Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[sa547]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Forklift mishap destroys $1m of shiraz wine

What a waste.

Most likely the operator got fired for making the wrong turn.

[MakubeX2]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Actually I wonder if it is a pretty normal contingency plan - my local highways and certain stretches of road are also used for that purpose, just a year ago the RSAF removed a whole stretch of streetlights so the road can be used to launch F16s.

Where else can they fly and land jets after the primary runway had been bombed ?

And you remember wrongly. The exercise was a half decade thinge and the last one was in late '08. I had the honour of having the front view seat, guarding the road until everything is ready. :-



The feel of the sonic boom of a jet taking off 30 meters away is one of those must-try things in life.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by MakubeX2

Where else can they fly and land jets after the primary runway had been bombed ?

And you remember wrongly. The exercise was a half decade thinge and the last one was in late '08. I had the honour of having the front view seat, guarding the road until everything is ready. :-

<snip>

The feel of the sonic boom of a jet taking off 30 meters away is one of those must-try things in life.

My mistake. I remember reading about it before, but I lost track of time because 2-3 years seem to pass so fast without me realising.

And damn, you are lucky. I have to make do with crummy pieces of metal floating around.

[justinstrife]

http://news.yahoo.com/double-rainbow...154128960.html

Spoiler:

Paul Vasquez is better known to the Internet as the "Double Rainbow Guy." He lives in a mobile home just outside of Yosemite National Park, tinkers in organic farming and alternative energy, and is famous for his exuberant appreciation of nature's post-rain light display.

Derek Broes lives in Los Angeles. He is the former senior vice president of the digital division at Paramount Pictures and spent four years running global wireless strategy for Microsoft.

[More from Mashable: Create Albums From Instagram, Twitter & Facebook Photos With Pictarine]

Possibly the only thing that Vasquez and Broes have in common: they are both running for president in 2012. And unless you happen to be Facebook friends with either man, you probably haven't noticed.
Votocracy: "Your Personal Campaign Machine"

While mainstream candidates like Mitt Romney and President Obama are set to campaign and debate in person, candidates like Vasquez and Broes are stating their positions and taking questions on a Facebook app called Votocracy.

[More from Mashable: Kraft Jell-O Pudding Seeks To Eradicate Twitter Frowns]

"The packaging that we’re accustomed to in politics -- it’s really difficult for that to survive in social media," says Votocracy founder and CEO Bryan Lee. Networks like Facebook, he says, are "more connected, more human, more raw" than traditional campaigning.

Lee, who has held executive positions at both Sony and Microsoft, launched the platform on June 1. Since then, about 370 people have announced their intentions to run for president using it. The sign-up cost is $99, but don't worry if that's too rich for your blood. Candidates can start by putting as little as $1 toward this fee and collect the rest from their supporters. Compare that to the $8,100 you would have to spend just to get on the ballot in all 50 states, according to the nonpartisan newsletter Ballot Access News.

Candidates collect supporters by getting people to "Like" their votocracy pages. Vasquez's page has about 50 such supporters. Broes's page has about 40. Right now, most candidates on the site have fewer than five supporters.

By 2012, there will be one official Votocracy candidate. The plan is to host online primaries for every state -- and Washington, D.C. -- to determine a winner from each. Then the 51 final contestants compete in a televised race that looks something like American Idol, although Votocracy doesn't have an official TV deal just yet.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I am not looking at the pen! You can't fool me!

Actually I wonder if it is a pretty normal contingency plan - my local highways and certain stretches of road are also used for that purpose, just a year ago the RSAF removed a whole stretch of streetlights so the road can be used to launch F16s, and certain roundabouts near the area have wide open grass patches with nothing but a sign saying "State Land No Trespassing"; I suspect it is used for chopper refits and reloading.

Eisenhower got the idea from the Germans in WW2 .. their autobahns were pretty much civilian-washed military assets. I'm sure a number of countries keep that in mind.

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Eisenhower got the idea from the Germans in WW2 .. their autobahns were pretty much civilian-washed military assets. I'm sure a number of countries keep that in mind.

I've understood that about the U.S. interstate system was based on the Autobahn system for years. I was also aware that the Interstates were to double as makeshift wartime runways as well. What I wasn't aware of, though, was that this wasn't already common knowledge.

[ganbaru]

Washington police find stolen truck near police station
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...07-22-20-08-56

[flying ^]

Horde of Gay Barbarians Glitterbomb Marcus Bachmann’s Clinic.

... shameless

[ganbaru]

^ Probably the best thing to do with such ''clinic''.
Mister Bachmann should try to solve his wife's headach problem ( or even more critical problem).

[sa547]

Porno cop boned by city

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by flying ^

Horde of Gay Barbarians Glitterbomb Marcus Bachmann’s Clinic.

... shameless

I say Bachmann asked for it.

[Vexx]

The protesters needed to take more notes from those Capital One Visa commercials with the barbarians in doing their cosplay .... the shameless ones here are Bachmann and her clearly fringe wacko husband.

[synaesthetic]

Isn't she supposed to be all Tea Party and against Big Government and "enslaving" social programs and subsidies... like Medicare?

Pot? Oh hi, it's Kettle. Guess what?

YOU'RE BLACK.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Vexx

The protesters needed to take more notes from those Capital One Visa commercials with the barbarians in doing their cosplay .... the shameless ones here are Bachmann and her clearly fringe wacko husband.

We shouldn't ask her to think too much, that might increase the number of her headach or maybe something even worse

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

We shouldn't ask her to think too much, that might increase the number of her headach or maybe something even worse

She can treat herself on the marijuana the illegal border aliens bring in, can't she?

[RandySyler]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

Isn't she supposed to be all Tea Party and against Big Government and "enslaving" social programs and subsidies... like Medicare?

Pot? Oh hi, it's Kettle. Guess what?

YOU'RE BLACK.

No of course not, she uses the Tea Party to gain higher publicity. The Tea Party was a new political idea, and was covered by the media post-08 election (so technically it was a fad) and led to many politicians like Bachmann and Palin to use it as a publicity platform.

[Endless Soul]

Bachmann sounds like a typical politician to me, looking out for her own interests, not ours.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

Bachmann sounds like a typical politician to me, looking out for her own interests, not ours.

Since when do politicians look after someone else's interests other than their own?

Aligned interests don't count btw.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Since when do politicians look after someone else's interests other than their own?

Unless you are a lobbyist with some money to use...

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Since when do politicians look after someone else's interests other than their own?

Aligned interests don't count btw.

That was my point exactly. They don't