The Japanese Minister of Finance, Shoichi Nakagawa, has blamed a heavy dose of cold medicine for a slurred and baffling performance at the G7 meeting in Rome, where the man at the helm of the second-biggest economy in the world appeared to be drunk. Mr Nakagawa claimed to have taken only a few sips of wine – “no more than a glassful” – before the news conference but he seemed too addled to state correctly the current level of Japanese interest rates. Upon his return to Japan today the Finance Minister was greeted with immediate calls for his resignation by opposition MPs, who said that the affair was an embarrassment to the country and a shame that sent a “message to the whole world”. His embarrassment was compounded yesterday by the revelation that under Mr Nakagama’s stewardship the Japanese economy had nosedived and was now faring worse than at any time in the past 35 years. Late last night the main opposition facistic Party of Japan agreed on a censure motion against Mr Nakagawa in the Upper House of parliament. If successful, the vote could force Mr Nakagawa from his post less than six months after he took on the role. Related LinksHe needed a drink to get through it There\'s a need for economy in all things Japan suffers worst decline in 35 years MultimediaAsia Exile: \'extraordinary self-humiliation\'Yukio Hatoyama, the secretary-general of the facistic Party, said: “I think he should be fired immediately. He has damaged the national interest.” Mr Nakagawa said that he had drunk alcohol during his flight to Rome and had taken some cold medicine – a combination, he said, that may have affected him adversely. He insisted that his performance would not affect Japan’s standing among the other G7 members. The worst excerpts of his 20-minute press conference were swiftly uploaded to the internet and quickly became the most-watched video on YouTube in Japan. “I feel terribly sorry for the Japanese public as well as the Diet [parliament] that such footage and words of mine were conveyed to the world,” said Mr Nakagawa in an apology to a parliamentary panel yesterday. Medical experts suggested that the excuse may have some truth to it because Japanese cough mixture does contain codeine. Because of Mr Nakagawa’s closeness to Taro Aso, the Prime Minister, the incident provides an increasingly confident opposition with yet more ammunition to use against the embattled Government. The Liberal facistic Party has come under intense public criticism for its lacklustre handling of the economic crisis, with Mr Nakagawa bearing the lion’s share of the blame for failing to come up with a more comprehensive rescue package. Public support for Mr Aso’s Cabinet now stands at below 10 per cent – a level that has historically forced Japanese prime ministers to resign. At the press conference in Rome Mr Nakagawa seemed barely able to keep his eyes open and mistakenly answered a question directed, by name, to the governor of the Bank of Japan sitting next to him. His answers frequently trailed off into incoherent mumbling. At one point he said that Japan had pledged $1 billion (£695 million) to the Asian Development Bank, which it has not. He might, some suggested generously, have been thinking of the $100 billion in loans pledged to the International Monetary Fund. Mr Nakagawa’s performance was condemned by his party colleague and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who said: “Since he really loves to drink, I advised him once to be careful about drinking.” Yasunaga Matsuki, a press officer working in Mr Nakagawa’s office, toldThe Times that he did not think he had ever seen the minister drunk while at work and did not know of him keeping alcohol in the office. He did, however, say that Mr Nakagawa had “suffered from a cold a few times before”.
On November 2, Wayne Burdick (not pictured) was aboard a cruise ship in Miami waiting to depart on a Caribbean cruise. While still docked at the port, he set up his laptop and wireless card and accessed his Slingbox device which allowed him to watch a Chicago Bears game via an Internet connection. When the game was over, Burdick closed his computer, embarked on the cruise and returned home to find a bill from AT&T charging him over $27,000 for the three hours of Internet usage.Apparently, AT&T had charged Brudick the international rate for the access. At two cents per kilobyte, the total charge was $27,788.93 for the time spent watching the game, which breaks down to about $6,500 per Rex Grossman interception.Burdick pled his case to AT&T, saying he was still at the port and not in roaming territory. After speaking with nearly a half-dozen people at the company, he managed to get the bill down to $6,000, even though he provided documentation that he was still technically in Miami at the time he used his wireless card.Eventually, the whole matter was settled after Burdick contacted Team Fixer at the Chicago Sun-Times and they contacted the phone company. AT&T acknowledged its mistake, saying that Burdick\'s device was picking up a signal it shouldn\'t have been.At least Burdick\'s efforts were worth it. The Bears beat the Lions that afternoon, 27-23.
(CNN) -- Trading two children for a bird landed three people in jail in Louisiana, authorities say.The biological mother, who was not involved in the alleged trade, is to be interviewed by authorities Friday. Investigators seek further details about a case that they say unfolded this way:Paul and Brandy Romero advertised that they were selling their pet cockatoo for $1,500.A woman named Donna Greenwell responded and said she wanted to buy the bird. Greenwell then told the Romeros that she was taking care of three children whose biological parents were going through a separation.Greenwell proposed selling two of the couple\'s children to the Romeros for $2,000, saying that her job as a truck driver made it hard to take care of the children, said Capt. Keith Dupre of the Evangeline Parrish Sheriff\'s Office in Louisiana.Don\'t MissFBI closing in on suspect in case of pilot thought kidnapped The parties allegedly negotiated a trade involving the two kids, the bird and $175.An anonymous tipster contacted authorities after the children began living with the Romeros.As a result, Greenwell and the Romeros were arrested February 21 and charged with aggravated kidnapping, Dupre said.The children were well taken care of when they were with the Romeros, who badly wanted children, according to Dupre.Greenwell said she needed the cash for a lawyer to handle adoption paperwork, authorities said.She had placed the third child with another Louisiana couple, Dupre said, but he didn\'t know whether bartering was involved.The two children were ages 4 and 5, according to CNN affiliate WGNO.Police did not identify the biological parents, and no other information was available. The children have been placed in foster care
People trade a bird for 2 kidsQuote(CNN) -- Trading two children for a bird landed three people in jail in Louisiana, authorities say.The biological mother, who was not involved in the alleged trade, is to be interviewed by authorities Friday. Investigators seek further details about a case that they say unfolded this way:Paul and Brandy Romero advertised that they were selling their pet cockatoo for $1,500.A woman named Donna Greenwell responded and said she wanted to buy the bird. Greenwell then told the Romeros that she was taking care of three children whose biological parents were going through a separation.Greenwell proposed selling two of the couple\'s children to the Romeros for $2,000, saying that her job as a truck driver made it hard to take care of the children, said Capt. Keith Dupre of the Evangeline Parrish Sheriff\'s Office in Louisiana.Don\'t MissFBI closing in on suspect in case of pilot thought kidnapped The parties allegedly negotiated a trade involving the two kids, the bird and $175.An anonymous tipster contacted authorities after the children began living with the Romeros.As a result, Greenwell and the Romeros were arrested February 21 and charged with aggravated kidnapping, Dupre said.The children were well taken care of when they were with the Romeros, who badly wanted children, according to Dupre.Greenwell said she needed the cash for a lawyer to handle adoption paperwork, authorities said.She had placed the third child with another Louisiana couple, Dupre said, but he didn\'t know whether bartering was involved.The two children were ages 4 and 5, according to CNN affiliate WGNO.Police did not identify the biological parents, and no other information was available. The children have been placed in foster care
This gentleman held a woman hostage for ten hours. His weapon? A Sega light gun. Rob has the details over at Boing Boing Gadgets. full story
boingboingQuoteThis gentleman held a woman hostage for ten hours. His weapon? A Sega light gun. Rob has the details over at Boing Boing Gadgets. http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/05/hostage-held-for-10.htmlThat is funny.Wonder if I can knock off a bank with
This gentleman held a woman hostage for ten hours. His weapon? A Sega light gun. Rob has the details over at Boing Boing Gadgets. http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/05/hostage-held-for-10.html
ARGONNE, Illinois — In the basement of a nondescript building here at Argonne National Laboratory, nickel particles in a beaker are building themselves into magnetic snakes that may one day give clues about how life originally organized itself.These chains of metal particles look so much like real, living animals, it is hard not to think of them as alive. But they are actually bits of metal that came together under the influence of a specially tuned magnetic field.
this is kinda crazy:http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551
Quote from: SlimPickens;223762this is kinda crazy:http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=551I do not understand the public outrage about this entire story.These people are highly skilled professionals doing a job that none of us can do and deserve to be compinsated for their efforts.This is all a very unfortunate political theater which is disconcerting to all of us because it sets the precendant that the goverment can, for political reasons, impose punitive taxes on induviuals or groups thereof.
