Logic & Sanity

Cubicle Playsets

Finally, the drudgery of corporate life has been captured in a play set for adults! Bob, Joe, Ted, and Ann spend eight hours a day, five days a week, at tiny desks in tiny cubicles in a giant room packed with countless similar cubicles in a giant building filled with countless similar rooms.

These are some very depressing toys.

Skinheads fight in Moscow's metro

Pravda.ru:There are up to 50 thousand skinheads in Russia, which is equal to their quantity in the rest of the world

Another massive fight took place in the Moscow metro on Sunday night. A group of Russian skinheads attacked two young Caucasian men on the Belorusskaya metro station at about 11:10 p.m. Potential victims showed a surprisingly powerful resistance: they would have won the fight but the police put an end to the scuffle.

Several young men of Slavic looks came up to two nationals of the Caucasus and attempted to beat them. It was not reported what kind of weapon the assaulters had, although the Caucasians pulled out knives and used them for their own defense. Four skinheads were wounded as a result of the fight. The men were hospitalized to Sklifosofsky Institute with stab wounds, the Moscow ER Center said. The police also detained all other members of the fight

I wonder how the russian police treated the Caucasian men, though...

Maintenance...

I am in the process of upgrading my movabletype, so don't freak out if something breaks. It's not your fault!

Saddam tried to bribe Egypt in 1990.

rian.ru: Arab newspaper Ash-Shark al-Ausat (sp?) reports that according to Ismat Abdulmahid, an ex Secretary General of the Arab League, Saddam Hussein has offered Egypt a bribe in 1990. Saddam Hussein, allegedly, offered a large chunk of Kuwait's oil to Mubarak in return for Egypt's support for the invasion. Mubarak declined the offer.

Beer saves the day!

A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking 60 bottles of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it.

Rescue teams found Richard Kral drunk and staggering along a mountain path four days after his Audi car was buried in the Slovak Tatra mountains.

He told them that after the avalanche, he had opened his car window and tried to dig his way out.

But as he dug with his hands, he realised the snow would fill his car before he managed to break through.

He had 60 half-litre bottles of beer in his car as he was going on holiday, and after cracking one open to think about the problem he realised he could urinate on the snow to melt it, local media reported.

Nice!

Chris Rock = Cry Baby

Rock isn't a member of the academy, despite acting in "Head of State," "Bad Company," "New Jack City," "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!" and, of course, "Pootie Tang."

Why not?

"If you're darker than a paper bag, you can't get in," he said.

But ofcourse! Because "Head of State," "Bad Company," "New Jack City," "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!" and "Pootie Tang." are all Oscar material!

Russia's mailmen will now carry guns.

NewsRu.com: Russian Premier Minister, Mihail Fradkov, signed a law that will provide Russia's postal workers with guns, ammo and the right to carry and use their weapons when needed.

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NY POST: Nicole DuFresne, of

NY POST: Nicole DuFresne, of Brooklyn, had just left a trendy bar with her fianc and another couple when they were confronted at about 3:15 a.m. by four muggers — two men and two women — at the corner of Clinton and Rivington streets, police said.

One of the thugs, who was carrying a gun, demanded money.

DuFresne's fianc, Jeffrey Sparks, 28, not seeing the mugger had a gun and not taking the request seriously, tried to push past the man.

"At that point, using both hands, he hit me in the face with the gun," Sparks said.

The grieving fianc said he and his friend, Scott Nath, started walking away, thinking the trouble would pass.

But as they did, the man tried to grab the purse of DuFresne's friend, actress and playwright Mary Jane Gibson. That's when DuFresne protested, telling the thug, "What are you trying to do? What are you going to do, shoot us?"

Ten seconds later, a shot rang out.

"I turned and I saw Nicole on her back on the street. Mary Jane was standing over her," Sparks said.

"I ran to her. I held her in my arms and begged her to hold on. But she gave me this look that pretty much told me she couldn't.

UPDATE (1/31/05)

NY Post:

Cops early today were questioning three teenage suspects in the shooting of actress and playwright Nicole DuFresne, senselessly slain by a mugger on the Lower East Side, The Post has learned.

The boys, two 18-year-olds and a 16-year-old, admitted they were there when DuFresne was murdered, police sources said.

The suspected gunman, a 19-year-old man, was still at large — but cops know who he is, according to the sources.

UPDATE

Article here.

Definition of "chutzpah"

Mexico may turn to international courts in efforts to block a new Arizona law limiting services to undocumented aliens, Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said Wednesday.

He said in an interview on W Radio that Mexico might take such a step after it has exhausted all possibilities under U.S. law to halt Proposition 200.

"We are seeking all the legal opportunities that exist, first using the legal capacities of the United States itself and ... if that does not work, bringing it to international tribunals," Derbez said.

So what's this evil Proposition 200?

The measure requires proof of citizenship to vote or to receive state benefits.

Chutzpah, indeed! It's us who should be kvetching, Mr.Derbez!

Bravest

We had a small fire on the first floor of our office building last week. It really was nothing (barely any smoke), but the incident did give me a nice photo op and a reason to hang out outside for an hour instead of working.

Here's one of the photos I took:

[click on the photo for a larger version]

These guys do have a very dangerous job - three firefighters died last Sunday - Lt. Curtis Meyran, 46, and Firefighter John Bellew, 37, died when they also jumped from the Tremont building as flames trapped six firefighters on Sunday. and Hours later, Firefighter Richard Sclafani, 37, died when he raced into a burning Brooklyn home looking for trapped children.

Accoding to NY Post, top base salary for a New York city firefighter is $54,048, the average veteran firefighter earned $65,516 (with overtime) last year.

UPDATE

While I am on the subject..

In Sacramento: His eyes welling with tears, Sacramento Fire Chief Julius "Joe" Cherry vowed Tuesday to return his scandal-ridden department to respectability even as Mayor Heather Fargo and two City Council members said that four firefighters should be fired if sex allegations against them are true.

The political leaders warned that they would be closely watching Cherry and City Manager Bob Thomas to ensure that the proper discipline is meted out in this latest department scandal.

Cherry revealed Monday that he had launched an investigation into charges that the four firefighters - three men and a woman - had engaged in group sex in their Hollywood Park station house.