national news agency Bernama reported.

The man had recently been released from a drug rehabilitation centre, Bernama said.

Kinda gross, huh?

 Myopic Before Starting School

Adding to the information provided in a previous posting, Myopia in East Asia, the following story delineates the results of a recent survey in Singapore.

According to Crystal Chan, reporting in The Straits Times:

One in five second year pre-schoolers had poor vision, meaning they can only see clearly at 6m what the rest could make out at 12m.

And of the 5,000 children who turned up at eye clinics for further checks, about half were mildly myopic or shortsighted.

A total of 42,000 children were tested last year and results confirmed the suspicion that myopia affected children even before they started school. Understandably, Singapore has the world's highest rate of myopia.

A 2000 study found 34 per cent of young children in Singapore were short-sighted. Rates in other nations were much lower: 19 per cent in Taiwan and 12 per cent in Hong Kong. In America, the figure was just 7.5 per cent.

The blame for the high myopia rate is eyestrain caused by reading, watching television, and computer work. On average, children start reading and using computers when they are two years old. This seems to be awfully young to be pushing children into reading

Parents, take note. Avoid eyestrain in your children.

 French Government Bans "Email"

While the United States, in particular, and the rest of the world, generally, are inspired towards multiculturalism, the French seem to be going in the opposite direction. According to a correspondent in Paris reporting for the Australian website news.com.au, the French want to minimize the use of English words in the technological field by banning the term "email" and mandating that "courriel" (meaning - electronic mail) be used instead.

The move, made law by its publication in the official government gazette on June 20, will put the French administration out of step with the majority of the French public, who still prefer to use "email" to communicate between computer accounts. Agence France-Presse

This action doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The government can make frivolous laws day in and day out, but if the citizenry is of a different opinion, the laws will be ignored. It only creates enforcement problems for the political leadership and makes them look foolish. Of course, it's the French and they have a demonstrated history of doing some foolish things.

 PETA Proposes Non-Violent Sausages at Ballpark

Probably everyone has heard of the attack by Pittsburgh Pirate Randall Simon on the "Italian Sausage" at Milwaukee's Miller Park. Not everyone is aware that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has thrown their two cents in to the fray and sent a letter to Milwaukee Brewers' management implying that the violence at sports contests are the fault of people eating animals. Their solution is to have vegetarian "soysage" included in the Sausages Races at the ballpark to set a non-violent example.

The following quote encapsulates their philosophy quite well:

"Violence is violence, whether it�s toward �sausages� or living animals," says PETA�s Sports Campaign coordinator, Dan Shannon. "Putting a veggie dog in the Sausage Race would help stop the violence and make animals �safe� in the baseball world."

I'm not sure what the hell "make animals safe in the baseball world" even means. But these folks are relentless and they pull these types of comments out of the woodwork whenever they see any kind of opening related to their desire for everybody to eat plants, not animals. Digressing, I don't see them attempting to get animals to stop eating other animals.

Many thanks to the Silent Running weblog for pointing me to the PETA letter to Brewers management. It provides a fine example of the philosophical lunacy that these people have time to practice.

It is apparently beyond my capability to comprehend why the PETA crowd is so interested in dictating what other folks eat. I've neighbors all around me that will never feel encumbered by me relative to their diets or dinner plans. I believe that's their business and none of mine. Wouldn't it be nice if the PETA commissars felt the same?

 Kennedy Dainties For Sale

I asked my wife if she would mind having her underwear auctioned off after she died provided it was done "tastefully." She responded with an emphatic, "Yes!! I would mind!" and then said, "What do you mean by 'tastefully?'"

I don't have a clue but apparently Paula Hantman, an auctioneer in Potomac, Maryland, does because she is tastefully selling the intimate undergarments of John and Jackie Kennedy. Included are John Kennedy's boxer shorts and pajamas along with Jackie's lingerie and pantyhose.

Given the character of Jacqueline Kennedy, I cannot envision that she would think there was anything tasteful about selling her or her husband's dainties. John Kennedy, being a guy, probably wouldn't have cared one way or the other.

The Washington Times has the whole story.

 Sheriff Sues County Commission

The story goes like this. The Sheriff of Geauga County in NE Ohio did not like the amount of money budgeted for his department so he decided to file a motion in court against the county commissioners to get more money. The motion requested additional money and that each of the three commissioners be fined $500 and that imprisonment be considered if they fail to comply. In their defense, the commissioners state that the county does not have the money.

The conflict now stands as a battle between lawyers, tied up in court. And it's not necessarily amiable as demonstrated by these statements from Jeffrey Miller, a lawyer representing the sheriff:

"Something has to get through to commissioners(sic) . . . ."

"It's not as though we're gunning down the commissioners. We're just attempting to coerce them to follow the court's orders."

Two things need to be noted concerning this story. First, if the county commission determines the budget and the sheriff's department can sue them for more money, what prevents the roads department or the school system from doing the same. It seems the county commission has the responsibility but no authority. And I have no idea why a trial judge would get involved in a local political pissing contest.

Secondly, the Sheriff's Department and the County Commissioners lawyers have cost the county $947,000 thus far. So, with all this silliness, the lawyers have drained more than 5% of the $18.3 million available in the entire county budget. And, it's not over.

Inevitably, the conflict will be resolved, but there will not likely be any winners (except for the lawyers). If for no other reason, the whole episode will leave the local leaders angry. And again, the people that most suffer will be the taxpayers.

The News-Herald has the whole story.

 Nader Will Run In 2004

Julian Coman reports on the 2004 political plans of Ralph Nader in the UK Telegraph:

Unimpressed by muted Democratic opposition to the war in Iraq, and unhappy with the party's timid campaigning tactics, the 69-year-old veteran activist is now contemplating a repeat performance. Privately, he has told the American Green Party that he is prepared to run again on a "strong liberal message."

This is considered bad news for the Democrats, but it was not unexpected. Mr. Nader's candidacy in 2000 has been blamed by some to be a primary cause of Al Gore's defeat by George Bush. In closing, the Telegraph states:

When Mr. Nader does announce his candidacy, he is sure to face a barrage of criticism from Democratic supporters at the hustings. Mr. Nader himself has no regrets.

"This country just does not belong to two parties with everyone else having to shut up and get in line," he said.

I think it is good that Mr. Nader enters the race for the presidency and I'd like to see more loonies participate. It results in additional fragmentation of loyalty and support among the smorgasbord of liberal candidates in the Green and Democratic parties. Also, having Nader running is good for entertainment value.

He and his minions would have the US shut down all business, get rid of all modern inventions, live in the forest eating organic plants while living in harmony with nature as he oversees a bankrupt socialist government. No corporations, no SUVs, no commercial meat business, no electricity unless it's solar or wind powered, more programs for the poor, dismantling of the national defense, banning all guns, legalizing all drugs. Yes! Nirvana the Nader way.

Jeez! Anyone with even a pissant's sense of humor has got to laugh at this lunacy.

[Hat tip to WorldNetDaily.]

 Hey! You Stink!

Be advised that if you encounter people who do carry an offensive odor, do not just tell them they stink. According to the Beaver County Times which reports:

The first thing to assess, if you are able, is the source of the odor. This can impact the action you take. If it's a negative odor, it may be that the employee doesn't do his laundry, bathe frequently enough, or use the proper toiletries. Foul smells can also signal a physical problem. If that's the case, the Americans with Disabilities Act may govern these matters.

So, stinking may be a disability. Well, that's something I hadn't considered. I could understand the stench receivers suffering some disability, but the stench emitters always seem to think everything smells okay.

It's only in the public interest that I chose to disseminate this information so that maybe someone can avoid a discrimination lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read the rest of the story which contains additional guidance.

 Advertising on Police Cars?

It's being reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that some local police departments are considering putting advertising on police cruisers in return for new police cruisers.

Ads on police cars? It doesn't sound like it would foster objectivity on the part of the people carrying loaded weapons. Read the whole story.

[Update: After further review of this subject, I am prompted to additional comment. The responsible private company, Government Acquisitions, Inc., states it has contracts with over 400 towns to place ads on all types of emergency vehicles, including ambulances and fire department. So the program is intended to encompass vehicles other than police cars.

Additionally, their website states the program would prohibit ads for alcohol, firearms, gambling, and tobacco, or any other inappropriate themes. Not discussed is the meaning of "appropriate themes," but it appears that the appropriateness would be based on community standards. Therefore, the acceptability of political advertising would be determined by community consensus. Presumably, a police car could very well patrol the neighborhood with "Nader for President" or "Keep Abortion Legal" emblazoned on its side. After all, some communities have legalized marijuana so "Legalize Marijuana" advertising on ambulances would be appropriate in some locales.

Lastly, a picture of types of "appropriate" advertisements on vehicles is displayed on the web site and it sure looks to me like the resultant image is closer to NASCAR as opposed to police car.]

 Looking for the Prettier Sow

Penn State's Population Research Institute has published a story which indicates that people are all too willing to move to another state based entirely on the eligibility rules for welfare.

Gordon De Jong, a professor of sociology and demography, stated:

"There wasn't a whole lot of change in the welfare-benefit levels, but there were a lot of changes in eligibility rules and what people must do, in terms of behavioral requirements and responsibilities, to qualify or to continue to receive benefits . . ."[and]

"We found that these latter two dimensions, eligibility rules and behavioral responsibilities and requirements, make a difference -- that people are willing to move from states that are highly stringent or became more stringent to states that are lenient or became more lenient . . . ."

This should not be a great surprise to anyone. People will show up to get something for nothing. And, this movement affects different states differently. Some states have stringent requirements and people have a motivation to go to less stringent states. The researchers found that:

". . . California, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Vermont and Washington as the states with welfare policies most attractive to outsiders. Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas were the states where welfare recipients were most likely to leave.

It's well known that sometimes one has to move for the sake of a better job. I guess sometimes a move is made for better welfare. OK, let's see. What state has a prettier sow?

Unfortunately, the states with a prettier sow also have citizens with emptier wallets. Read the whole story.

 Sometimes The Write Word

I came to this interesting and funny site called Bored on the Bus put together by an Aussie. He happens to collect curious and humorous passages from signs such as:

In a London department store: BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS.

In an office: AFTER TEA BREAK, STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD.

It's worth a look.

 Smoking Banned in Toledo

Joining other liberal venues, like NYC, the Toledo City Council voted to ban smoking in all bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and bingo halls according to this story in the Toledo Blade. The overall goal of the anti-smoking do-gooders is to ban smoking in all municipalities in Ohio with the next targeted being Defiance, Wauseon, Cleveland and Dayton.

The article notes several aspects of the new law which are worthy of comment.

"The ordinance will be enforced by the city's division of environmental services in response to complaints."

This sounds to me like a new organization will have law enforcement authority and responsibility. This has to create a conflict with the existing police and sheriff departments.

"A person caught smoking illegally could be slapped with a $100 fine."

In my opinion, that seems awful steep for lighting a cigarette in the wrong place. I'm sure Andy Taylor would just tell the person to put it out or take it outside.

"A bar or restaurant that permits illegal smoking would have to undergo anti-tobacco education after the first three violations, and would face a minor misdemeanor and a referral to the Ohio Department of Liquor Control after that."

Does anybody have a clue as to what "anti-tobacco education" is? Does "referral to the Ohio Department of Liquor Control" mean that they are going to have to take action on smoking violations? Is smoking in the purview of liquor control now? Does the OH Dept. of Liquor Control now work for the city of Toledo and just doesn't know it?

One last thing to note is that this type of frivolous and intrusive lawmaking is costing the taxpayers real dollars. There's monitoring, law enforcement, responding to complaints, anti-tobacco education, and record keeping which will require people, space to work, equipment and some legal representation. All this stuff costs money. Their money.

And, they are adding to an existing government bureaucracy, the epitome of mismanagement. In other words, they're just providing another avenue for government to piss away their hard earned tax dollars. It just don't make a lot of sense to me.

Hey, smoke 'em if you got 'em.

 Man Awakes From 19-Year Coma

This good news story from the AP has been reported by just about everybody and I'm only including it because I've a comment. The report states the following:

Thrown into a stupor after an auto accident in 1984, he recently spoke his first words in 19 years: "Mom. Pepsi. Milk."

Now, would it be reasonable to assume that the execs at PepsiCo and the milk industry are right now tearing their hair out trying to come up with some way to tastefully take advantage of the obvious advertising opportunity? I think so.

 Bloggers Gain Libel Protection

This article from Wired Magazine explains the ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that do-it-yourself online publishers, such as bloggers, cannot be held responsible for libel on information that they republish. Anyone who cuts, pastes, and forwards information on the web is affected by this decision. Read the whole thing.

[Thanks for the tip to Vodka Pundit.]

 Man Bites Dog

Everybody I'm sure has heard of other cultures' incomprehensible eating customs. Many times the response is absolute horror. The custom of eating monkeys and rats in Africa is beyond understandability. The Asians prefer cats and dogs which is deplorable to Americans who consider them pets. To help increase understanding of foreign eating customs, I feel obligated to link to this story of dog eating in Korea by fellow blogger Robert Koehler, an expatriate working there as a teacher.

Here's an appetizer from Robert's blog, The Marmot's Hole.

The practice of eating dog meat became a controversial topic circa 1988, when Korea began to come under fire from foreign-based animal rights activists in the period leading up to the Summer Olympic Games held in Seoul that year. Sensitive to the criticism from abroad, the Korean government banned the consumption of dog meat right before the start of the Games. Not that this stopped the diehard from enjoying the fruits of the pooch - dog meat restaurants simply invented new names for the dishes (many of those names are still in use, causing some confusion for the uninitiated), and continued doing a brisk trade.

The period leading up to the 2002 World Cup witnessed a new round of criticism from animal rights activists, this time lead by shitty actress-turned-dog hugger Brigitte Bardot, who attempted to organize an international boycott of Korea over the dog meat issue.

Click the link and read the whole article. It's entertaining and informative.

 Today's Crime and Punishment Story

This was stolen from Common Sense & Wonder and I send my thanks.

An American, a Dutchman and a Frenchman are all in Saudi Arabia, sharing a smuggled crate of booze when, all of a sudden, Saudi police rush in and arrest them. The mere possession of alcohol is a severe offense in Saudi Arabia, so for the terrible crime of actually being caught consuming the booze, they are all sentenced to death!

However, after many months and with the help of very good lawyers, they are able to successfully appeal their sentences down to life imprisonment. By a stroke of luck, it was a Saudi national holiday the day their trial finished, and the extremely benevolent Sheikh decided they could be released after receiving just 20 lashes each of the whip.

As they were preparing for their punishment, the Sheik announced: "It's my first wife's birthday today, and she has asked me to allow each of you one wish before your whipping."

The Dutchman was first in line, he thought for a while and then said: "Please tie a pillow to my back."

This was done, but the pillow only lasted 10 lashes before the whip went through. When the punishment was done he had to be carried away bleeding and crying with pain. The Frenchman was next up.

After watching the Dutchman in horror he said smugly: "Please fix two pillows to my back." But even two pillows could only take 15 lashes before the whip went through again and the Frenchman was soon led away whimpering loudly (as they do).

The American was the last one up, but before he could say anything, the Sheikh turned to him and said: "You are from a most beautiful part of the world and your culture is one of the finest in the world. For this, you may have two wishes!"

"Thank you, your Most Royal and Merciful highness", the American replied. "In recognition of your kindness, my first wish is that you give me not 20, but 100 lashes."

"Not only are you an honorable, handsome and powerful man, you are also very brave". The Sheikh said with an admiring look on his face. "If 100 lashes is what you desire, then so be it. "And your second wish, what is it to be?" the Sheikh asked.

The American replied: "Tie the French Bastard to my back."

Last I checked, relations between the US and France have not noticeably improved. Therefore, this joke may be around for a while.

 UN Smoking Police

Consistent with the ongoing trend to demonstrate the dominant influence exercised by radical special interests on the United Nations, a treaty called The Framework Convention for Tobacco Control has been formulated and presented to member nations for ratification. If it's like other documents produced by the UN, it should be called The Latest Plan to Fleece United States Businesses and Taxpayers.

Editorializing aside, apparently this document provides justification for sending nasty grams to people they feel smoke too much, which is what they did to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Mark Steyn reports in the UK Telegraph that:

". . . Hun Sen was "told by the United Nations he was the biggest smoker among world leaders." [and]

"The UN has asked the prime minister to stop smoking."

Excuse me, but I have to ask. What the hell is going on? Somehow the UN seems to not bother with pesky problems like genocide and terrorism to concentrate on Being-Bathroom-Monitor-at-the-High-School. This makes no sense.

Digressing, I want to pass along a couple of Mark Steyn's paragraphs that I thought were interesting regarding the UN's anti-smoking efforts.

Are the UN's smoke detectors their version of arresting Al Capone for tax evasion? Were they ready to nail Saddam for some tell-tale ash on his tie when it turned out to be merely anthrax? Were they set to move in on Mullah Omar after they got him on tape telling his child-bride, "Ooh, I could murder a pack of fags, luv," only to discover it was just another Gay Execution Day at the Kandahar soccer pitch?

Hard to say. But, as a general rule, whenever a great international crisis runs up against an anti-smoking policy, bet on the latter. That's been true ever since Hillary Clinton made Yitzhak Rabin go outside to smoke when he was at the White House for negotiations over the Oslo peace accords. (Mrs. Clinton's husband remained in compliance with her smoking policy by keeping his cigar famously unlit.)

All this and there are still many folks in the US political arena that think we should give up our sovereignty to the increasingly irrelevant UN.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

[Thanks to Common Sense & Wonder.]

 More Endorsements for Kucinich

An AP story reports on new support for Rep. Kucinich from some odd sources. In addition to left coast liberals such as Ed Asner, Elliott Gould (formerly "Mr. Streisand"), Hector Elizondo and Peter Coyote, the story states that:

The latest come from Doris "Granny D" Haddock, a 93-year-old New Hampshire woman who walked coast-to-coast two years ago to support a rewrite of campaign finance laws, and Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and leader of the M.K. Gandhi Institute of Nonviolence. [I'm not sure what political influence these two might have.]

Ice cream makers Ben & Jerry have also joined the Kucinich radical party mix as have outspoken author Studs Terkel and musician Willie Nelson.

With over a year to go before the election, it will be interesting to watch what other leftists decide to display their foolishness.

 New Jersey Bears

No they're not a sports franchise, they're wild animals and considered nuisances and dangerous to property owners in NW New Jersey. They raid trash cans, try to enter houses, and kill pets and livestock.

USA TODAY reports that, in response to citizen complaints, the New Jersey Fish and Game Council has approved the issuance of hunting permits for the first time in 33 years. Numbering 10,000, the permits will be valid during a special bear hunting season from December 8 through 13 this year.

Support for the hunt is strong but critics "suggest that more could be done to teach residents how to live with the animals . . . ."

There seems to be an underlying assumption that the bears are not the problem. People are the problem because they've been inadequately taught to live in harmony with large, hungry, omnivorous wild animals.

There also seems to be an assumption that people would want to live in harmony with the beasts. Well, excuse me. I don't and I don't want to be taught how. Personally, I think that people who want to spend their time with bears should learn to shit sleep in the woods.

 Kucinich Opposing Nuclear Plant Restart

Science Writer John Mangels writes in this Cleveland Plain Dealer story about Representative Kucinich's latest efforts to prevent restart of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant.

The congressman contends in a letter to NRC Executive Director William Travers that the plant should not be allowed to restart until a criminal investigation is completed regarding whether the utility intentionally misled the agency. The NRC has yet to respond to Kucinich's latest letter.

I refer to it as his latest letter because the congressman has spearheaded an effort to have Davis-Besse completely closed down. It's not difficult to understand why Kucinich is a darling of the radical environmental crowd, placing right behind Ralph Nader as the favorite in a recent Green Party poll of its members.

As I see it, Kucinich has little chance of being the Democratic Party nominee for president in 2004, but don't be surprised if he appears on the ballot as the Green Party nominee if Mr. Nader decides not to run.