Jays Pitcher Chacin Charged with DUI

Toronto Blue Jays starter Gustavo Chacin was arrested early Friday morning on charges of drunk driving.

According to local reports, the 26-year-old Venezuelan was stopped at 3:43 a.m. in a south Tampa neighbourhood, close to the club's spring training complex in Dunedin. His tested blood alcohol level measured 0.150 and 0.152. Anything over 0.080 is illegal in Florida.

This is not what the team needs right now as it attempts to sort out a starting rotation that will contend with the Yankees and Red Sox in the tough AL East. Chacin is supposed to be their #3 guy though I see him more as the #5. We shall see how this plays out.

What was she thinking?

Mischa Barton (from my daughter's favourite show The OC) is quickly becoming known for her fashion disasters. She seems to be wearing a skirt designed my Fred Flinstone and boots by Peter Pan. Though I like to t-shirt message "drop knowledge not bombs."

Former Maple Leaf Turns Down Conservatives

The Conservatives tried to entice former Leaf Glenn Healy into running as a star candidate in the next election -- an invitation the former-goalie-turned-TSN-commentator declined. The Tories had hoped to put Mr. Healy up against Liberal MP Mark Holland in Ajax-Pickering, one of the sought-after Greater Toronto Area seats. It would have been a coup for the Tories (the Liberals have goalie legend Ken Dryden) and it is not surprising they set their sights on a hockey star. Healy, born in Pickering, played with the Los Angeles Kings (with Wayne Gretzky), won a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers and spent four years with the Leafs before going into broadcasting.

Without Healy, Ajax-Pickering faces a nomination race pitting former Ontario municipal affairs minister Steve Gilchrist (who made headlines after being cleared of any criminal wrongdoing following allegations of misconduct) against a local furniture shop owner. The rush to secure nominations in case of a spring election is proving challenging for all parties. The demand for good candidates, stars and more women is intense.

FCC Complaints about Super Bowl XXX

This year's Super Bowl telecast generated only about 150 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission, with the bulk of the beefs centering on Prince's halftime performance and a Snickers commercial. I've reproduced one of the letters below. Some people thought Prince was manipulating his guitar as if it was a penis. I think those people should get their mind out of the gutter.

{Click on image to enlarge]

Tobago worries that Elton John will turn residents gay

Sir Elton John's appearance at a jazz festival on Tobago next month is expected to attract tourists from across the Caribbean, the US and Europe to the island.

But one man not looking forward to the performance is the Archdeacon of Trinidad and Tobago, the Venerable Philip Isaac. The Archdeacon has suggested the singer and anti-Aids activist should be banned from the Plymouth Jazz Festival, because his presence may tempt islanders into homosexuality.

I think I would be more concerned that he might start a bizarre fashion trend on the island.

Florida Girl Once Again Hiccuping

Here is a story that seems to be grabbing everyone. Not sure why. A 15-year-old girl who hiccuped her way through part of January and all of February is hiccuping once again.

Jennifer Mee, who hiccuped close to 50 times each waking minute for more than five weeks starting Jan. 23, began hiccuping again Thursday morning after a nose bleed, said her mother, Rachel Robidoux.

It occured during Mee's second day back at school since her first bout of hiccups stopped Feb. 28, said Robidoux.

"I'm at my wit's end," Robidoux said.

Like this will improve the police's image

Orlando, Florida police dressed up a radar Nazi as a leprechaun and warning drivers to slow down. A laser detector clocked cars above his sign reading "Watch your speed or it will cost you your pot of gold," and several officers on motorcycles chased those who didn't heed the advice.Police were giving out about a ticket a minute. An officer was dressed in a green leprechaun outfit with a hat, tight white knickers and a fake red beard.

I much prefer the Danish approach. Nude girls who call themselves Speed Patrol Bikini Bandits stand at the side of Copenhagen roads holding speed limit signs.

I want some of her meds

I posted this week a story about crazy Tonya Harding who acting a bizarre as ever. Harding called 911 from a towing company to report possibly four men and a woman were trying to enter her home (a trailer actually) outside Vancouver and stash weapons on her property.

The person who calls herself Tonya's agent claimed the incident arose after medication prescribed to Harding did not interact correctly.

Tonya had changed her over-the-counter allergy medication and reported to her doctor with pneumonia symptoms. She was prescribed antibiotics and cough syrup and given a breathing treatment.

My advice is that she stop taking meth for allergies.

Fearless Figure Skater Ready to Move On

I did a post last month of Canadian figure skater Jessica Dube who has her face sliced by the skate of her pairs partner Bryce Davison's skate while they were performing side-by-side camel spins. She was a big nasty scar on her face which fortunately will disappear over time. She is back on the ice and heading off to Tokyo to compete in the World Championships. They both worked with a traumatic stress psychologists to help overcome any anxiety as a result of the accident.

Dube and Davison won the title at the Canadian championship in January at Halifax. They finished seventh at last year's worlds after coming 10th at the Turin Olympics.

I am acknowledging St. Patrick's Day

Movie Review - Hard Candy

I haven't seen a film this disturbing and provocative in a long time. It is about a 32-year-old fashion photographer with an eye for jailbait getting bound and gagged by his latest subject—a scalpel-wielding gender-avenger who's all of 14 years old. It's a cat and mouse game they play except it's hard to tell who is the predator and who is the prey. Canadian, Ellen Page, plays Hayley, the freckle-faced femme fatale who toys with her pedophile prey in an online chat room before meeting him. When Jeff (Patrick Wilson), the perv-turned-victim, pleads from behind tight ropes that his professional rep will be ruined if Hayley calls the cops, the young cultural critic begs to differ: "Didn't Roman Polanski just win an Oscar?" There are scenes of torture that are difficult to watch. Ellen Page looks like she is only 14 (I think she was about 17 when she made the film) but her performance is that of an adult.

Creepy

Michael Jackson is in London to give the British gossip papers something to write about. He has two kids with him. As you can see from the picture one of the kids is walking around with a plastic bag over his head. Where are those Child Protective Services people when you need them?

Happy Birthday Jerry Lewis

He's 81 and looking his age. Prednisone treatments for a lung ailment caused Lewis to gain a great deal of weight. When I was growing up I loved the guy.

9/11 Mastermind Tried to Destroy the Maple Leafs

Suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to sabotaging the Toronto Maple Leaf management over the last 30 years. The Pentagon had released a 26-page transcript of the closed-door proceedings on Wednesday night. Some material was omitted, and it wasn’t possible to immediately verify details.

He admitted being behind the banishment of Leaf greats Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, and Frank Mahovolich. In addition, he suggested in the transcripts that he insisted that the Leafs unload draft picks for fading veterans (Owen Nolan, Brian Leetch, Ron Francis, Phil Housley, Doug Gilmour) going into the NHL lockout with the full knowledge that the Leafs would desperately need young cheap players in the post-lockout period. Mohammed indicated his greatest act of sabotage was unloading a 1st round draft pick (who turned out to be Scott Niedermayer) for useless Tom Kurvers.

Is there another option?

source

Barbie in the Middle East

Brazil Welcomes Bush

Not sure if the woman below was for or against Bush. As you can see why should it matter.

Craigslist Bust

Some guy put an ad on Craigslist New York indicating that he would supply cocaine to any female who responded.

So police sent a female officer undercover to respond to the ad. Joshua W. O'Neil, 32, of Albany, met the female officer and offered her crack cocaine in exchange for "sexual favors." BUSTED!

Scandals in Israeli Politics is SOP

It certainly can be argued that scandals in Israeli politics is Standard Operating Procedure. The number of Israeli politicians that have had to resign and even to to jail has been staggering. Just in the last few months here is a run down on scandals.

Israeli President Moshe Katzav (a largely ceremonial position) has been accused of raping two women. The Attorney-General said last month that an indictment may be forthcoming in May. Katzav doesn't intend to resign unless formally indicted.

The Prime Minister also hopes to avoid indictment. Ehud Olmert is being investigated for potential abuses of office related to private real estate dealings and the sale of the state-owned Bank Leumi. That's in addition to the inquiries into the conduct of the Lebanon war last summer that might, when concluded, also call for his resignation.

Former justice minister Haim Ramon was convicted in February of sexual harassment and resigned.

Earlier this month, tourism minister Esterina Hartman resigned after only four days on the job, when it was revealed that she had lied about having two university degrees she had not earned, and that she had made disability claims stating that she could not work.

This week I reported that Tzuriel Raphael, the Israeli ambassador to El Salvador, was recalled after he was found by police on the street, drunk, naked and wearing bondage gear.

And there have been many scandals in the past. Prime Minister Rabin resigned from office after the exposure of a US dollar bank account held by his wife, an act forbidden at that time by Israeli currency regulators.

Prime Minister Netanyahu was driven from power after a long chain of scandals (including gossip regarding his marriage) and an investigation opened against him on charges of corruption (later acquitted).

Aryeh Deri is the former leader of the Shas Party. He was jailed for corruption, having been found guilty of taking $155,000 in bribes while serving as Interior Minister, and sentenced to three years in prison.

Several years ago Prime Minister Sharon's son, Omri, was indicted on charges of corruption. Omri was a member of the Knesset at the time.

The list goes on and on. Never a dull moment in Israeli politics.

Lottery Retailers are Pretty Lucky

Lottery retailers in eastern Canada have been awfully lucky. The Atlantic Lottery Corp. revealed that retailers in the region had claimed 10 times more prizes than was statistically probable over a six-year period.

Of the 1,293 lottery wins of $25,000 ($21,400) or more from Jan. 1, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2006, 44 were claimed by retailers and 25 by store clerks. The total amount of prizes for those winning tickets was about $7.5 million.

Last fall, an investigation by the CBC's Fifth Estate program found similar statistical anomalies among Ontario lottery retailers, who claimed victories nearly four times more often than would be probable.

More Dumb Criminals

Some criminals are so dumb they really should find a new line of work.

Daniel Brown, 22, of Hartselle, Ala., thought he was smart when he wore a ski mask to hide his identity from his grandfather when he staged a home invasion this past January. What went wrong? When he burst in to the house he yelled, “I need your money, and I mean it, Pa-Paw.”.
To top things off he was stupid enough to try denying that he was the man behind the mask when he was arrested.

Then there’s Glenn Vickers, 53, who was allegedly intoxicated while driving on Interstate 64 near Kanawa County, W. Va. He decided to tailgate a driver that day. Guess who he was tailgating as he weaved on the roadway? None other than Sheriff Mike Rutherford who was driving an unmarked car.

After Vickers jockeyed behind Rutherford for a while, he peeled off at an exit and flipped Rutherford the finger. He should have paid more attention to his driving though since the act of raising his finger high caused him to crash into the guardrail. I guess it’s a good thing he didn’t end up hurting anyone while he was DUI.

More Dumb Criminals

Some criminals are so dumb they really should find a new line of work.

Daniel Brown, 22, of Hartselle, Ala., thought he was smart when he wore a ski mask to hide his identity from his grandfather when he staged a home invasion this past January. What went wrong? When he burst in to the house he yelled, “I need your money, and I mean it, Pa-Paw.”.
To top things off he was stupid enough to try denying that he was the man behind the mask when he was arrested.

Then there’s Glenn Vickers, 53, who was allegedly intoxicated while driving on Interstate 64 near Kanawa County, W. Va. He decided to tailgate a driver that day. Guess who he was tailgating as he weaved on the roadway? None other than Sheriff Mike Rutherford who was driving an unmarked car.

After Vickers jockeyed behind Rutherford for a while, he peeled off at an exit and flipped Rutherford the finger. He should have paid more attention to his driving though since the act of raising his finger high caused him to crash into the guardrail. I guess it’s a good thing he didn’t end up hurting anyone while he was DUI.

Successful Thieves Need a Baseline IQ

A burglary suspect was arrested after he left behind a Corrections Department identification card he used to jimmy a lock, authorities said.

Officers said they arrested Robert Alan Fry of Rock Island, Ill., after investigating the theft Tuesday of a plastic jug containing about $400 in change from an apartment in Bettendorf. They said they found Fry's Illinois Department of Corrections ID card at the apartment and arrested him Wednesday at a Bettendorf motel.

Beaver and Wally Cleaver, Eddie Haskell

Now....

...and back then

many boyhood memories

Repo Man Took Car With Kids Inside

Not crazy about the practice of repossessing a car. I know it's a result of the owner of the car not paying, but there are deadbeats and then there are people involved in disputes over owed amounts . It just seems shady --coming and taking someone's car in the dead of night so they wake up to drive to work the next day and the car is just gone...

This situation seems like it was one of those small disputes --over $95 dollars. But, for a lousy $95 the loan was called in on Kenneth and Jeri Lynn Sobanski's 2000 Pontiac Sunbird. The repo man asked the owner to get some paperwork from inside the house, but then sped off with the car (see, shady). In his fervor and glee, he didn't realize the family's children were in the car. The father ran down the street screaming at him to stop...which he didn't. The kids, 10 and 13, were screaming and crying and calling their parents from a cell phone. The father was finally forced to actually jumped on the bed of the moving truck and banged on the cab...

A report was made to the Michigan State Police but determined that no criminal laws were broken. (source)

A Guy With a Fetish

Police found more than 4,000 pieces of lingerie in the home of a Japanese construction worker who used climbing skills developed on his job to steal women’s underwear.

Police believe that Shigeo Kodama, 54, amassed the 3,977 panties, 355 bras and 10 pairs of stockings over a six-year period. Nothing else was ever stolen. He was arrested in February after he stole underwear from two houses, and police later raided his home.

.

Scary Spice Living up to Her Name

Tonya Harding Update

Ever wonder what Tanya Harding is doing? Well she's living in a trailer, taking "new medication" and imagining things. She has also gained a lot of weight and become a "fat ass". Oh yes and has a boxing career.

Well she is back in the news. Sheriff's deputies responded to a call for assistance from Clark County's most notorious resident early Sunday morning. In fact, deputies were called twice on Sunday. The first came at about 5 a.m. from Harding, who was at Yacolt Towing in Yacolt. She said she was being followed by several people and believed someone was trying to hide weapons on her property.

A deputy responded and was not able to find any evidence of her claim. Harding told the officer that her medication had been changed. She did not say for what condition she is being treated, nor name the medication.

About four hours later a Clark County resident, who only identified herself as a friend of Harding's, called to say Harding was at the friend's house and was "scaring her kids." Deputies responded and took Harding home to her trailer on Northeast Sunset Falls Road. The deputy advised Harding to see a doctor.

Harding won a gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991 after landing a triple axel in the competition, a first for an American woman. Her career went downhill from there. In January 1994, her skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan was assaulted during a U.S. Nationals practice session.

Harding, her then-husband and their associates were implicated in the assault. She eventually pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution.

On the Verge of an Election

Recent polls suggest Stephen Harper's Conservatives are surging ahead of the Liberals, even in the crucial province of Ontario, where Liberals have long held an advantage. This means that the election that everyone says they don't want (so as not to offended the public who foots the bill for an election) is more likely to occur this spring.

Other signs of an election? Well the Conservatives want to help the poor, clean up the environment and help out Toronto. The Liberals are unveiling a law and order platform. So its obvious the parties recognize where they are weak. So all that is needed is an excuse to call an election.

If you average the last three weekly polls, the Conservatives have 33 per cent, the Liberals 30 per cent, the NDP 14 per cent, the Bloc nine per cent and the Greens 11 per cent. So the two leading parties likely feel that with a strong campaign they may be able to surge ahead of the other. The Bloc is very much stalled so both Liberals and Conservatives will battle hard in Quebec. The Liberals will be hoping that a new leader will help Quebeckers forget past scandals and the numbers are better there. The NDP is quite vulnerable with a Liberal party that appears to be shifting more to the left and the Greens fighting over much of the same territory. However, I expect the Greens to fade because of a luck of money to wage a national campaign. As well, they will need to convince voters that a vote for the Green party is not a wasted vote (the NDP dilemma).

As for the leaders, the all have their weaknesses. After a year in power, Stephen Harper still can't win over female voters. Women are less concerned with the Harper's strengths raised by Conservatives - leadership and decisiveness. He is still pretty stiff in public. Meanwhile Stephane Dion has his own problems. He is not well known across the country and his English does present as a possible handicap. Jack Layton is experiencing some real problems being noticed. The key to his success in the next election are winning concessions from the Conservative on the environment as well as the budget to be tabled on March 19. If he take credit for some policies then he can argue the NDP still matters.

Mr. and Mrs. Elton John

Sir Elton John celebrated his 60th birthday last night.

Wow, Not Too Subtle a Message

The Countdown Begins

This photo op is one of the last official duties for Miss USA, Tara Conners, before handing over her crown. Then she is free of Donald Trump and back to Girls Gone Wild.

Let's see she hands over her crown on March 23. Just enough time to make it onto the May cover of Playboy.

Population Winners and Losers

Top 10 Canadian communities (population 10,000 or more) with the highest growth rates between 2001-06, according to census data released March 13 by Statistics Canada:

1. Milton, Ont.	71.4 %
2. Okotoks, Alta.	46.7 %
3. Airdrie, Alta.	41.8 %
4. Brampton, Ont.	33.3 %
5. Saint-Lazare, Que.	32 %
6. Vaughan, Ont.	31.2 %
7. Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.	29.5 %
8. Blainville, Que.	29 %
9. Grande Prairie, Alta.	27.3 %
10. Whitby, Ont.	27.2 %

Top 10 Canadian communities (population 10,000 or more) that experienced the biggest population loss between 2001-06:

1. Kitimat, B.C.	-12.6 %
2. Prince Rupert, B.C.	-12.5 %
3. Quesnel, B.C.	-7.1 %
4. Terrace, B.C..	-6.5 %
5. La Tuque, Que.	-5.3 %
6. Edmundston, N.B..	-4.2 %
6. Queens, N.S.	-4.2 %
6. Kenora, Ont.	-4.2 %
9. North Battleford, Sask.	-3.7 %
9. Williams Lake, B.C.	-3.7 %

The population and growth rate of Canada’s 10 census metropolitan areas over the last five years:

Toronto	5,113,149	9.2 %
Montreal	3,635,571	5.3 %
Vancouver	2,116,581	6.5 %
Ottawa-Gatineau	1,130,761	5.9 %
Calgary	1,079,310	13.4 %
Edmonton	1,034,945	10.4 %
Quebec	715,515	4.2 %
Winnipeg	694,668	2.7 %
Hamilton	692,911	4.6 %
London, Ont.	457,720	5.1 %
Kitchener, Ont.	451,235	8.9 %

How to Clean Up the Coke Problem in Hollywood

An ad from German toilet cleaning company.

Dead Lady in House for 4 Years

Drug addicts were sharing a Bronx home with the owner's corpse for years, which was finally discovered after the property was sold in foreclosure.

Last a cleaning crew dispatched by a real-estate developer who bought the property discovered the body of Florence Bock, 84, who sources said had been dead for at least four years. The dilapidated, brick, one-family house had been purchased in a foreclosure auction after the owner failed to pay taxes for the last three years.

Last month, the mummified remains of a Long Island man were found in front of the TV set, which was still on. It seems that New York is just to place to live if you want to disappear and not be bothered.

Pastors at Evangelical Church Live Like Kings

Have you heard of the Prayer Palace? Nice name for an evangelical church (located in Toronto). Many of the 3,000 members of the congregation donate about 10% of their income to the church which comes out to around $3 million each year.


The Toronto Star has done an investigative piece on the church and it seems that Paul Melnichuk, patriarch of the Prayer Palace, and his twin sons, Tim and Tom, have amassed a fleet of fine cars and a pricey portfolio of fancy homes while doing little of the charity work their church claims to do. Between them, the pastors have amassed a real estate fortune worth about $12 million. Each owns a multi-million-dollar country estate north of Toronto (Tim's is worth as much as $5.5 million), they share a Florida vacation villa, and the pastors and their wives drive luxurious cars – among them a Porsche Cayenne SUV, a Lexus RX 330 SUV and a Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 convertible.


Looks like being a pastor pays well. The church cost $27 million to build and looks like a alien spaceship. Below are pictures of the church and the properties owned by the Melnichuks.

Prayer Palace in Toronto which opened in 2001.

The Melnichuk estate in King City just north of Toronto.

The Melnichuk's Florida villa.

Possible Fathers to Anna Nicole Smith's Baby

There appears to be a growing number of possible fathers which means the labs will going full tilt testing DNA samples. Here is the latest list:

Prince Frederic von Anhalt: Claims to have had a longtime affair with Anna Nicole Smith and may be the father of her baby daughter. Married to Zsa Zsa Gabor. Known for making outrageous statements about the advantages of being rich, laying claim to a German castle and suing Viagra for leaving him unable to have sex unless he takes the drug. Says he's 59; the German press puts him in his mid 70s. The compulsive liar and bullshitter. Can't be him.

Howard K. Stern: He was known to have spent a lot of time with Anna Nicole Smith — but few can agree on the definition or depth of their relationship. He was a lawyer to Smith, but he also claims to have been her lover and the father of her infant girl. He is 38. He likely got a mercy fuck so maybe?

J. Howard Marshall: Smith married 89 year old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall in 1994 but he died the following year. She has been embroiled in legal disputes associated with the estate. Anna Nicole's sister, Donna Hogan, says the her sister froze the 89-year-old's sperm and may have used it to get pregnant. Why can't it be a dead guy?

Larry Birkhead: Larry is a 34 year old photographer who met Smith in 2004. He has the support of Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, in his claim that he is the biological father of Smith's daughter.

Alexander Denk: Denk is an Austrian American actor and was the personal bodyguard of Anna Nicole Smith. He thinks it could be him. I think he's in the same class as Birkhead.

Mark Hatten: Hatten lived with Anna Nicole for two years and is currently serving time in prison after being convicted by a judge on a stalking charge against Anna Nicole. He has written letters to a television program claiming that he could be the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter. In the letters, Hatten also claims to have made a sex tape with Anna Nicole while they were together. This guys sounds so creepy that it could be the one.

Michael Jackson: Ummm. Maybe not. He's more white than the baby.

This is more interesting than the board game Clue.

Talk about development disputes

This family’s home located in Chongqing, central China, was left standing on its own island as the family refused to move out.

It all started when they refused to accept compensation to move and, while the row rumbled on, the bulldozers excavated the site around them. Rumoured to have government connections, the family is not expected to be forced out.

But I bet the mother-in-law isn't visiting too often.

He has my vote!

A Finnish member of parliament is aiming for re-election by campaigning with a translation of his Web site into Klingon, used in the TV series Star Trek.

Jyrki Kasvi said his politics posed some translation difficulties, since Klingon does not have words for matters such as tolerance, or for many colours, including green -- the party under whose banner he is running in the national elections on March 18.

Here is his website in Finnish, Swedish, Eglish and Klingon.

I seriously think that Hiliary Clinton should not overlook the Klingon vote.

Ambassador untied so he could be sent home

Israel has recalled its ambassador to El Salvador after he was found bound, drunk and nude, according to Israeli media reports confirmed Monday by a government spokeswoman. The longtime diplomat, Tsuriel Raphael, has been removed from his post and the Foreign Ministry has begun searching for a replacement, said ministry spokeswoman Zehavit Ben-Hillel.

Two weeks ago, El Salvador police found Raphael naked outside his residence, tied up, gagged and drunk, Israeli media reported. He was wearing several sex toys at the time, the media said. After he was untied, Raphael told police he was the ambassador of Israel, the reports said.

Maya to "cleanse" sacred site after Bush visit

Mayan leaders will spiritually "cleanse" ancient ruins in Guatemala after a visit by U.S.
President George W. Bush unpopular here because of foreign policies going back to Central America's civil wars.

Te director of a Mayan non-governmental organization said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace. He also said the rites — which entail chanting and burning incense, herbs and candles — would prepare the site for the third summit of Latin American Indians March 26-30.

I guess the White House will need quite the spring clean up when Bush moves out in 2009.

Therapy

I thought dreaming about Charlize Theron lying on a beach would make me feel better but then my phone rang.

Hate the Time Change

Got a splitting headache from getting up so early. I hope I make it through the day.

Movie Review - Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing

I knew nothing of the Dixie Chicks before the infamous 2003 remark because I don't listen to country music so watching the documentary didn't really tread over familiar territory. However, the film very effectively chronicled their fall and rise back to the top of the charts. You sense that the Dixie Chicks weren't very political but Natalie Maines had her reservations about going to war and just decided to speak her mind that day. What followed was something they would never had expected and in retrospect almost silly. But the ladies held their ground and were quite resilient as it turned out. I'm sure going through the experience must have toughened them up quite a bit.

But this is an extraordinary documentary by renowned filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Masterfully edited, the film combines footage the band made for its Web site and footage shot by Kopple over the last two years. The filmmakers are clearly in awe of the Chicks' fighting spirit. If you think Maines's original Bush remark was disrespectful, wait till you hear what she calls him here. Maines is not ready to make nice, and neither is this riveting documentary.

Retro Marketing: Bigger is Better

Nokia, who has developed a new Blackberry designed to keep people from using it while driving. A Nokia spokesman said that the added benefits include inability to get it into a movie theater, concert hall or library.

The screen is as bright as most ballpark scoreboards and can illuminate 20 yards of a football field. It features full LCD Hi-Def quality and resolution greater than most human eyes. When used in vibrate mode in testing, it dislodged several automobile lug nuts in a nearby parking garage.

The phone sells for $13,540. However, if consumers sign up for 2 years, it can be purchased for $29.95.

Headset not included.

James Brown Has Finally Been Put to Rest

James Brown died on Christmas Day, 76 days ago. He was finally buried yesterday in South Carolina surrounded by only his close family members and children. The hotness that is Tomi Rae Hynie and her son also attended. James' burial was put on hold, because Tomi claims she was married to him and he fathered her 5-year-old child. DNA on James had to be done before he was put to rest.

James' children are planning to turn his home into a Graceland-style museum.

This is most likely just the beginning in fighting over James' estate. Hynie was locked out of the home she shared with him and not given any money.

Fair and Balanced Reporting?

I guess one can't expect any better from Fox News but to portray the Scooter Libby four count guilty verdict as actually a not guilty verdict on one count is just a little too much misrepresentation for me.

Lets Just Split It

A 43-year-old German decided to settle his imminent divorce by chainsawing a family home in two and making off with his half in a forklift truck.

Police in the eastern town of Sonneberg said on Friday the trained mason measured the single-storey summer house -- which was 26 feet long and 19 feet wide -- before chainsawing through the wooden roof and walls.

"The man said he was just taking his due," said a police spokesman. "But I don't think his wife was too pleased."

After finishing the job, the man picked up his half with the forklift truck and drove to his brother's house where he has since been staying.

Another Mom of the Year

Renee Honnold, the mother of a 13-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly driving her son to a fight with another boy, then cheering him on as he struck his smaller opponent. Police say the mother shouted down another woman who tried to break up the fight across from a school on this week. A student caught the scene on video. She could be heard on the tape shouting, 'Hit him! Hit him!'
The two boys had gotten into an altercation earlier in the day and had agreed to meet after school to settle their difference.

I think this feisty lady should be sent to Iraq.

Lost in Translation

A Young Donald Trump?

Boring Class

Ontario Election Predictions

Ontario Election Predictions	15 FEB 2007
	LIB	PC	NDP	GRN	OTH
% SUPPORT	38.7%	34.5%	18.2%	5.0%	1.3%
TOTAL SEATS	53	42	12	0	0
2003 ELECTION	72	24	7	0	0

Source

With party nomination races starting to kick into gear, the Liberals hold a slight edge over the PCs, according to the latest DemocraticSPACE projections (important note: projections are not predictions. Based on a rolling weighted average of the last 5 polls (from Nov 26 to Feb 15), the Liberals are projected at 38.7% support, the PCs have 34.5%, the NDP has 18.2%, the Greens have 5.0% and all others have 1.3%. This translates into 53 seats for the Liberals (1 short of a majority), 42 for the PCs and 12 for the NDP.

Of Ontario’s 107 ridings, 29 (27%) are currently in our “too close too call” category (5% or less margin of victory) and 14 (13%) are in our “tight race” category (5-10% margin), making 43 ridings (40%) of the ridings competitive. The remaining 60% are currently considered safe seats. Some regions are more competitive than others — for example nearly three-quarters (16 of 22) in our Peel-Halton and York-Durham ridings are within 10%, setting up the 905 as the key battleground. By contrast, 9 of 11 Northern seats are currently safe (Nipissing and Algoma-Manitoulin are the two competitive ridings). Likewise 7 of 9 Central Ontario seats are currently safe (Peterborough and Northumberland are the two competitive ridings).