The Off Topic Topic

[Savonarola]

Take that peanut farmer :

Oops: Cook County Democrats forget Jimmy Carter in new ad
Share | Posted by Rick Pearson at 6 a.m.

The Cook County Democratic party sent out a direct mail piece this week touting endorsed candidates centered on the theme that "throughout history, Democrats have led us to prosperity."

Pictured is the roll of Democratic presidents of the past seven decades in chronological order, from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Bill Clinton and favorite son president Barack Obama.

Oops. Where's Jimmy Carter?
"He was in the original layout that was sent to the printers," Joseph Berrios, county Democratic chairman, said of the oft-criticized man from Plains, Ga., who, for the record, should be located between Johnson and Clinton in the mailer.

"I didn't know about it until today when someone called me and said, 'Didn't you forget a president?' I said, 'no.' 'I think you better look again,' my friend says. I looked and said, 'Oh my God,'" Berrios said.

"Hey," said Berrios, who's also running for Cook County assessor, "these are hectic times. I absolutely and wholeheartedly apologize to President Carter 100 percent."   

[Savonarola]

Cops: Officer used stun gun on students during demo
January 13, 2010 12:32 PM | No Comments | UPDATED STORY
A police officer assigned to Kankakee Junior High School was placed on administrative leave after he allegedly shocked three boys with a Taser as part of an unauthorized demonstration of the device, Kankakee police said today.

The incident happened Tuesday at the school, 2250 E. Crestwood St., where the officer is stationed as a school resource officer.

According to a police statement, the officer used a the Taser to "touch stun three male students, who reportedly volunteered for the approximately one-second tase as a demonstration."

The officer was not authorized by the school, district or police department to do a Taser demonstration, police said. A parent later took one student to a local hospital where he was examined and released.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident.

Alta Young told WLS-Ch. 7 that her son Miles Maiden was one of the three boys shocked by the officer.

Miles told the station that the officer, a friend of his teacher, came into the classroom offering and yelled "Who wants a Taser?"

"I was like, 'Let me try it on my finger,' and he was like 'Let me try it on your thigh," the boy said in a television interview.

He added that the officer had come in a week ago and shocked a few students.

Young, when she learned about the Wednesday incident, Young took her son, who has a heart murmur, to the emergency room.

"This is not a game you play with children," she said. "That's very dangerous."

-- Staff report

WHO WANTS TO DRINK FROM THE FIREHOSE?

[Ed Anger]

The Beaver gets a new name
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 | 4:53 PM CT Comments103Recommend136

An iconic Canadian history magazine is changing its name to avoid a variety of misunderstandings.

The current issue of the 90-year-old Winnipeg-based bi-monthly, The Beaver: Canada's History Magazine, is the final one to have that name on the cover.

Effective with the April issue, the magazine will be known as Canada's History.

"Use of the word 'beaver' on the internet has taken on an identity that nobody could have perceived in 1920," said Deborah Morrison, president of Canada's National Historical Society. "And increasingly, if we put 'The Beaver' in a heading, we would be spam-filtered out."

The society also conducted market research last year with readers, and the conclusion was that the current name was just not working as an appropriate title, she said.

"Canadians were twice as likely not to subscribe because of the title of the magazine, even if they showed an interest in Canadian history," Morrison said, adding there were also a lot of people who thought the magazine was a nature publication.
A mockup of the April-May 2010 issue shows the newly renamed Canada's History magazine.A mockup of the April-May 2010 issue shows the newly renamed Canada's History magazine. (Canada's National Historical Society)

"I can't tell you how many people, especially kids, called us for information about the rodent for their science project."

The Beaver began as a company newsletter put out by the Hudson's Bay Company. The first issue appeared in October 1920 under the banner, The Beaver, A Journal of Progress.

Beginning with the December 1923 issue, the magazine began to be offered to non-Hudson's Bay employees at an annual rate of $1.

The magazine was acquired in 1994 by Canada's National History Society, a Winnipeg-based charitable organization devoted to popularizing Canadian history.

The magazine currently has a paid circulation of 49,000 and is published six times per year.

[Josquius]

Gragh, I hate travelling. My silly mam has just gone and spent £70 on a hotel so I leave tomorrow evening rather than early on Friday. What a waste.

[Malthus]

Take that peanut farmer :

Oops: Cook County Democrats forget Jimmy Carter in new ad
Share | Posted by Rick Pearson at 6 a.m.

The Cook County Democratic party sent out a direct mail piece this week touting endorsed candidates centered on the theme that "throughout history, Democrats have led us to prosperity."

Pictured is the roll of Democratic presidents of the past seven decades in chronological order, from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Bill Clinton and favorite son president Barack Obama.

Oops. Where's Jimmy Carter?
"He was in the original layout that was sent to the printers," Joseph Berrios, county Democratic chairman, said of the oft-criticized man from Plains, Ga., who, for the record, should be located between Johnson and Clinton in the mailer.

"I didn't know about it until today when someone called me and said, 'Didn't you forget a president?' I said, 'no.' 'I think you better look again,' my friend says. I looked and said, 'Oh my God,'" Berrios said.

"Hey," said Berrios, who's also running for Cook County assessor, "these are hectic times. I absolutely and wholeheartedly apologize to President Carter 100 percent."   

No way is that a "mistake". 

[Eddie Teach]

No way is that a "mistake". 

Eh, it's almost certainly a "mistake" in quotes...

[Josquius]

Floor collapses due to excess weight at a weight watchers clinic. Classic. Wish there was a video though.
http://www.thelocal.se/24374/20100114/

[Zanza]

The competition on the German discount beer market is so intense that a case of beer is sometimes cheaper than a case of bottled water.

[Josquius]

The competition on the German discount beer market is so intense that a case of beer is sometimes cheaper than a case of bottled water.

I hate Germans more than ever.

[Zanza]

I hate Germans more than ever.

A liter costs 38 Euro cents in the cheapest super market.

[Barrister]

The competition on the German discount beer market is so intense that a case of beer is sometimes cheaper than a case of bottled water.

What shocked me in Europe was that beer was cheaper than coke.

[DisturbedPervert]

A liter costs 38 Euro cents in the cheapest super market.

[Zanza]

What shocked me in Europe was that beer was cheaper than coke.

We have a law that bars have to offer one non-alcoholic beverage that is cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic beverage.

[sbr]

What shocked me in Europe was that beer was cheaper than coke.

We have a law that bars have to offer one non-alcoholic beverage that is cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic beverage.

Does water count, that seems too easy.

[Syt]

What shocked me in Europe was that beer was cheaper than coke.

We have a law that bars have to offer one non-alcoholic beverage that is cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic beverage.

Yes, but usually the non-alc is smaller than the beer. E.g. when I get a large coke in a bar or so (0.5 instead of 0.2 or 0.25 or 0.3 liters) then I pay more  for it than for half a liter of beer.