Travel & Leisure Magazine lists some of The WorldÂ’s Strangest Laws.

”Americans expect to experience some difference in laws when they travel the world, but some laws we found just sounded insane. In France, it’s illegal to name a pig Napoleon. In Florida, single women can’t parachute on Sundays. And in England, you may urinate anywhere in public, including inside a policeman’s helmet, providing that you’re also pregnant.”

Sage advice, particularly when Americans are travelling to the so-called “Republic of Florida” where the natural beauty of it’s glacier-carved sub-arctic fjords are offset by the cruel archipelago of gulags known as “The Keys,” It’s well known that dissenters and malcontents are sent there to “waste away in Margaritaville” (by far the worst of the prison camps) as has been documented by former political prisoners and groups such as Amnesty International. While there, they’re also forced to work in the salt mines, constantly searching for that precious mineral. Those who don’t collect at least a shaker full per day are punished by being forced to wear humiliating clothing with outsized floral prints.

Before we judge too harshly though, letÂ’s keep in mind some of our own senseless and archaic laws we have here in the states. For example, in Newark, NJ itÂ’s illegal to skin and dress a hobo in public during daylight hours. And in Washington State itÂ’s apparently illegal to mount a surplus minigun to the top of the roof of your truck. Though thatÂ’s being challenged in court at the moment. Those things arenÂ’t cheap and I want it the fuck back.

more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 08:44 PM | Comments (1)
Post contains 359 words, total size 3 kb.

Remember that sitcom decades ago where the radio station dropped some turkeys out of a plane as a promotion, and disaster ensued when it turned out that domesticated turkeys don't fly? I'm just saying...this turkey doesn't seem to be flying.

Other Zogby results showed the Presidential TelePrompter's ratings remaining steady and respectably high at 90%.

H/T Jules more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 07:01 PM | Comments (17)
Post contains 69 words, total size 1 kb.

Erm...maybe that came out wrong. What I meant to say was that Warner Bros. is opening its vault in a "made-to-order" manner, trying to scare some life back into the home video business (BTW, wasn't it just a year ago they were telling us that the movie theater was dying and the future was in home cinema? I guess that was before Dark Knight, huh?):

Over the last 12 years, Warner Home Video has released about 1,200 vintage films from its vast library on DVD. But that still leaves about 3,800 feature titles that have yet to make their digital debuts. At the studio's current release rate of 100 per year, they wouldn't all be available until midcentury.

So in an industry first, the company today is, in a manner of speaking, inviting the public into the vaults to order what it wants. And like the neighborhood pizzeria, it won't make it till you order it.

The consumer who visits www.warnerarchive.com initially will find 150 classic titles from Warner Bros. Pictures, MGM and RKO that each can be ordered either as a computer download ($14.95) or as a DVD ($19.95) that arrives in the mailbox approximately five days after purchase.

The studio says it intends to bolster that list at the rate of 20 new titles a month -- including TV series and TV movies. Many of the movies and shows were once available on video cassette, but none has been on DVD, and many others have never been available for purchase at all.

Some of the works listed: Clark "Who?" Gable films, including "Possessed" and "Men in White"; Greta "When?" Garbo's silent version of "Anna Karenina", "Love," ; Joan "WhoShotWhointheWhatNow?" Crawford's "This Woman Is Dangerous"; and "Wisdom," with Emilio Estevez and Demi "Hey that Chick that Married Ashton" Moore.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:35 PM | Comments (2)
Post contains 316 words, total size 2 kb.

So much so it appears they're eating their own out of fear and peptic distemper.

An intense, six-month campaign of Predator strikes in Pakistan has taken such a toll on Al Qaeda that militants have begun turning violently on one another out of confusion and distrust, U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say.

This is what most counter-terrorism officials would call "successful".

Bill Saletan calls a pussy a pussy. And makes a moderate case for walkin the Predator tightrope as opposed to the Obama plan.

He's skeptical about the "eating their own" angle. Equally skeptical that there will be hundreds of suicide bombers who are my age, unleashing their greybearded furiousness. We'll see.

A Marine friend of mine told me once that killing a booger from 500 yards is better than from within a few feet.

I think the Marines are just efficient with that killin stuff. So maybe the CIA went to school on them.

...

Oh. Also. Monty,

call me

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 05:34 PM | Comments (2)
Post contains 225 words, total size 2 kb.

Apologies for being AWOL, and thanks to the cobloggers for covering, as usual.

I had a rough weekend. Nothing huge in the scheme of things, just dealing with a long-festering issue and trying to figure out where I go next. The boil is lanced, now*, and my mood is actually improving a bit, so hopefully I won't be a complete goldbricker going forward.

* Festering and boil are used metaphorically. I don't have the clap or anything.
more...

Posted by: Ace at 02:54 PM | Comments (1)
Post contains 264 words, total size 1 kb.

Reporting from Washington -- An intense, six-month campaign of Predator strikes in Pakistan has taken such a toll on Al Qaeda that militants have begun turning violently on one another out of confusion and distrust, U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say.

The pace of the Predator attacks has accelerated dramatically since August, when the Bush administration made a previously undisclosed decision to abandon the practice of obtaining permission from the Pakistani government before launching missiles from the unmanned aircraft.

...

U.S. intelligence officials said they see clear signs that the Predator strikes are sowing distrust within Al Qaeda. "They have started hunting down people who they think are responsible" for security breaches, the senior U.S. counter-terrorism official said, discussing intelligence assessments on condition of anonymity. "People are showing up dead or disappearing."

...

The success of the Predator campaign has prompted some counter-terrorism officials to speak of a post-Al Qaeda era in which its regional affiliates -- in North Africa and elsewhere -- are all that remain after the center collapses.

"You can imagine a horizon in which Al Qaeda proper no longer exists," said Juan Zarate, former counter-terrorism advisor to Bush. "If you were to continue on this pace, and get No. 1 and No. 2, Al Qaeda is dead. You can't resuscitate that organization as we know it without its senior leadership."

source

Good news! And for the record I made up the bit about Obama canceling the program, although with some of his recent moves it wouldn't surprise me. Closing Gitmo, ceasing the use of the enemy combatant designation, his homeland security secretary referring to terrorism as a man caused disaster, all of these show a lack of seriousness about terrorism that is disturbing and ceasing a successful program would be par for the course he has played so far.

Posted by: Open Blog at 02:34 PM | Comments (1)
Post contains 345 words, total size 2 kb.

says out-of-touch member of Congress, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Washington).

The moratorium on offshore oil drilling “will be reinstated,” Inslee told CNSNews.com, but he did not specify whether he meant the executive branch moratorium or the one from the Interior Department.

“One way or the other, it will be reinstated,” said Inslee. “One way or the other, by any means necessary.

“We are off the Pacific coast, and there would be a civil war,” said Inslee. “There would be something like a secessionist movement if there was a serious attempt to [permanently] remove the moratorium.”

Fess up now, would any of you really miss Washington State if it were gone?

Sure we'd lose Boeing, Granny Smith Apples, and Microsoft. But that's a price I'm willing to pay!

Especially if the other option is keeping them and paying $5 a gallon for gas.

How many armored divisions of fuel cell powered Prius-M1 Abrams hybrids does the Washington State Army Reserve own, anyway?

I'm pretty sure we could take 'em.

But what do I know? I voted for Palin.

Posted by: Jack M. at 12:08 PM | Add Comment
Post contains 191 words, total size 1 kb.

Closure?

“The March 17th episode of Red Eye included a segment discussing Canada’s plan for a ’synchronized break,’ which was in no way an attempt to make light of troop efforts,” Greg Gutfeld, host of the segment, told the Canwest News Service on Monday in an e-mailed statement.

“However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military, and for that I apologize. Red Eye is a satirical take on the news, in which all topics are addressed in a lighthearted, humourous and ridiculous manner.”

Posted by: Ace at 11:36 AM | Comments (3)
Post contains 114 words, total size 1 kb.

I hate to disregard tmi3rd's suggestion that we focus on Democrats and not Republicans* but I think this is a worthy exception (mostly because I'm not sure Specter is a Republican anyway).

Specter has been toying with ways to get reelected in the face of declining Republican support and likely rematch against Pat Toomey in the primary. But this takes the cake.

In recent days, Specter has quietly lobbied Republicans who control the state Senate to support a proposal that would allow independents to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary. He has called individual senators and spoke before the entire caucus - on that and other subjects - earlier this week.

One senator who attended the caucus said it was tough sell.

"It was apparent that he wanted the support" of the caucus, said Sen. John H. Eichelberger, R-Blair, who supports Toomey. "I could tell from the looks in the room and the comments that were made that there wasn't much support for it."

Specter said Friday that the idea has merit.

"It would obviously help me, but beyond my own situation it would help the party," he said in a telephone interview Friday.

Come on Keystone State Morons...this must be stopped.

We need to close our primaries not open them up. I suppose however we owe Specter a debt of gratitute for showing exactly what kind of Republicans opening up primaries helps. I think we can agree it's the kind we need less of.

*If you didn't see his post, it's well worth a few minutes of your time.

Posted by: DrewM at 10:42 AM | Comments (1)
Post contains 289 words, total size 2 kb.

It's like Bizzaro World or something.

The person who said that isn't some whack job (well that's debatable I guess) or ACORN affiliated politician but Christina Romer, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Some might call this insanity, others, just another day in the Obama administration.

Posted by: DrewM at 09:47 AM | Add Comment
Post contains 82 words, total size 1 kb.