Archive for February, 2011

A “whites only” scholarship offered at Texas State University has yet to get any takers, according to a story in our sister paper, The Austin American-Statesman.

The Former Majority Association for Equality — a nonprofit group — is offering five $500 scholarships exclusively to white male students. The $500 can be used at universities other than Texas State, and, oddly enough, applicants only need to be “25 percent Caucasian.”

Student Colby Bohannan, a mass communication major and Iraq war veteran, is president of the group. He said, “I’m not sure white males are the majority anymore.”

The article offers data to suggest he is right: according to U.S. census numbers, non-Hispanic whites now make up about 45 percent of Texas residents. Nationally, however, about 65 percent of U.S. residents are non-Hispanic whites.

I’m no math wizard, but, since men are usually always outnumbered by women by a percentage point or two, it would seem impossible for any “white male” demographic …

Continue reading ‘Whites-only’ college scholarship offered »

“In a man’s middle years there is scarcely a part of the body he would hesitate to turn over to the proper authorities.” – E.B. White, author of “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Elements of Style” which I barely remember.

Here’s a bit of news if you want to freak out granny: “The nation’s organ-transplant network is considering giving younger, healthier people preference over older, sicker patients for the best kidneys,” according to The Washington Post.

The United Network for Organ Sharing, which was not featured anywhere in film “Repo Men,” says the move would “get the most out of a scarce resource.”

The current system — which gives organs to those who have been on the waiting list longest — would instead give organs to those who would live the longest if given a transplant. That would pretty much prevent an elderly person from ever getting an organ, according to one physician quoted in the article.

“The best kidneys are from young adults under age 35 years. Nobody over the age of …

Continue reading Youth may skip past aged organ transplant patients »

You know the sex is hot when it starts a fatal fire.

It’s even hotter, as a news item, when the fire is caused by a voodoo sex ritual.

The New York Post, which digs this sort of thing up regularly, said a woman visited the apartment building and paid a man $300 to perform a voodoo ceremony to bring her good luck. After the ceremony they decided to have sex.

The fire was sparked after the couple knocked over the candles that were arranged on the floor around the bed, igniting the bed linens and clothes on the floor, the Post article said.

Mary Feagin, 62, who was not participating in the ritual, died in the fire.

“Hopefully others will learn from this tragedy,” said NYC Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano.

Like don’t mix sex and voodoo?

Continue reading Voodoo sex ritual leads to fatal fire »

If the Internet has taught us one thing, it’s that free porn is Constitutionally protected.

It’s also taught us that those who can create a quick website can get the attention of even the largest corporations.

Just like a vampire, he 'vants to drink your blood.'

British Airways customer Zane Selkirk, 28, says she was consumed by bed bugs on two long-distance flights.

“This small site was built after two horrendous flights taken in January and February of 2011 on British Airways. During the first, I turned on my light to find bugs crawling on my blanket and a bedbug-blood-spattered shirt. On the return journey, I left my 10-hour flight to find my body covered with 90 bug bites. The worst part was the nonexistent customer service throughout the 10-day ordeal,” the Los Angeles-based Yahoo employee writes on her website.

Her pictures tell the itchy tale well.

After her story began circulating online, British Airways fumigated one of the jets, The Daily Mail reports.

Selkirk, who …

Continue reading Bed bug attack has woman itching to bust airline »

I wouldn’t turn down a cool million to sing for anyone, but the list of pop stars that performed for the kids of Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi is interesting.

For $1 million, you can do better.

The New York Times, citing cables obtained by WikiLeaks, says songstress Mariah Carey was paid $1 million to belt out four songs on the Caribbean island of St. Barts for Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, whom you may remember from the rambling speech that kicked off the recent carnage.

Another son, Muatassim, Libya’s national security adviser, allegedly hired Beyoncé and Usher to entertain at another New Year’s bash.

One can only assume Mariah and the gang have never heard of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

I don’t know about you, but if I have a million to blow, I’m hiring Wilco, or at least Son Volt for my Tyco-like throw-down.

Continue reading Gadhafi children pay Usher, Mariah Carey big bucks »

• A woman applying for a job at a McDonalds on Lower Roswell Road broke into the restaurant manager’s vehicle and stole checks, which she forged signatures on and tried to cash at a nearby bank. I’m guessing she’s got a lifetime of failed polygraph tests ahead of her.
• An Atlanta police officer who “deflated both right tires and bent both right rims” said he did not notice the median curb due to “lighting conditions” and “heavy rain” while “attempting to get his bearings.” Remember those excuses the next time the wife asks what happened to the car.
• Speaking of wives, I don’t want to be the Acworth husband that has to explain why he left his wedding ring in an unlocked car overnight.
• A woman told Atlanta police she had been filing her taxes responsibly since 2006, but had never received a return check. An IRS representative told police the 2010 check, for $4,824, was sent to a Jonesboro address and cashed. The IRS said earlier checks totaling about $15,000 …

Continue reading Police (Off) Beat | It’s hard to find good help in Atlanta »

The headline “Commercial aircraft deaths worldwide up 15 percent” gets attention, but, for most of us, flying is safer than almost any time in history.

U.S. airlines, in 2010, did not lose a single human passenger.

Flying is safer than driving, especially if a plane lands on you while you are driving.

The Associated Press reports accident rates were lowest in the former Soviet republics and North America, followed by North Asia and Europe. Rates were higher than the world average in the Asia-Pacific region, Middle East-North Africa and Latin America-Caribbean.

The highest rate was in Africa, where airlines accounted for 2 percent of worldwide passenger traffic but 23 percent of serious accidents.

That’s even worse than I-285 at rush hour.

Continue reading Safety banners flew high for U.S. airlines in 2010 »

We love fat pets, according to the Wall Street Journal, a daily tome that keeps track of such things.

Crestor is his Ace up his sleeve.

It makes sense a Krispy Kreme-lovin’, exercise-hating society that is itself busting at the seams would have chubby furry pals. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention more than half of all dogs and cats are overweight, 20 percent are obese, a kinder way of saying “really fat.”

The pets are doing better than their two-legged friends – WebMD says 63 percent of Americans are overweight, 36 percent obese — but only because they can’t open the fridge themselves at 2 a.m. and grab a midnight ice cream snack.

Or perhaps they have secret access to these $600 puppy treadmills?

Continue reading American pets almost as fat as humans »

Circumcision, a tradition rooted in religious tradition, may soon be a thing of the past in San Francisco, where “civil rights advocates” are trying to ban it.

The thrust of the proposal is that circumcision poses medical risks and has little medical benefit, according to an NBC article that also alleges there’s a national push to end the procedure.

San Fran resident Lloyd Schofield is spearheading the effort to get the 7,000 signatures required to get the measure on the November ballot. Then comes the difficult part, convincing voters that snipping body parts is a bad idea.

Schofield has said he is working with a group to “end male genital mutilation in the U.S.”

“I always knew this was something wrong to do to a child,” Schofield told The San Francisco Examiner.

“Although some studies indicate that circumcision reduces the risk of STD transmission, others have indicated that the procedure is not worth the associated risks and diminished sexual function,” the …

Continue reading San Fran may vote on circumcision ban »

For those who sleep too well at night, here’s a bit of disconcerting news: Pakistan may have more nuclear weapons than England.

Yes, this is the same Pakistan that is constantly skirmishing with India, another nuclear power, in a very unstable region that includes Afghanistan, Iraq and former Soviet republics I can’t spell off the top of my head.

The top four nuclear powers are currently the United States, Russia, France and China, but Pakistan, which has reportedly added 40 percent more warheads to its arsenal in the last two years, now has 110 nuclear devices.

“Many of these [warheads] have been miniaturized to be mounted on ballistic missiles with ranges of more than 1,245 miles bringing many Indian cities within reach,” according the Daily Mail article.

Pakistan, the only Muslim nation known to have nuclear weapons, built its first nuclear reactor in 1960 with U.S. help.

Continue reading Report: Pakistan may have more nukes than England »