In the winter of 2002, with the federal budget stretched thin, President George W. Bush asked Congress to give back money that lawmakers had earmarked for local projects so it could be used instead to fund the Pell grant program, which helps needy students pay for college. One of the local projects that had drawn particularly harsh scrutiny was a $273,000 federal grant that U.S. Rep. Sam Graves had procured to study goth culture in Blue Springs, Missouri. "It's one of those priorities that my constituents asked me to fight for," Graves told an Associated Press reporter at the time.
The Sun Online - News: Tooting man is Hindu goddess
Topic: Society
3:46 pm EDT, Apr 2, 2007
JOBLESS Steve Cooper has found work at last — as an Indian GODDESS who thousands of Hindus believe can cure their infertility.
Pilgrims head to a remote jungle temple to be blessed by Steve, 32, from Tooting, South West London.
He places his third finger on the their foreheads and mutters: “The goddess is here”.
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A eunuch called Sudha said: “He is a fake. I checked and he still has a penis.
“He is a male so can’t be a goddess. He shouldn’t give blessings.” Steve, who has a tattoo of the goddess on his arm, just insisted: “I am both male and female.”
Bloody, satanic, amnesia case baffles Italian police | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
Topic: Society
11:11 am EDT, Apr 2, 2007
Police and prosecutors in northern Italy are wrestling with a mystery that brings together a man with memory loss, evidence of devil worship and a blood-drenched apartment.
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He has since been identified as a 22-year-old called Daniele - investigators have not released his surname - who, until recently, worked in a nearby factory. His family said his only real hobby was UFOs.
They told police that, last September, he had suddenly broken with his past. He had left his job and spent his savings, though his relation with his parents, whom he now says he cannot recognise, continued to seem normal.
Among the puzzles vexing investigators are how a man who had lost almost seven pints of blood could have made his way 70-odd miles across country - and what happened to him in the at least three days that he was missing.
Aliens must be using death metal for mind control. I think I finally understand people's fascination with power point.
Fence firm hired illegals - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
Topic: Society
3:31 pm EDT, Mar 30, 2007
The head of a California company hired by the U.S. government to help build a fence along the Southwest border to curb the flow of illegal aliens into the United States has been sentenced on charges of hiring illegals for the job.
There is a town in Austria called "Fucking." This Google map link shows that there are a number of Fucking roads there, and a quick fucking glance at the fucking satellite view shows a whole fucking lot of trees and farmland nearby. Fucking Link. (Thanks, Ken)
Summary: A retired chemist and food plant manager converted his car to run on a vegetable oil / diesel blend. He has used it this way for the last four years.
He gets a visit one morning at his home from agents of the Illinois Department of Revenue. He is being investigated for criminal activity.
Turns out, Illinois wants him to pay retroactive fuel taxes on the vegetable oil. They also want him to apply for a license to become a special fuel supplier as well as a special fuel receiver. He also has to pay a $2500 bond as insurance that his "business" will pay the taxes in the future.
The State also sent him a cease and desist letter, threatening him with felony charges if he continued to operate his vehicle without giving the State their cut and dancing their dance.
Thankfully, there is a State Senator taking up his cause, but this is just patently wrong on its face. Why send agents out to someone's house who is trying to do the right thing? Why use that Gestapo tactic? I hate seeing people being bullied like that.
Worth a read, article has some good points.
On first read, this seems too stupid to believe. This man is doing something that should be commended. Garage level innovation in alternative fuel sources is something that should be encouraged. Someone needs to look at the big picture here, and see that a stop is put to the harassment he and anyone else in his situation is receiving. This is a story that should be tracked.
