Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[Ziv]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Winston Churchill was myth

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770



Americans can go to sleep easy knowing thier british cousins are every bit as stupid and ignorant as they are

They list the "Mona Lisa" as fiction mistaken for fact. Unless they have something in Britain named the the Mona Lisa that wasn't painted by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa most certainly was a painting of a real person.

[NoSanninWa]

Maybe. Maybe not. It was a bad idea to put that name in the poll since the historians disagree.

[Pendevous]

3 Little Pigs Banned

A story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale has been turned down by a government agency's awards panel as the subject matter could offend Muslims. The digital book, re-telling the classic story, was rejected by judges who warned that "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

Becta, the government's educational technology agency, is a leading partner in the annual Bett Award for schools.

The judges also attacked Three Little Cowboy Builders for offending builders.

The book's creative director, Anne Curtis, said the idea that including pigs in a story could be interpreted as racism was "like a slap in the face".

'Cultural issues'

The CD-Rom digital version of the traditional story of the three little pigs, called Three Little Cowboy Builders, is aimed at primary school children.

But judges at this year's Bett Award said that they had "concerns about the Asian community and the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

The Three Little Cowboy Builders has already been a prize winner at the recent Education Resource Award - but its Newcastle-based publishers, Shoo-fly, were turned down by the Bett Award panel.

The feedback from the judges explaining why they had rejected the CD-Rom highlighted that they "could not recommend this product to the Muslim community".

They also warned that the story might "alienate parts of the workforce (building trade)".

The judges criticised the stereotyping in the story of the unfortunate pigs: "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?"

Animal Farm?

Ms Curtis said that rather than preventing the spread of racism, such an attitude was likely to inflame ill-feeling. As another example, she says would that mean that secondary schools could not teach Animal Farm because it features pigs?

Her company is committed to an ethical approach to business and its products promote a message of mutual respect, she says - and banning such traditional stories will "close minds rather than open them".

Becta, the government funded agency responsible for technology in schools and colleges, says that it is standing by the judges' verdict.

"Becta with its partners is responsible for the judging criteria against which the 70 independent judges, mostly practising teachers, comment. All the partners stick by the judging criteria," said a Becta spokesman.

The reason that this product was not shortlisted was because "it failed to reach the required standard across a number of criteria", said the spokesman.

Becta runs the awards with the Besa trade association and show organisers, Emap Education.

Merlin John, author of an educational technology website which highlighted the story, warns that such rulings can undermine the credibility of the awards.

"When benchmarks are undermined by pedestrian and pedantic tick lists, and by inflexible, unhelpful processes, it can tarnish the achievements of even the most worthy winners.

"It's time for a rethink, and for Becta to listen to the criticisms that have been ignored for a number of years," said Mr John.

W...T...F...

[Ziv]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/08/news...ion=2008020809

Not only is Goldman Sachs ranked No. 9 on Fortune's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, it also appears on what could be a list of transgendered job-seekers' ideal employers as well.

Goldman added health-insurance coverage of sex reassignment surgery as part of a push last year to attract top talent and recruit and retain a more diverse workforce, the company said.

The surgery alone could cost an individual anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000 if they paid out of pocket, depending on their particular situation, said Pauline Park, chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, a group that campaigns for transgender rights. That figure doesn't include hormone and other drug treatments.

Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500)' plan covers the actual surgery, as well as transgender-related prescription drugs, such as testosterone injections, said spokeswoman Gia Morón. It does not cover electrolysis and other cosmetic treatments, she said

[contd...]

[TinyRedLeaf]

Picturing yourself as a rock icon

BBC News (13 Feb 08) - Just when you thought vinyl records were being consigned to the dustbin of musical history, something comes along to make them relevant again.

Sleeveface started in a Cardiff bar but is fast becoming an internet phenomenon requiring just a record sleeve, a camera and big dollops of imagination. Put the sleeve in front of your face, strike the pose of the rock god you've chosen, and get yourself photographed.

What started as a bit of fun among friends soon grew into something more substantial as word spread on the internet. Sleeveface now has its own website, material on video sharing site YouTube, and a presence on social networking site Facebook which has almost 5,000 members.

There's been pictures posted from Sleevefacers in the USA, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Iceland and Israel, as well as the UK.

Fads. You never spot them until they hit you in the "face".

For pictures: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7243080.stm

Website: http://www.sleeveface.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2418512047

[aka Providence]

High school calls all 2,550 students to detention

PALM BAY — An accidental push of a button Friday had students at Palm Bay High questioning what they'd done wrong and parents plotting punishments.
Parents of all 2,550 students in the school received an automated call Friday reminding them that their student had to report for Saturday morning detention. Problem was, the message only should have gone to 16 homes.

"One of my friends texted me to ask if I had Saturday detention," said Robert Lenoci, 15, of Valkaria. The sophomore is going to the state science fair finals and hasn't been in trouble before.

"I looked and I had a message from mom. She was asking, 'What did you do?' It was pretty bad," he said.

Robert's mother calmed down after talking with other parents and learning something was amiss.

[Goshin]

Originally Posted by Detheal

Thief Caught After Cookie Snack

I guess you could say the thief got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

this reminds me of goldielocks

[anti-random]

Originally Posted by aka Providence

High school calls all 2,550 students to detention

Man that sucks. Saturday morning too, come on people. The schools got to get a life. Detention on Saturday. Just plain sad.

[Ziv]

Originally Posted by anti-random

Man that sucks. Saturday morning too, come on people. The schools got to get a life. Detention on Saturday. Just plain sad.

Did you read the whole article? It was a malfunction in their automated calling program.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Panda Porn

BBC News (19 Feb 08) - The video is pretty graphic. Qing Qing and Ha Lei tangle and slither about awkwardly on the floor of their panda enclosure.

Their encounter is filmed by one of the keepers. And scientists at the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding now play this mating tape to other pandas in the hope that it will encourage them to do the same.

Some species cannot seem to stop mating, but pandas cannot seem to start. Female pandas are only interested in reproducing for two or three days a year. For males it is the same. Luckily for the survival of the panda species, these days of interest happen to coincide. Scientists here have to make the most of this brief mating season. There are only around 2,000 pandas left in the world - including about 250 in captivity.

So the trick for everyone here at the Chengdu reserve is to get their pandas together on the right days, and then nudge them along a bit by playing them the video of Qing Qing and Ha Lei.

No one here can remember who came up with the idea - it was possibly a behaviour specialist from abroad, they say. And there is one problem - no one is sure whether or not the mating tapes make any difference. So the reserve lets us play the video to the pandas ourselves.

We set up a small TV screen in front of a seven-year-old female panda called Shu Qing. She is busy crunching her way through an apple. We play her the tape of Qing Qing and Ha Lei. Shu Qing shows no interest. She is much more concerned about finishing her apple. After a couple of minutes she glances over at the TV monitor. Then she seems lost in thought. She vaguely waves a paw, but nothing more.

So the video does not appear to work. Perhaps Shu Qing has a headache, or perhaps she just prefers apples to adult videos.

Hmm...or maybe they need something more hardcore....

[anti-random]

Originally Posted by Ziv

Did you read the whole article? It was a malfunction in their automated calling program.

Yes I know but it still sucks to have detention on Saturday, doesn't it.?

[Jinto]

According to this news site, a major whistleblower portal's domainprovider was judged to disable the domain wikileaks.org in order to prevent access to leaked government and corporate documents. Wikileaks claims to expose unethical behavior by publishing these documents.

Usually I would say the sources there cannot be trusted, but when a judge orders to take down the whole site...

[Robotnik]

From here;

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man was arrested for trespassing this week after turning up at a high school dressed in a girl's uniform and a long wig, local police said.

Thirty-nine-year-old Tetsunori Nanpei told police he had bought the uniform over the Internet and put it on to take a stroll near the school in Saitama, north of Tokyo, on Wednesday, the daily Asahi Shimbun said.

When students standing outside the gates started to scream at the sight of him, he dashed inside the school grounds, hoping to blend in with the crowds of teenagers, the paper said.

They also screamed, forcing the man to flee, losing his wig in the process. A school clerk pursued him and stopped him at a nearby riverbank, the paper said.

Police confirmed the arrest of the man in school uniform and wig but declined to give further details.

"It's just cosplay, officer!"

[Quzor]

Originally Posted by Robotnik

From here;



"It's just cosplay, officer!"

This is ridiculous! The students screamed when they saw him, so he ran in to the school, hoping to blend in with the students who screamed when they saw him? Seriously, what mental capacity must a person possess to think of, and execute an idea that probably followed this thought pattern:

"Oh no, the students are screaming at the sight of me. Maybe, if I run into the school, the students won't notice me, and they'll stop screaming..."

This guy deserved to be caught...and probably needed to be caught.

[aka Providence]

Originally Posted by Robotnik

From here;

"It's just cosplay, officer!"

let this be exhibit a for a failed 'trap'.

the only bid deal here is that el cosplayer ran inside the school, possibly terrorizing the students with his middle-aged crossdressing. nevertheless, it's still funny as hell, yo.

[Aoie_Emesai]

Really silly. Someone steals a 4 ton bridge, lol ^^

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article...0&in_page_id=2

Police in the Czech republic are trying to find out who stole a 4 tonne railway bridge from the border town of Cheb.

The company which was responsible for looking after the bridge raised the alarm when, ever alert, they noticed that the bridge wasn't there any more.

The bridge was on a disused stretch of line just outside Cheb.

Martina Hruskova, a spokeswoman for the Czech police, commented to AFP: 'We are not sure if it was taken for personal use or for its scrap value.' Exactly what that 'personal use' might be was left unsaid.

'It is the first time we have dealt with this type of theft,' she added.

Of course, it's not the first time some light-fingered bridge enthusiast has made off with a bridge. At least two bridges have been nicked in Russia in the past six months, and a pair of bridge thieves appropriated two Macedonian bridges last February.

[Quzor]

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

Really silly. Someone steals a 4 ton bridge, lol ^^

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article...0&in_page_id=2

Apparently grand theft auto (the crime, not the game) has been pushed to the back burner, in favor of it's newer, more cumbersome sibling, grand theft roadway!

[Jinto]

I suppose it was a steel bridge, and scrap metal (good steel) is worth a lot of money these days. Though it is pretty bold to steal a railway bridge (okay the line was out of order... but still).

steal steel?!? *g*

[SeijiSensei]

I guess the Czech police don't watch anime. If they did, they'd know who the miscreants must be -- master thieves Issac Dian and Miria Harvent from Baccano! Hell, they once stole the stone steps from the front of an art museum. A bridge? Piece of cake for them.

[D a m i e n]

our beloved president acting like a retard on a level that had never been reached before, story here (need to read french though)

long story short : at the agricultur fair of paris our president started shaking hands to everyone and one person(a retard too) refused to shake hand saying : "i dont want you to stain me" (reguardless of what you think of your president you dont say that out of respect for the president status) to wich our angstfull president answered : "then get the f*ck out of here, a**hole".

i found that story both laughtable silly and very sad...