Singapore seeks to procreate. And Portugal (or at least writers) decries the country's abortion laws.

Meanwhile, in Germany, you can hatch 'em.

hln

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In today's Post-Dispatch, there's an article about the problem of Missouri's high number of meth labs (and addicts). The author of the article quotes a woman identified as "Christy" as saying thus:

Christy blames herself for trying meth and for moving back to rural Missouri.

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Hans sent me this - a blog entry about masking credit card numbers now being law!

The reason he sent it? I am notorious for blacking out my credit card number on paper - especially at restaurants.

I needed some good news today. (Granted, it's something that shouldn't NEED a law, but, we'll, y'know).

hln

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Yes, December is lurking and will saunter in soon. I wouldn't have believed it this morning, though - it was 66 degrees at 9 a.m. It has since fallen to a rainy 45 or so.

So, yes, December. One of my things to do on my list today was to make my Christmas Card list, and it's surprisingly small. Doable, even. Anybody want a card? E-mail me with an address, and you'll get one, complete with a personal (likely silly) message.

hln

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Patriot Paradox is hosting a Blog Tournament. See this post for details. I'm judging for this one instead of writing.

hln

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Yes, a survey. According to CNN's Money section, 8 out of 10 of us want new jobs.

More than eight in 10 workers plan to look for a new job when the economy heats up, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Professionals. While there's a difference between looking for a new gig and actually jumping ship, that kind of number is "very, very high," says SHRP spokesman Frank Scanlon.

How did things get so bad?

To be sure, the economy hasn't helped. Cash-strapped employers have been cutting back on benefits like health care, paid vacations and retirement benefits.

Belt tightening is one thing; greed is another. In an era of Enron, mutual fund scandals and ludicrous CEO pay packages, employees know the difference, says Jeff Taylor, founder and CEO of Monster.com.

"Companies behaving badly" have been all too common during the downturn, according to Taylor.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits plunged last week to a level not seen since before the 2001 recession, the government said on Thursday, fueling hopes a long slide in employment had ended.

The magnitude of the drop in jobless claims surprised economists, who expected only a slight drop from a week-earlier level that had been boosted by a grocery store strike in California.

A department spokesman said problems with adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations could have been a factor.

"Every week we encourage (looking at) the four-week average. This is certainly one of those weeks," he said.

The four-week average, which smoothes weekly volatility to present a clearer picture of labor-market trends, fell 10,000 to 380,000 last week, its lowest level since March 2001.

Some analysts said the latest data suggested a report on October employment the government is set to release on Friday may show even a larger gain in payrolls than the 58,000 that economists on Wall Street had been expecting.

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I found THREE marathon news items of note today, so let this heretoafter be known as the "Marathon" post. Here, a sponsor.

One: This is what you call one fast chickee. She runs about the same pace as I cycle (on a slow day where I'm yawning anyway).

NEW YORK - Kenyans again ruled the New York City Marathon on Sunday, with Margaret Okayo smashing the course record and Martin Lel winning his first marathon ever.

Okayo won the New York race for the second time, dropping to her knees and kissing the ground after crossing the line in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 31 seconds. She shattered her 2001 course record by nearly two minutes.

Reigning world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya was second among the women in 2:23:04, followed by Lornah Kiplagat, a native Kenyan who became a Dutch citizen this year, in 2:23:43. They also beat the previous course record.

"I didn't know I was going to break my own record, but I was just trying to do my best," Okayo said.

NEW YORK - Sunday's New York Marathon will be the seventh one in seven days — on seven continents — for two British adventurers.

Before coming to New York, explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes — cousin of actors Ralph and Joseph — and his running partner, Michael Stroud, ran an overnight marathon past Egypt's ancient pyramids and through Cairo streets.

Fiennes ran in support of the Women for Peace International, an organization chaired by Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak, and the People to People initiative, which promotes international peace, according to a press statement.

The pair had already completed marathons in London, Singapore, Chile, the Falkland Islands and Australia.

Each 26-mile run had to be completed within six hours so the pair could remain on schedule, Stroud told reporters Wednesday in Sydney, Australia.

Running on a bum right knee and just two months of training, hip-hop entrepreneur Sean "P. Diddy" Combs completed the New York City Marathon on Sunday in just under four hours and raised $2 million for children, double the amount he planned.

"Never in my life have I ever experienced anything as crazy as this," Combs said at a news conference.

The producer-rapper, formerly known as Puff Daddy (news - web sites) and Puffy, decided in September to run his first marathon.

As he crossed the finish line in Central Park in 3:58:22, Combs raised his arms in triumph. He took a few more steps, then leaned over to catch his breath. Bags of ice were placed on his neck.

Combs — known on the course simply as No. 30,792 — kept a respectable pace of an eight- to nine-minute miles for much of the race. He ran in sunglasses, his hair in a closely cropped mohawk and a breathing strip across his nose. He was accompanied by police officers and at least one of his employees.

"I feel great. I feel strong," Combs told NBC Sports during the race's first hour. "We're right on pace. I'm not going to go out too hard. I'm going to finish strong."

He was troubled by cramps that caused him to walk a few steps. He said he drew support from a TV reporter covering the race who ran with him, as well as from cheering children in Harlem.

"I definitely wanted to stop," he said. "This is definitely a life-changing experience for me because I did not stop."

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Yesterday, the Opinion Journal put out a piece about nuclear proliferation and detailed the results of a nuclear attack. I read the article in the morning but never got around to posting about it. Several others did.

If you're 25 or under, it's likely you didn't really experience the mindset of "nuclear war is imminent." I actually had a CLASS on nuclear war in a program I attended in 8th grade. All of the good, solid buildings were designated as shelters with signs. The Day After was controversial; at what age should your children view the movie? It wasn't a question of should they, really, but of age. Even to the young - people like me who saw the original Star Wars movie in a theater - a DRIVE-IN no less, a mention of Star Wars in a realm of anything political regarded Reagan's plans for a missile defense system. The USSR was a big bad empire with its finger on the trigger, ready to strike at any time...at least in our minds.

We learned about radiation sickness/poisoning. The after effects as shown by survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the thought of conventional war of the scope of Desert Storm or the Second Iraq War, circa 1985, was nearly non-existent.

So it's with that mindset that I read this piece. I need to read it again because I was a bit rushed. This is a new nuclear age, and the players are more dangerous due to levels or lack of sanity, different aims and goals, and yet, somehow, perhaps because I'm an adult and "it hasn't happened yet" the threat seems more distant.

hln

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When I picked up this tidbit from the headline, I didn't get what I expected.

The World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled plans on Thursday to cut the number of deaths from bathing accidents every year — nearly half a million in total — and those caused by infection from polluted waters.

OFFICIALS OF the United Nations agency said poorer countries would be able to boost their tourist trade by adopting the preventative measures laid out in its new 220-page guidelines for governments and local authorities.

“Deaths from accidents and drowning, and often long-term illness resulting from pollution in rivers and coastal waters, are a big challenge to public health administration on all continents,” WHO water and sanitation expert Jamie Bartram said.

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Yes, a bear mauled and killed Timothy Treadwell, of whom I'd never heard. He was, as this article pens it in the title, a "Grizzly Advocate, Friend."

I would suggest, gentle readers, that you not "befriend" wild animals with the capability to easily wipe you from existence with a one-two punch of paw swat and tooth hold. This is the second incident in a week; you know of the other of which I speak. (Ick, that rhymes, but it amuses me, so I will leave it). But, size may not matter; ask the victims of the killer rabbit.

Mr. Treadwell may well have "lived among the grizzlies" (the article states he got within inches of the bears.) And while Mr. Treadwell may have survived and thrived (wow, I'm on a roll) quite well in the previous 50 encounters, the exception to "the rule" just might getcha.

And did.

hln

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Bill Whittle comments on the recall election in CA and the results.

It's short, for Whittle, and he manages his commentary without ever using the word "recall."

hln

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Susie pointed out in the comments of my last post that perhaps the tone of that wasn't so positive as I made it out to be.

Fair enough - I probably should've added at least two more paragraphs, one of which is in my comments section in response to Susie.

You can read the whole thing either way. Me, I'm amused, and in my mind the scientists are scratching their heads commiserating, "that's not the results we expected to find."

My whole point can be summed up as such: legislation proves nothing. Because a law is there, doesn't mean people will follow it. We've all heard the saying that "if you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns." I firmly believe it. You can substitute anything for guns that you'd like, but the simple fact remains: criminals are criminals. Laws don't stop 'em now.

So, take it as that.

hln

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Spoons, Rachel Lucas, and Kim du Toit (along with a star-studded supporting cast!) are all doing the Happy Gun Dance! Yet more sunny gun evidence to tack up to the panelling. Everybody, repeat after me: "Guns are inanimate objects." Good.

Oh, and someone really ought to legislate those knives, no? I mean, sheesh, the harm they do to the children - the harm they COULD do to the CHILDREN. Hysteria! Hysteria!

(By the way, I find it funny that this is categorized in HEALTH by Yahoo. Perhaps I should link it with fitness and nutrition as well).

hln

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Following up on my post Not Surprising about Barbie, the Evil Jewess Infidel doll (indeed!), I found that Cox and Forkum's cartoon for today hits the spot.

Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice

(Very...hypnotic).

Link via dcthornton.com.

hln

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Not Surprising

Barbie dolls are a threat to morality.

Really, they are. If you are a Saudi male, anyway.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Saudi Arabia's religious police have declared Barbie dolls a threat to morality, complaining that the revealing clothes of the "Jewish" toy -- already banned in the kingdom -- are offensive to Islam. The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, as the religious police are officially known, lists the dolls on a section of its Web site devoted to items deemed offensive to the conservative Saudi interpretation of Islam. "Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful," said a poster on the site.

Other items listed as violations on the site included Valentine's Day gifts, perfume bottles in the shape of women's bodies, clothing with logos that include a cross, and decorative copies of religious items -- offensive because they could be damaged and thus insult Islam.

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Honey, these are probably the same kids that always play in the street even when cars are coming, no? Brian has a post about some dumb kids in the St. Louis area.

Here in Casinoport, Missouri, one 15 year old said to a bunch of friends, hey, I just cracked myself over the head with a skateboard and it didn't hurt, I am invincible (or words to that effect). So he asked his friends to help him prove the point, and unfortunately, one of his buddies found an error in the hypothesis by cracking Mr. Invincible's skull and putting him in the hospital with a severe brain injury.

Authorities, of course, have charged boy #2.

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In one of Reason Magazine's online posts for the day, Cathy Young points out some rather amusing adults-are-big-children moments in the California Recall campaign.

My favorite is about Schwarzenegger. She states:

"Would you let your sister vote for this man?" screams a headline in a recent issue of Salon.com, the left-of-center online magazine. The article quotes activists from the California chapter of the National Organization for Women and from Feminist Majority, a Los Angeles-based national group, who lament Schwarzenegger's "disrespectful attitudes toward women" and his "appalling" use of "sexual stereotypes."

There is, of course, Schwarzenegger's now-infamous 1977 interview in Oui magazine in which the future gubernatorial candidate, then a 26-year-old bodybuilder, discussed his very active sex life in very crude terms—including group sex with a woman who supposedly strode naked into the gym where he trained. Whether he was just bragging (as he now claims) or telling the truth, the episode makes Schwarzenegger look rather piggish; but surely, there ought to be a statute of limitations on piggery.

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While this appears to be fabulous news, I would like to remind you of the age-old adage, my title above. BAV1, you are what you eat.

If this microbe can truly decompose toxic waste, what else can/does it do? And how can it be stopped/neutralized/controlled?

Forgive me, for I am not a scientist, though I sometimes play one on my blog, and this was the most interesting thing I had read all day.

hln

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And, in the news this morning, since there's little else to talk about of late BUT SARS, MSN reported that A-Rod ain't a gonna leave his hotel room much while he's in Toronto. Hey, that's great. My question? Why is the hotel safe but the soon-to-be-not-frequented malls and restaurants not so? And how is this really "SARS precautions." Don the mask, wimpo; it could be your next endorsement.

And, of course, later in the day, the WHO (in this article) said Tuesday it will "take Toronto off its list of countries travelers should avoid over concerns about SARS because the city seems to have the disease under control." Wow, Toronto's a country. Lazy, lazy writer.

So, whom should we trust here? Tsk to the media for taking something so entirely inconsequential as a few days in A-Rod's life and making it a headline. Man bites dog, eh? Perhaps tomorrow it'll be "John Travolta chooses ziti over orzo."

hln

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