Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[Sinestra]

The Hitler gets banned from LIVE had me on the floor. Poor Hitler i know how he felt about finding those damn skulls in Halo 3 lol.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

My wife's a bitch

My wife's a bitch (Part II)

Orissa, India (Feb 18): A two-year-old boy has been "married" to a dog in eastern India to "ward off evil spirits and bad luck". The "marriage" took place in a village in Jajpur district on Monday (Feb 16).

The "groom", Sagula Munda, was taken to the house of the dog, called Jyoti, in a highly decorated rickshaw and priests solemnised the ceremony. The boy's father said such "marriages" were a tradition and would help ease the bad omen of the tooth rooted in Sagula's upper gum.

The boy's father, Mr Sanrumula Munda, said of the wedding: "Tribals not only in this state but also in neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, observe such practices to keep the evil spirits away."

Arranging "marriages" with dogs kept children protected from ghosts and bad luck, he said. The parents of Sagula and other local people consider the biological tooth defect a bad omen both for the family and neighbours.

One attending resident, Mr Dushmant Rout, said the "bride" had spent a few hours at the "groom's" house "but not inside the room... she stayed on the verandah".

- BBC NEWS

[Clarste]

Sounds like a mistranslation of the word "marriage" to me. It seems likely that its an ambiguous term that refers to several kinds of ceremonial connections.

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

My wife's a bitch (Part II)

Good thing it's not a marriage in a western sense, otherwise it wouldn't be quite recognised as a binding contract...

[sa547]

Election Gimmickry: Famous Faces in Indonesian Election Paraphernalia:

* Naruto Uzumaki "endorses" a local candidate for an Islamist party called PKS. (Sankaku = NSFW)
* Candidate as Superman.
* David Beckham "endorsement".
* the Panda from Kung Fu Panda "representing" PKS.

Anything to attract the voters. (Reminds me of similar gimmicks foisted upon us Filipinos by candidates desperate for name recall)

As it has become big news in Indonesia, it is an irony, according to one Sankaku commenter, that he, as an Indonesian, is ashamed to see PKS -- an anti-anime political party -- pasting the face of Naruto on a campaign poster.

*facepalm*
Damn, i ashamed for being indonesian for looking this Poster………. Is there anyone knew where that photo taken from?(what country in Indonesia)

Btw, in fact, PKS was the party that always hate Naruto(and detective conan FYI) because that 2 cartoon(yes, “cartoon”, not anime) always expose violence and blood to kid!(yes…….anime for kids in here……..)

For a little briefing on Indonesia's political parties:
http://www.indonesiamatters.com/94/y...s-affiliation/

[MrTerrorist]

One word. OUCH!
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...l-penetration/

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by sa547

Election Gimmickry: Famous Faces in Indonesian Election Paraphernalia:

* Naruto Uzumaki "endorses" a local candidate for an Islamist party called PKS. (Sankaku = NSFW)
* Candidate as Superman.
* David Beckham "endorsement".
* the Panda from Kung Fu Panda "representing" PKS.

Anything to attract the voters. (Reminds me of similar gimmicks foisted upon us Filipinos by candidates desperate for name recall)

As it has become big news in Indonesia, it is an irony, according to one Sankaku commenter, that he, as an Indonesian, is ashamed to see PKS -- an anti-anime political party -- pasting the face of Naruto on a campaign poster.


For a little briefing on Indonesia's political parties:
http://www.indonesiamatters.com/94/y...s-affiliation/

I shall now use my "powderfull" Singlish-cum-Bahasa I learnt in my years in Singapore:

Apa ini!?
Lagi bodoh lah, PKS - where got this kind of nonsense, man?
Baru "Idea" eh? Lagi bagus, siapa!

Translated:

Spoiler for translated::

What in the world!?
PKS, baka ne! [idiot, man!] - where got this kind of nonsense, man?
New "Idea" eh? Damn "good", [like as if!] yeah!

Seriously, what people will go to, especially when Indonesia is so large.

[Hari Michiru]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

One word. OUCH!
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...l-penetration/

Great...there are new ways to die everyday...

[Tiberium Wolf]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

One word. OUCH!
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...l-penetration/

ZOMG! Is this for real? How can I know if my chair is gas cylinder type? I don't want to die like this.

[Anh_Minh]

Look under your chair. If you see a cylinder, well...

(By the way, I'm sitting on such a chair right now. As well as all day when I'm at work. I'm going to die a horrible death, aren't I?)

[mg1942]

2-19-09
Serious news, silly delivery.
Santelli calls for Tea party on Floor of Chicago Board of Trade

[GuidoHunter_Toki]

I just love how all the people switch from working drones to a fired up mob.

[duckpuppy]

Whoops! Citibank sends Nigerian scammers $27 million dollars

I don't know what it says about the bank that it fell for forged documents from the National Bank of Ethiopia with phone numbers (that were actually cellphone numbers to the scammers) asking them to wire $27 million dollars by fax.

Don't they run proper checks or something to make sure it isn't a scam before being scammed not after? I loled at this comment:

"A Citigroup spokeswoman said: "We have worked closely with law enforcement throughout the investigation and are pleased it has resulted in this arrest. Citi constantly reviews and upgrades its physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to detect, prevent and mitigate theft. But we really fucked up this time. I mean we blew donkey and let these half assed amateur flim flam artists take us for,what, $27 Million ? "It's a damn good thing that Uncle Sucker has our back ."

[MrTerrorist]

Welcome to Eromanga, Australia. The town that will get lot's of visitor's for the wrong reason.
http://www.atalude.net/archives/2009/02/23/shin-achuka/

This is a story i don't understand.

Japaneses angry at TV stations because Celebrities eat expensive food.

Why are they making a big fuss outta it? It's normal for TV shows to show celebrities eating expensive food and nobody around the world is complaining (well except the poor people but their just in envy.)

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

This is a story i don't understand.

Why are they making a big fuss outta it? It's normal for TV shows to show celebrities eating expensive food and nobody around the world is complaining (well except the poor people but their just in envy.)

It's difficult to say because your link doesn't describe the context. It does cite the source, but it's a Japanese website and I couldn't read what it said.

You're right to point out that it's most probably envy that caused the outrage. But there is also a question of whether the TV programme or TV station is publicly funded, like BBC or PBS is, for example. If that is the case, then the anger is easily understandable: it's in poor taste to showcase such extravagant indulgence when many people are currently in danger of losing their jobs, or are already jobless.

And even if that's not the case, the producers of the programme still demonstrate very poor editorial judgment by running such a story amid Japan's worst recession since the 1974 oil crisis.

A similar case happened in Singapore recently. A very high-ranking civil servant published a story about his lifestyle and recreational activities in a local newspaper:

Cooking fiasco — lessons for Government and blogosphere

It was supposedly an innocuous travelogue about his family holiday in Paris, France. When Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tan Yong Soon, accepted The Straits Times' invitation to write about his experiences at the prestigious French cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu, he probably did not anticipate the backlash from Singapore’s vociferous blogging community in the aftermath of his article’s publication.

Mr Tan’s article, entitled "Cooking up the holiday spirit", was published in an inconspicuous subsection of the national English daily dedicated to trivial and insignificant news pertaining to lifestyle and recreation on Jan 6, 2009. The three-week lesson cost S$15,500 (US$10,200) per head, coming up to a total of S$46,500 (US$30,500) for Mr Tan, his wife and son, not including air tickets and living expenses in France.

- SINGAPORE ENQUIRER (Jan 19)

Most middle-class Singaporeans earn between S$3,000 and S$5,000 a month, if not less. With the looming recession, many are facing pay cuts, if not retrenchment. So, the resultant anger is hardly surprising, is it? Here we are, all suffering, and a high-ranking civil servant has the gall to boast about his huge expense account, paid for by taxpayers, mind you.

The Singapore Government reacted swiftly and rapped the Mr Tan's "ill-judged article".


==============

Anyways, I beg pardon for the digression into "serious news". Here's something silly to make up for it, from the same source that MrTerrorist cited.

Outrage over schoolgirl trousers

Miyashiro? (Dec 9, 2008): After complaints from parents over cold legs, a school has opted to reform its uniform to allow schoolgirls to dispense with skirts, if they choose. The prospect of allowing schoolgirls to wear trousers has attracted outrage.

However, with the plan being organised by teachers, a normal choice of trousers proved impossible, and "pantaloons" were settled on to preserve the modesty of the schoolgirls, now they would no longer be displaying their leg.

However local papers soon reported the matter, and an outcry arose on the Internet: "It’s an outrageous revival of militarism!"; "They look like they’re in wartime, and it’s totally unfashionable!"

(Only) a minority actually considered the plight of the girls cycling about in the freezing temperatures.

- SANKAKU COMPLEX

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

It's difficult to say because your link doesn't describe the context. It does cite the source, but it's a Japanese website and I couldn't read what it said.

You're right to point out that it's envy that's causing the outrage. But there is also a question whether the TV programme or TV station is publicly funded, like BBC or PBS for example. If that is the case, then the anger is easily understandable: it's in poor taste to showcase such extravagant indulgence when many people are in danger of losing their jobs, or are already jobless.

I think that's perfectly fine, as long as it's not NHK, the national broadcaster. Since the rest are private entities with little or no money footed by the people, I think there's not much problem in that.

A similar case happened in Singapore recently. A very high-ranking civil servant based in France published a story about his lifestyle and recreational activities in a local newspaper.

Cooking fiasco — lessons for Government and blogosphere


Most middle-class Singaporeans barely earn between S$3,000 and S$5,000, if not less. With the looming recession, many are facing pay cuts, if not retrenchment. So, the resultant anger is hardly surprising, is it? Here we are, all suffering, and a high-ranking civil servant has the gall to boast about his huge expense account, paid for by taxpayers, mind you.

The Singapore Government reacted swiftly and rapped the Mr Tan's "ill-judged" article.

Which teaches you that if you want to spend big bucks, do it discreetly.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7906613.stm

Music linked to teen sex habits

Listening to music with degrading sexual lyrics could prompt teenagers to start having sex at an earlier age, a US study suggests.
Researchers from Pittsburgh University quizzed 711 teenagers about their sex lives and music listening habits.
They found those who regularly listened to music with explicit and aggressive sexual phrases were twice as likely to be having sex.
But experts said it was too simplistic to link music directly to behaviour.

[Shadow Kira01]

Originally Posted by ShimatheKat

I think that's perfectly fine, as long as it's not NHK, the national broadcaster. Since the rest are private entities with little or no money footed by the people, I think there's not much problem in that.

And just what is wrong with NHK? *curious*

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Shadow Minato

And just what is wrong with NHK? *curious*

The TV License Fees that Japanese Citizens/residents pay all go to NHK, the other stations don't receive this money, or even a cent of it. Which means NHK must use its cash more wisely than the private stations.

[SeijiSensei]

Listening to music with degrading sexual lyrics could prompt teenagers to start having sex at an earlier age, a US study suggests.

My previously rather high opinion of the University of Pittsburgh took a downward turn after reading this drivel. Having once been an academic, I understand the pressures to publish. Young psychology faculty often take advantage of their built-in access to "subjects" by surveying their classes. Many psychology articles report studies of "freshmen and sophomores attending an introductory psychology course."

Nevertheless, to argue even a hint of causality from these findings is ludicrous. As with most non-experimental studies of media effects, it suffers from the problem of self-selection. The choice of music and the choice of a sexually-active lifestyle could just as well spring from some common set of causes. Video gaming studies that purport to show links between violent games and violent behavior suffer from similar methodological problems.

Now I don't expect the BBC to choose what to cover based on methodological purity. I'm more concerned about the peer reviewers for the American Journal of Preventative Medicine in which the Pittsburgh study was published.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

My previously rather high opinion of the University of Pittsburgh took a downward turn after reading this drivel. Having once been an academic, I understand the pressures to publish. Young psychology faculty often take advantage of their built-in access to "subjects" by surveying their classes. Many psychology articles report studies of "freshmen and sophomores attending an introductory psychology course."

Nevertheless, to argue even a hint of causality from these findings is ludicrous. As with most non-experimental studies of media effects, it suffers from the problem of self-selection. The choice of music and the choice of a sexually-active lifestyle could just as well spring from some common set of causes. Video gaming studies that purport to show links between violent games and violent behavior suffer from similar methodological problems.

Now I don't expect the BBC to choose what to cover based on methodological purity. I'm more concerned about the peer reviewers for the American Journal of Preventative Medicine in which the Pittsburgh study was published.

A proverbial case of whether the chicken or egg came first.