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56 killed, 250 injured in string of Iraq attacks
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
From the Grammar Department
Not that I have ever committed any of these heinous violations .... :-)
Posted by: gorb || 08/26/2010 12:59 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "I am the grammarian about whom your mother warned you."
Posted by: mojo || 08/26/2010 13:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Is there an Ebonics translation? The DEA may need it.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/26/2010 13:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Procopius2k - the perl language "jive" filter does a good job on it for your purposes BUT... it would definitely get the site shut down....
Posted by: Water Modem || 08/26/2010 14:45 Comments || Top||

#4  I am the grammarian about whom your mother warned.
.
Posted by: OregonGuy || 08/26/2010 15:01 Comments || Top||

#5  Procopius2k - de puh'l language "jive" filtuh duz some baaaad job on it fo' yo' purposes BUT... it would definitely git de site shut down. What it is, Mama!...

Sorry couldn't resist running that comment through jive. And no valspeak anymore :(.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 08/26/2010 15:50 Comments || Top||

#6 
Yesss! My pet peeve finally explained clearly.

You might say: Bring
You might mean: Take
Why: The choice depends on your point of view. Use bring when you want to show motion toward you ("Bring the dog treats over here, please"). Use take to show motion in the opposite direction ("I have to take Rufus to the vet").


You bring things here and take them there, got it everyone?
Posted by: Parabellum || 08/26/2010 17:16 Comments || Top||

#7  In 1991, there was a wonderful DOS program called "Babble" (v2.0), from a now defunct company, that would take text input from several sources and rearrange it into random output.

It also had modes by which the output could be modified, such as Elmer Fudd, Jive, Swedish Chef, etc., that are still in use today in other such programs.

The end result was hypnotic. Very rarely would it produce grammatically correct sentences, since grammar editors had not been invented yet, but it could be set up to blend sources such as Harold Robbins, the Koran, Monty Python, Das Kapital, and the Democratic Party Platform to produce wonderfully insane output.

One time, in a particularly poetic blend with several sources, the end result, with minimal editing and formatting, produced almost Biblical verse. While utter nonsense, it would put the mind into a confused, auto-pilot mode, where you would start to see non-existent plot lines, etc.

"You are in the way. Having alluded to the disuse of sin, we stand ready to receive you who are generally deaf; why do more stairs remain to change our economic work in the world? Therefore we cannot tell whether it is in creative new ideas, from the abominable sand, faith, or glory. The animals are arising for me, the unclean one is but another sacrifice."

Crap like that. Marvelous stuff. I will long wonder what would have happened had it continued in development, now being something like v21.0.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/26/2010 17:17 Comments || Top||

#8  hmm... I tried to post Pak.pl or Pakiwakiland.perl but it caused a syntax error in the burg parser....

If anybody want's it send me e-mail at my normal address.


Posted by: Water Modem || 08/26/2010 17:48 Comments || Top||

#9  "You never mean: Could care less

You always mean: Couldn't care less"

Not necessarily.

"Why: You want to say you care so little already that you couldn't possibly care any less."

No, sometimes I want to say that I could care less if I put my mind to it, but the subject of my not caring isn't worth the extra effort.

/pedant
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 08/26/2010 19:23 Comments || Top||

#10  Thanks, Moose, here's a bit more on Babble!

It's a shame the source was never opened.
Posted by: KBK || 08/26/2010 22:08 Comments || Top||


A Prius and a Beer-Loving Bear Story
Spilled beer, lotion and toothpaste in a Prius at Rocky Mountain National Park apparently attracted a bear.

Hiker Michael Mulvey said a bear pried open the door of a red Prius from top to bottom at the Wild Basin trailhead last week.

Rangers said the driver's side door frame was bent down and was basically parallel to the ground, the driver's side window was shattered and part of the center console was torn.

The owners of the car were from California. They were in the backcountry camping when the bear attacked the car.

Rangers said when the owners returned to their car, they were able to drive the Prius despite the damage.

The ranger found traces of food in the car and numerous scented items like toothpaste and lotion, according to Kyle Patterson, spokeswoman for Rocky Mountain National Park.

Patterson also said beer had been spilled in the car the day before.

Officials said this is third or fourth vehicle break-in at the Wild Basin Trailhead this summer. No one has witnessed any of the incidents so rangers don't know if it is the same bear.

There are signs posted at the trailhead and staff at Wild Basin are letting visitors know not to leave food or scented materials in their cars.
The bear tore open the Prius, The bear tore open the Prius, The bear tore open the Prius, To get himself some beer.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/26/2010 10:10 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I doubt the Engineers designed the car to withstand Bear intrusions. ;D
Posted by: tipover || 08/26/2010 12:34 Comments || Top||

#2  I want a video of the bear biting into the main battery pack!
Posted by: Water Modem || 08/26/2010 15:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Saw a black bear rip the entire door off of a Rambler once, in Yosemite, to get a sandwich.

Not even a very big bear, mind you.
Posted by: mojo || 08/26/2010 16:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Where's NHTSA? This screams for another Toyota recall. Defective anti-ursa engineering. I demand to see internal emails showing neglect of such contingencies.
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 08/26/2010 18:19 Comments || Top||

#5  The owners of the car were from California.

'nuff said.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/26/2010 22:14 Comments || Top||


Match-maker Cleared by Court
(PTI) A match-maker cannot be held responsible for the troubled marriage of a girl for whom she had found a match, observed Gujarat High Court.

The observation was made by Justice Akil Kureshi, last week, while ordering quashing of criminal charges against a woman who had helped in getting a match for a girl who allegedly committed suicide following dowry harassment.

"No dowry demand is alleged against the petitioners (woman match-maker) but it is only stated that they did not take sufficient steps to ensure that married life of the deceased girl did not face any difficulties. It would not constitute offence under Section 498-A (cruelty on women by husband's relative) and 306 (abetting suicide) of Indian Penal Code," the court observed.

The court also observed that conducting trial against the woman would be an abuse of process of court.
Posted by: Fred || 08/26/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The court also observed that conducting trial against the woman would be an abuse of process of court.

This makes way too much sense.
Posted by: gorb || 08/26/2010 0:40 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Not enough skilled workers a problem for recovering economy
From the article:
WELDERS NEEDED
BigJim? :-)
Posted by: gorb || 08/26/2010 12:27 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bring back vocational ed. Far too many HS dropouts with zero skills, and college dropouts without any marketable skills, and far too many billions $$$$ spent by society to produce both of these outcomes.
Posted by: lex || 08/26/2010 13:07 Comments || Top||

#2  You don't know how many times I've thought of going back to diving/pile driving.
I felt much, much more appreciated and indispensable as a welder or pile buck or diver than I ever have as a civil engineer.
There are lifestyle advantages to being a professional, but you are not immune to the classic scourges like unemployment. That's where I am now.
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 08/26/2010 13:37 Comments || Top||

#3  From my experience plenty of tradespeople would be available if they stopped drug testing.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 08/26/2010 13:52 Comments || Top||

#4  ..far too many billions $$$$ spent by society to produce both of these outcomes.

Driven by the professional education establishment, subsidized to an ever greater extent by the national government controlled by the party kept in power by same said people.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/26/2010 14:03 Comments || Top||

#5  Given the 'higher education' bubble out there, particularly for less useful occupations like law, gender studies, law, chicano studies, law, comparative studies, law, political science and law, it would be very helpful to young people indeed to point out the various skilled trades that allow a person a good living and time to pursue their personal happiness.

In the current day, work is supposed to make you happy. In my father's generation, work was something you did so that you had the money to do other things that made you happy.
Posted by: Steve White || 08/26/2010 14:35 Comments || Top||

#6  The trades won't be attractive if there's constant downward pressure on wages due to the 10:1 ratio of Chinese-based to US-based employment adhered to by US companies in IT hardware and and so many other sectors
Posted by: lex || 08/26/2010 15:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Sissies can weld too!
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/26/2010 17:41 Comments || Top||

#8  My team had a recent analyst job opening. Of the numerous applicants; 4 people were invited to apply. All 4 failed the first in a series of tests. 3 had Masters degrees and one had a PHD.
Posted by: airandee || 08/26/2010 17:43 Comments || Top||

#9  Makes a lot more sense than spending five years and $100,000 for a <whatever> Studies degree.
Posted by: DMFD || 08/26/2010 19:25 Comments || Top||

#10  All 4 failed the first in a series of tests. 3 had Masters degrees and one had a PHD.

Yup, anybody else remember BS More of the same and Piled higher and deeper?

By the way I'm a Trade school Graduate, (Machinist, Which included Welding Gas and stick) and I've had a fair income all my career.
Granted I often had to switch Trades often, I'm a Certified Master Mechanic as well.

You'd be surprised at the overlap between those two.

Can't find a well paying Mechanics Job, the industry is crying for Machinists, Machine work peters out, Mechanics are in demand, I very rarely went unemployed for two months at a time.

and as an aside I've been privileged to see, make or run things most folk never heard of, such as water pumps big enough to walk through without stooping (Dredges and the pumps needed) aircraft engines (Made from castings and forgings to testing and shipping, etc.

It's been fun.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/26/2010 20:09 Comments || Top||

#11  Jim, can you teach HS aged kids?

The schools need you. If the public schools won't pay, then I wonder if you couldn't bootstrap your own vocational ed business-- start with some how-to videos on YouTube, create your own channel, link to an email alias where you can capture inquiries/sales "leads"...

Just a thought. It's definitely possible to bootstrap such a business these days, and online/private education is booming.
Posted by: lex || 08/26/2010 20:46 Comments || Top||

#12  Robert Webb should turn in his testicles since he's not using them anymore.
Posted by: badanov || 08/26/2010 21:02 Comments || Top||

#13  Lex, that's somewhat of a problem, I'm now somewhat handicapped and cannot stand more than a few minutes at a time.
There's a major glitch in your video idea, training needs to be "Hands On' or it's ineffective, me talking to camera would be boring in the extreme, me standing by a kid and showing him how to strike an arc, or determine just what cutting speed a milling machine needs to turn works far better.

But I can't.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/26/2010 23:03 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
 Gastro kills 76 in Sindh
[Geo TV] Another gastro patient lost his life at the affectees' camp in Karachi area of Gulshan-e-Memar, raising the overall death toll across Sindh to 76, Geo News reported Wednesday.

The ramped up number of deaths is mainly attributed to unhygienic food, contaminated water and bad sanitary condition at the relief camps.

The worst-hit by the gastro diseases is District Kashmore, where at least 54 people succumbed to the disease.

Thousands of people affected with various skin and stomach diseases were admitted to private and government hospitals in the affected districts. The relief camps and the adjacent affected villages are target of the gastro diseases.

These camps feature scorching heat, polluted water, swarming mosquitoes and flies, sub-standardized food and poor hygienic condition, making a conducive grounds for diseases to break out.
Posted by: Fred || 08/26/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Six more suspects arrested in Sialkot lynching case
[Dawn] Police arrested on Tuesday another six suspects of the lynching of two brothers at Buttar village on Aug 15, according to senior police officials.

Police sources said among the arrested people included Muhammad Akram (33), who had tied the arms and legs of Muneeb Butt and Mughees Butt who were later lynched by a mob on pretext of their role in a robbery and murder in the village.

Police quoted Akram as saying that he had got ropes from Rescue 1122 officials on Daska Road and tied up the hands and legs of the two brothers.

He said the village mob, infuriated at the death of their village fellow by some robbers on resistance, dragged the youths on various roads and later lynched them at Doburji Malhiyaan Chowk, a few yards from Rescue 1122 Sialkot station.

Twenty-one people have been arrested by police in the case. Police have yet to arrest 14 policemen nominated in the case for their alleged role in the lynching.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had given a 48-hour deadline to police officials to arrest the fugitive police officials, which expired on Tuesday without any development.

According to the first information report, then Sadar station house officer (SHO) Rana Ilyas, sub-inspector Gulzar Khan, four assistant sub-inspectors and eight constables showed negligence in the incident. Police arrested the SHO who later fled the police custody on Aug 21.

Inspector General Tariq Saleem Dogar visited Sialkot late on Monday. He told reporters all accused would be dealt with iron fist. He said he was monitoring the investigation of the incident.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has suspended former Sialkot district police officer (DPO) Waqar Ahmad Chohan on the recommendations of Mr Sharif.

A three-pronged inquiry is going on into the case.

JI threats
Following alleged threats of violence by the public and Jamaat-i-Islami and Shabab-i-Milli activists, police have been deployed at village Buttar to avert any untoward incident. The families of the suspects have gone underground in a bid to avert their possible arrests.

Senior police officials say they had got information that the public, including Jamaat-i-Islami and Shabab-i-Milli activists, might set the village on fire.

Judicial commission completes probe
The special judicial commission on Tuesday completed inquiry into the lynching tragedy.

Constituted by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the commission will submit the report with its recommendations to the apex court.

The commission recorded the statements of more than 113 people, including members of the grieved family, police officials, journalists, doctors, Rescue 1122 officials and the district administration officials.

At a press conference, judicial commission head Justice Kazim Ali Malik (retired) said the probe was transparent and impartial. He said the apex court would bring the culprits to book.

Justice Kazim, the Anti-Corruption Punjab director general, said he would submit the report to the Supreme Court within a couple of days.

He said the report had details of inquiry and recommendations by the judicial commission.
Posted by: Fred || 08/26/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan



Who's in the News
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1Govt of Iran
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2010-08-26
  56 killed, 250 injured in string of Iraq attacks
Wed 2010-08-25
  Reports: 3 killed in Beirut clashes
Tue 2010-08-24
  MPs slain as Somali gunmen storm hotel
Mon 2010-08-23
  Israel says Iranian reactor use 'totally unacceptable'
Sun 2010-08-22
  Six turbans dronezapped
Sat 2010-08-21
  Russians Flatline Mastermind of Moscow Subway Attack
Fri 2010-08-20
  Blast in China's Xinjiang kills 7
Thu 2010-08-19
  Goodbye Iraq: Last US combat brigade heads for home
Wed 2010-08-18
  Turks capture raving Paleostinian at Tel Aviv embassy
Tue 2010-08-17
  41 Die in Suicide Bombing of Iraq Army Recruiting Center
Mon 2010-08-16
  AZ Sheriff: Border Patrol Abandoning Parts Of Border
Sun 2010-08-15
  Dronezap ices 12 turbans in Haqqaniland
Sat 2010-08-14
  B.O. defends plans for mosque near ground zero
Fri 2010-08-13
  Durango: Mexican Army Bags 12 Bad Guys; 5 Others Die
Thu 2010-08-12
  Afghan army reaches target strength


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