House for Sale, Comes With Wife

In a story that brings to mind the joke about the old man who advertised in a paper, "Looking for wife with a boat. Send picture of boat!" comes this fascinating story from Indonesia. I can't decide if she is using herself to sell the house, or the house to find a husband.

Realty ad says terms and conditions apply, and notes the offer is “for serious buyers and non-negotiable”

AFPPublished: 14:14 March 11, 2015Gulf News

The single mother’s only want, now is to meet her soulmate,
according to an ad posted online. Image Credit: Wina Lia

Sleman, Indonesia: An advert for a house in Indonesia has gone viral online after the woman selling it offered to throw in an unusual extra feature for free — her hand in marriage.

The internet ad reads for the most part like a regular house listing, saying that the single-storey property has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a parking space and a fish pond.

But it also proposes to buyers a “rare offer” - “when you buy this house, you can ask the owner to marry you”, alongside a picture of Wina Lia, a 40-year-old widow and beauty salon owner, leaning against a car in front of the house.

The ad said that terms and conditions apply, and notes the offer is “for serious buyers and non-negotiable”. The house in Sleman, on the island of Java, is on the market for 999 million rupiah (about $76,000 USD).

News of the offer quickly spread among internet users in social media-crazy Indonesia.

Boldies99, a user on popular online forum Kaskus, said Lia was “quite smart — even though the house will be sold, she will remain the owner.”

Lia said she was “shocked at the reaction”, as she had been overwhelmed by journalists coming to interview her, and even the police in the conservative, Muslim-majority country had been asking questions.

The police “came to verify the news as they consider it as an improper advertisement. But I explained to them that it was not my idea,” she said.

The mother of two explained that she had asked a friend who was a property agent to help her find a buyer — and in the process a husband — but she had expected him to pass on the news to a limited number of people, not put an ad online.

“I told a friend of mine who also works as property agent that if there is a buyer who is a single man or a widower who wants to buy a house, and at the same time look for a wife, he can let me know as I’m also a widow,” she said.

She added that there was only one potential buyer, who had visited on Wednesday, but refused to give further details.

So delightful that she has the sense of humour to roll with it rather than bursting a gut. I expect she will get offers from all over the planet now.

France Shaken Up by Zemmour and 'New Reactionaries', and It's About Time

Finally French philosophers are waking up and speaking out about the desperate condition of their country. It will become an Islamic state within the next generation and ethnic French will disappear in diaspora. Is it too late to fix? Probably, but at least they are beginning to talk about it.

Eric Zemmour is scorned by the French establishment
but says he has been adopted by the people

There is a new intellectual force in France - giving shape and weight to ideas that challenge the disastrous post-1968 left-wing consensus.

That at least is the hope of the so-called neo-reactionnaires (new reactionaries) - a loose group of writers and thinkers who want to shake up debate on issues like immigration, Islam and national identity.

Of course others see the group rather differently.

For their enemies they are rabble-rousers, providing spurious philosophical cover for the extremism of the National Front (FN).

Most famous of the exponents is journalist Eric Zemmour, whose new book French Suicide reads like a desperate cavalry charge, sabre aloft, into the massed ranks of the progressives.

Seizing popular culture
Zemmour is scorned by most of the Paris establishment but his book is a runaway bestseller. To date it has sold 400,000 copies.

"The big divide today is between the elite and the people," he tells me at Le Figaro newspaper's headquarters, where he works.

"And that is why my book has done so well. Because I have become a kind of representative of the people. They have adopted me. They say that what I write is what they think."

Zemmour is a small, slight man, whose timid air quickly vanishes when he warms to his theme. He has the intellectual confidence and volubility of the school swot, and is probably inured to the swot's unpopularity.

Philosopher Alain Finkielkraut was nearly blackballed
for his views on national identity

Ironically, Zemmour's inspiration is not some right-winger but Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci wrote that for the left to win, it had first to take over popular culture.

And that, according to Zemmour, has indeed been the French left's greatest achievement.

"First of all there were the deconstructionist philosophers of the 1960s, who said that everything was social and therefore artificial.

"Then that philosophy was carried into the national bloodstream via the intermediary of derision. The greatest example is our comic Coluche.

"With his amazing talent, Coluche undermined the structures of French society - nation, family, police. When he ran for the presidency in 1981, he was supported by the well-known deconstructionist philosophers. That says it all."

Packages of rice are displayed in front of a picture of late French comic
Coluche at a food  distribution centre for the "Les Restos du Coeur"
 (Restaurants of the Heart) in Paris on 24 November 2014.
The late French comic Coluche was a presidential candidate in the early 80s

"So after deconstruction, and then derision, we are now in the phase of destruction. It is what I call the three Ds," he says.

But isn't "destruction" putting it a bit strongly? After all, France is still standing tall among the nations. Just about.

"Not at all. The sovereignty of the nation has disappeared. The state no longer has the power to revive the economy, or to defend our borders. The state is powerless.

"There are parts of France which feel like a different continent today. There are neighbourhoods which are completely Muslim - in their appearance, in their shops, in their tradition.

"And at the same time we have the constant process of Americanisation. Our budget is controlled by Brussels. We have no currency. Our army has to follow Washington's orders.

"That is what I mean by destruction."

'Another people's history'
Other well-known figures in the movement include philosopher Alain Finkielkraut. Formerly identified with the political left, he was nearly blackballed this year from the prestigious Academie Francaise because of his writings on national identity.

Renaud Camus lost his literary support base after
he vowed to vote for the far-right FN party

More controversial is aesthete and prolific writer Renaud Camus, who lives in self-imposed isolation in a 14th-Century fortress in the wilds of Gascony.

Camus was ostracised from French literary society after he said he would vote for the far-right's Marine Le Pen at the last election. Lacking a publisher, he now produces his own books.

"It's absurd, because in most things there is nothing right wing about me. But I just happen to think that today's immigration is the most important thing to have happened to France - ever," he says.

Gascony castle - the 14th-Century fortress from where 

Mr Camus writes and produces his books

"It is what I call 'le grand remplacement' - the great replacement. If there is a new population in France, then we will no longer have our own history. It will be another people's history, and another people's civilisation."

Camus strongly resists charges that he is racist.

"Of course I have been called a racist. I have given up fighting it. I do not see myself as one. I don't think I am unfair about other races. I do not seek to judge.

"But I do think that ethnic belonging is an important factor in the history of the world. It would be absurd to pretend otherwise.

"France has been very good at integrating individuals. But you cannot integrate whole peoples. If immigrants come from a different civilisation which they have no particular interest in abandoning, then they will be representative of that civilisation."

Outsiders and insiders
Back in Paris, a new magazine called Causeur has been created to disseminate the views of the "neo-reactionnaires".

Founders Gil Mihaely and Elizabeth Levy say that mainstream publications are too scared to discuss issues such as immigration and national identity.

"France has had a very troubled history. And all that troubled past is still alive in people's minds today," says Mihaely.

"It means that people instinctively feel they have to be very careful what they say - or it could end in violence.

"But by not talking about real issues like immigration, we drove people to voting for the extremes. It is far healthier to broaden the spectrum of debate, which is what we are doing."

While disowning any claim to belong to a new school of thought, Mihaely draws parallels with the recent history of French philosophy.

"In the late 1970s we had what became known as the 'nouveaux philosophes' (new philosophers). These were people like Bernard Henri-Levy, who broke away from the Sartre-inspired establishment because they could see the reality of totalitarianism in China and Russia.

"They saw a new reality, and realised they had to change their thinking. The same is happening now.

"Today there are thinkers who can see today's new reality: the Arab world, our immigration neighbourhoods, Islam. And they realise they have to change their ideas."

No allegiance claimed
The term "neo-reactionnaire" is an exonym. In other words it is a description applied to the group by outsiders. Insiders say they come from both camps - right and left.

"The big division today is over the nation state," says Mihaely. "Is the state's historic role finished, or is it still a major actor in the political, anthropological and cultural arenas?"

"The question is not if you are left or right but if you believe in the nation."

France's far-right National Front (FN) leader Marine Le Pen speaks during the
launch of the new FN youth movement (FNJ) campaign in Nanterre 8 Dec 2014.
None of the "neo-reactionnaires" has pledged allegiance
to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front

"Our position is that the nation is still the only framework in which politics has any meaning. It is the only arena in which things can get done, where people can vote for change and change happens."

None of the neo-reactionnaires - not even Camus - claims allegiance to the FN. Many of them are Jewish.

Nonetheless they stand accused, by expressing such strong views on Islam, identity and the nation, of promoting the cause of the far right.

Zemmour says he is fed up with being asked about the FN.

"Can't they understand that the FN is not a cause, it is a consequence. It is a consequence of the disintegration of France.

"People vote for the FN to say to their elites, 'Stop doing what you are doing!' But they never do.

"It was Stalin who first realised how effective it was to turn the enemy into a fascist. That is what they are doing to us today."

Look-out PGA, Abbotsford's Here

Adam Hadwin

Forgive me a little self-indulgence as I brag a bit for a couple of great guys from my city.

Last year there were only 5 Canadians on the PGA Tour; this year, 2014/15, there are eight. Two of them are from the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia, where I live.

Congratulations to Adam Hadwin, who won the most money on the Web.com Tour (which feeds the PGA), and thereby won full-exemption for this year. On the Official World Golf Rankings, Adam moved from 622 at the end of 2013 to 170 today.

Nick Taylor

A big congratulations goes to Nick Taylor, who barely made the Web.com Tour for 2014, then barely made the playoffs, then barely made enough money to get his limited PGA Tour card.

On just his 4th tournament as a PGA member, Nick won the Sanderson Farms Championship, becoming the first Canadian-born player to win a PGA event since Mike Weir in 2007. As a result of that win, Taylor now gets a 2-year exemption, meaning he will not have to qualify for any PGA event for two years. Nick ended 2013 at 718 on the OWGR and has jumped to 210 today.

Roger Sloan

Both men are from Abbotsford, and, most likely played a lot of golf at Ledgeview one of the toughest courses I have ever played with its long, narrow fairways and frequent side-hill lies. For duffers like me, it's a monster. For young guys like Nick and Adam it's great training ground.

The third graduate from the Wen.com Tour to the PGA is Roger Sloan, from Calgary, Alberta. They join Graham Delaet, David Hearn, Mike Weir, and Trinidad-born Canadian Stephen Ames, who was actually the last Canadian to win a PGA event which he did in 2009.

'Candidates Needed for Labour Party, IQ Optional'

Like any left wing political party, Britain’s Labour party attracts some somewhat outrageous people as candidates for election. Right wing parties have the same affliction.

But in Britain this week a few Labour Party candidates stood out among their peers, making it obvious that having an IQ at all is optional to be a Labour Party candidate.

Jed Sullivan, the Labour candidate for Fylde, Lancashire, was scolded for quipping about gay people, women and Liverpudlians on Twitter.

A post dating from June 2012 said: “I’m all for gay adoption, gay men would make brilliant dads. They know where all the best parks are.”

Remember, this is the Labour Party which supports gay rights. 

He had also joked: “Today is International Women’s Day. It was supposed to be yesterday but they took too long to get ready” and: “Just got the scouse (Liverpool English or Merseyside English) version of Cluedo (Clue). It was all of them.”

Prospective parliamentary candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd in Wales, Mary Griffiths Clarke, likened the Conservative Party to the Nazis.

Ms Griffiths Clarke, whose Twitter bio says “Animal Farm was a warning, not a roadmap”, told her followers: “The Nazis gassed their victims, this government are pushing disabled to kill themselves. It HAS to stop.”

The candidate winning the ‘least likely to have an IQ’ award is Vicky Kirby. According to the Sunday Times, Labour’s candidate for Woking, said Hitler might be the “Zionist God”, in a series of comments made on her Twitter account.

She is reported to have posted: “We invented Israel when saving them from Hitler, who now seems to be their teacher,” while another said: “I will never forget and I will make sure my kids teach their children how evil Israel is!”

Another tweet read: “Apparently you can ask IS/ISIS/ISIL questions onask.fm. Anyone thought of asking them why they’re not attacking the real oppressors #Israel?” She would seriously prefer the murderous, genocidal IS to the democratic state of Israel? I'm not sure this woman should be allowed out in public, let alone run as a candidate for parliament. 'Stupid beyond belief' comes to mind, but may be less than adequate a term to describe her.

A party Spokesperson told The Independent: “Vicki Kirby has been suspended as a Labour candidate. Jed Sullivan and Mary Griffiths Clark have apologised for any offence they have caused and have been reminded of their responsibilities as Labour candidates.”

Jed Sullivan deleted his Twitter account.

German Scientists at Prestigious University Prove There is Life After Death

I wouldn't normally post stories like this, but since it came from what appears to be a very reliable source, I'm making an exception. Technische Universität of Berlin, or Berlin Technical University was founded in 1879 and has produced no less than 10 Nobel Prize winners.

None of the major news networks are reporting it, but Sunnewsonline, IndiaToday, and dozens of lesser sites. I can't swear to it's integrity, but I'm making it available anyway. So treat it with skepticism until there is more verification or debunking.

Near-death experiences have been hypothesized in various medical journals
in the past, as having the characteristics of hallucinations, but Dr Ackermann
and his team, on the contrary, consider them as evidence for the existence
of the afterlife and of a form of dualism between mind and body.

Berlin| A team of psychologists and medical doctors associated with the Technische Universität of Berlin, have announced this morning that they had proven by clinical experimentation, the existence of some form of life after death. This astonishing announcement is based on the conclusions of a study using a new type of medically supervised near-death experiences, that allow patients to be clinically dead for almost 20 minutes before being brought back to life.

Technische Universität of Berlin

This controversial process that was repeated on 944 volunteers (where did they find them?) over the last four years, necessitates a complex mixture of drugs including epinephrine and dimethyltryptamine, destined to allow the body to survive the state of clinical death and the reanimation process without damage. The body of the subject was then put into a temporary comatic state induced by a mixture of other drugs which had to be filtered by ozone from his blood during the reanimation process 18 minutes later. American death penalty administrators are you reading this?

The extremely long duration of the experience was only recently made possible by the development of a new cardiopulmonary recitation (CPR) machine called the AutoPulse. This type of equipment has already been used over the last few years, to reanimate people who had been dead for somewhere between 40 minutes to an hour.

Dr Berthold Ackermann Technische Universität of Berlin

The team of scientists led by Dr Berthold Ackermann, has monitored the operations and have compiled the testimonies of the subjects. Although there are some slight variations from one individual to another, all of the subjects have some memories of their period of clinical death and a vast majority of them described some very similar sensations.

Most common memories include a feeling of detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of an overwhelming light.
The scientists say that they are well aware that many of their conclusions could shock a lot of people, like the fact that the religious beliefs of the various subjects seems to have held no incidence at all, on the sensations and experiences that they described at the end of the experiment. Indeed, the volunteers counted in their ranks some members are a variety of Christian churches, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and atheists. Fascinating!

“I know our results could disturb the beliefs of many people” says Mr Ackermann. “But in a way, we have just answered one of the greatest questions in the history of mankind, so I hope these people will be able to forgive us. Yes, there is life after death and it looks like this applies to everyone.”

India Police Charge Toddler for 'Coercion and Intimidation'

Two policemen are to be suspended for charging a one-year-old child with "coercion" ahead of a by-election in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

A police report noted that "10-12-month-old Nazim", and his father Yasin, could disrupt the peace of the poll.

Police often prepare lists of potential trouble-makers and criminals ahead of local elections and send them to the relevant authorities and courts.

Correspondents say the incident has caused outrage in the area.

Senior police official Gulab Singh told BBC Hindi's Salman Ravi that policemen in the Thakurdwara police station in Moradabad had filed the report.

Scottish Garden, Moradabad, India

"We have already initiated departmental proceedings against the concerned police officials who are to be suspended by this [Thursday] evening," Mr Singh said.

"It is now clear that the police officials did not visit the area and prepared their report on just hearsay without verifying facts. We have taken the matter very seriously and are ensuring such incidents do not happen in the future."

In 2011, a five-year-old boy in Bihar state was charged with disrupting the peace during village council elections.

Police later said it was a case of mistaken identity and they meant to charge his elder brother with disorderly conduct.

And in 2006, the Bihar police charged a six-year-old girl with attacking them and helping her father escape from police custody.

This was despite the fact that under Indian law, the police cannot file a criminal case against a child below seven years of age.

I guess we can't count on any rocket scientists coming out of the ranks of India's police force.

Every Man in North Korea Must Get Kim Jong Un Haircut

This story is quite possibly untrue, but a fun read anyway.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un just amped up his capacity for hair-raising hilarity.

From now on, according to the Korea Times, when men in the Hermit Kingdom slide into the barber chair, they are only allowed to have one ’do done: the “Dear Leader Kim Jong Un.”

Kim Jong Un

Kim’s hairdo lockdown means that men have gone from 10 approved styles to one. (Update: Some North Korea experts have challenged the veracity of the story.) 

Now, a young fella like Kim can get away with his unconventional look. The sides of the head are buzzed while the top of the head is a mop of sometimes centrally parted hair. But it’s guaranteed to look hideous on everyone else, especially since it screams, “I lost a bet.” Also, that Kim has a secret police and a propensity for cold-blooded murder of the disloyal means resistance is futile.

But never fear, Ladies of the Hermit Kingdom! Your 18 approved ’dos remain in effect, including distinctions between the coiffeurs of the married and the unmarried. “This also has the useful effect of establishing whether a woman is married or not at a glance,” the Taiwan-based Want China Times website cleverly reported last year. “If you like it, then you should have put some curlers in it, to paraphrase Beyonce.”

Pope’s Peace Doves Viciously Attacked by Seagull and Large Black Crow

Oh my gosh, this cannot be a good sign!

Two white doves that were released by children standing alongside Pope Francis as a peace gesture have been attacked by other birds.

As tens of thousands of people watched in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, a seagull and a large black crow swept down on the doves right after they were set free from an open window of the Apostolic Palace.

One dove lost some feathers as it broke free from the gull. But the crow pecked repeatedly at the other dove.

It was not clear what happened to the doves as they flew off.

While speaking at the window beforehand, Francis had appealed for peace in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters have died.

Barefoot College Trains Illiterate Grandmas as Solar Electrical Engineers

Here is a terrific idea:

Dr. Sanjit “Bunker” Roy told us about Barefoot College he founded. Dr. Roy travels to the least-developed countries and selects grandmothers who will study in India for six months and return to their communities as solar electricity engineers.

To be considered for enrollment the grandmothers must be illiterate and from remote communities that do not have electricity. They are taught by illiterate instructors and return home transformed into “tigers,” able to electrify their whole village with solar panels. “They know how to fabricate, install, repair, and maintain community solar electrical systems.”

Dr. Roy explained the philosophy behind the Barefoot College. “If you want to change the quality of life of very poor people anywhere in the world, it is important that you take the communities into confidence. Never underestimate the power of poor people who don’t know how to read and write — they are capable of miracles.”  The News, Mexico.

From Barefoot College.org

The Barefoot College encourages rural people to gain practical knowledge and skills.

Himalayan mountain villages suffer severe winters with temperatures dropping to -40°C, and just six hours of daylight. Kerosene lamps provide lighting, but only for those who can afford kerosene and can walk to buy it. The 2003 Ashden award to the Barefoot College recognised its achievement in training semi-literate villagers as ‘Barefoot Solar Engineers’ (BSEs), to install and maintain solar photovoltaic lighting systems in their communities.

– Both fixed solar home systems (SHS), and solar lanterns provided.
– Project works on a community basis. At the start, community must form an Energy and Environment Committee with at least 30% women.
– Committee decides the monthly payment each family must make for their solar lighting system. Payments cover the cost of maintaining the systems.
– Committee choses men and women from the poorest families to train as BSEs.
– BSEs have 3-6 months training at the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan. Training covers installation, maintenance and repair of home solar lighting systems, solar water heaters, solar vegetable driers and solar cookers.
– College buys photovoltaic modules, batteries and materials, and the BSEs make other components of the solar systems.
– Six other rural workshops have been established elsewhere in the Himalayas.
– Committee collects monthly payments, checks that families maintain systems, and monitors the work of the BSEs.
– Less reliance on kerosene reduces air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.
– Improved light gives the opportunity for study, relaxation and work.
– Solar water heaters means that water no longer freezes in the cold winters.
– Vegetable driers and spinning wheels generate much needed employment and income.

Update
– By 2009, a total of 472 Barefoot Solar Engineers had been trained, in India, other parts of Asia and Africa.
– By 2009, about 20,000 solar lighting systems and 65 solar water heating systems installed in 753 villages, as well as vegetable driers and spinning wheels.

The Barefoot College was established in 1972 with the aim of encouraging people to gain practical knowledge and skills rather than achieving paper qualifications. It runs housing, environment, health, education and income generation projects. Training, equipment and other project costs are funded by grants from national and local governments, and international donors, and a US$1.5 million of carbon finance has also been secured. In 2009 the Barefoot College employed 27 people on its renewable energy programme.

“I now look back at my childhood where I always dreamt of doing something big for my society. My mother laughed at me. Now my family and even the village elders respect me and value my contributions.” 
Ritma, a Barefoot Solar Engineer

Mandela Service Ruined for Deaf People Around the World

A man who appeared to provide sign language interpretation on stage for Nelson Mandela's memorial service, attended by scores of heads of state, was a "fake," the national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa said on Wednesday.

The man, shown at Tuesday's memorial, also did sign interpretation at an event last year
that was attended by South African President Jacob Zuma, (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

The scandal over the interpreter is another indication of bad organization of the historic memorial service at a huge soccer stadium on Tuesday. Other difficulties included public transportation breakdowns which hindered mourners from getting to the event and a faulty audio system that prevented many of the tens of thousands in the stadium from hearing the leaders's speeches. In an apparent security failure, police did not search the first wave of crowds arriving at the stadium.

The unidentified man seen around the world on television next to leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama "was moving his hands around but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for," Bruno Druchen, the federation's national director, told The Associated Press.

Collins Chabane, one of South Africa's two presidency ministers, said the government is investigating the matter but has not finished yet because it has been overwhelmed with work organizing public viewing of Mandela's body in the South African capital of Pretoria and his funeral Sunday in his hometown of Qunu. He added the "government will report publicly on any information it may establish."

No known sign language

Four sign language experts, including Druchen, said the man was not signing in South African or American sign languages and could not have been signing in any other known sign language because there was no structure to his arm and hand movements. South African sign language covers all of the country's 11 official languages, according to the federation.

Ingrid Parkin, principal of the St. Vincent School for the Deaf in Johannesburg, said she's received complaints from the deaf community from Canada to China about the man on stage and that his movements look "like he's signing gibberish." He also used no facial expression to convey the emotions of the leaders, a key element of sign language interpretation.

"This man himself knows he cannot sign and he had the guts to stand on an international stage and do that," Parkin said.

'Only he can understand those gestures.' - Nicole Du Toit

Nicole Du Toit, an official sign language interpreter who also watched the broadcast, said in a telephone interview that the man on stage purporting to sign was an embarrassment.

"It was horrible, an absolute circus, really, really bad," she said. "Only he can understand those gestures."

The man also did sign interpretation at an event last year that was attended by South African President Jacob Zuma, Druchen said. At that appearance, a deaf person in the audience videotaped the event and gave it to the federation for the deaf, which analyzed the video, prepared a report about it and a submitted a formal complaint to the ANC, Druchen said.

In their complaint, the federation suggested that the man should take the five years of training needed to become a qualified sign language interpreter in South Africa. But the ANC never responded, Druchen said.

Druchen said a fresh complaint will be filed to the ANC about the interpreter he called a "fake" with a demand for an urgent meeting.

"We want to make a statement that this is a warning to other sign language interpreters who are fake and go about interpreting," Druchen said. "I am hoping the South African government will take notice of this."

Bogus sign language interpreters are a problem in South Africa, because people who know a few signs try to pass themselves off as interpreters, said Parkin, the principal of the school for the deaf. And those hiring them usually don't sign, so they have no idea that the people they are hiring cannot do the job, she said.

"They advertise themselves as interpreters because they know 10 signs and they can make some quick money," said Parkin. "It is plain and simple abuse of the deaf community, they are taking advantage of the deaf community to make money."

Topless Hairstyling? What next?

A woman who allegedly offered topless hairstyling services in northern Colorado, USA, faces criminal charges. But police say the problem isn't cutting hair without a top. It's cutting hair without a licence.

The Longmont Times-Call reports 46-year old Suzette Hall was arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of practising cosmetology without a license.

Suzette Hall

Hall's former partner says she advertised $45 topless haircuts online.

According to the arrest warrant, the former partner called police about the topless styling because she "did not believe this was safe or proper."

Police weren't able to turn up any Craigslist ads.

Hall's ex-husband told police she set up shop in Loveland and offered services as "Rebel Barber." He told police she applied for "a nude license for hairstylists," but no such license exists.

I'm thinking, I would pay a premium for her to keep her clothes on.

The Rob and Doug MacK... I mean, Ford, Show. Featuring Today's Apologies

Mayor Ford admitted today that he wants to be Prime Minister. It appears that the king-sized man has an ego to match. Perhaps his ambition is the reason he holds on so long. One suspects that he believes that if people could just see what a brilliant administrator he is, they will forgive him his niggily little problems. After all, he did say he was sorry; doesn't that make everything alright? 

After all, there's nothing wrong here that a bucket of mussels and a case of beer won't solve.

Toronto city council voted by a wide margin on Monday to slash the budget of embattled Mayor Rob Ford — a dramatic move that followed a raucous day in the council chambers that left the mayor promising that next year’s municipal election will be "outright war."

Ford spoke to Toronto city council late Monday afternoon, just minutes before his colleagues began voting on a series of motions that sought to — and did — further reduce his powers as mayor.

In a series of votes that occurred just after 5 p.m. ET, council voted in favour of reallocating the budget of his office, transferring administration of that budget to his deputy, and giving his deputy responsibility over Ford’s staff, among other measures.

Those measures came just three days after council previously voted overwhelmingly in favour of stripping the mayor of his ability to appoint and dismiss the deputy mayor and key committee members. In a separate vote, they also removed his ability to exercise emergency powers.

Moments before council began voting on Monday, Ford warned his colleagues that if they voted to restrict his powers, there would be repercussions in the coming election.

"If you vote in favour of any of these motions, you are absolutely telling everybody that voted in the last municipal election that their vote does not count," he said. Ford then went on to compare the situation at council to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

"Well folks, if you think American-style politics is nasty, you guys have just attacked Kuwait and … mark my words, friends, this is going to be outright war in the next election and I’m going to do everything in my power, everything in my power to beat you guys."

The 44-year-old Ford is three years into his term as mayor. The next municipal election is still nearly a year away.

Earlier Monday, the mayor demanded to know whether Coun. John Filion, who tabled the motion that sought to restrict Ford's powers, was aware the council could not "impeach or remove its elected mayor" and if that is what he wanted to see happen. "Mayor Ford, my preference was that you not place us in this position," Filion said.

As his fellow councillors voted to further restrict Mayor Rob Ford's powers on Monday, he warned them that next year's election will be an outright war. "What’s before us is what council can legitimately do."

The mayor’s brother complained that they did not receive adequate notice of the changes to the motion.
"Do you know when we ended up getting this motion? Twenty-six minutes before the meeting," he said.

Soon after the Ford brothers spoke, the council speaker called for a 10-minute recess, during which time the mayor went to the front row of the public gallery to talk to people sitting there and to pose for some pictures.
While some in the gallery appeared to support the mayor, others were yelling at him and his brother, Coun. Doug Ford. 

Rob Ford’s driver appeared to be filming some of those interactions with a smartphone and Coun. Shelley Carroll was, in turn, filming the bodyguard and the mayor.

During that same break, the mayor quickly accelerated toward a section of the viewing gallery and ended up bumping into Coun. Pam McConnell and she nearly hit the ground.

When the council meeting resumed, Coun. Paula Fletcher asked the mayor if he knew that McConnell had suffered "a swollen lip" during the collision. "I ran around because I thought my brother was getting into an altercation," Ford said. "I apologized and then I picked her up, I do apologize."

Fletcher disagreed with the mayor’s characterization that he picked up McConnell, saying she believed that the mayor's staff helped pick up McConnell.

"It was a complete accident, I do sincerely apologize to you, Coun. McConnell," Ford said, after first attempting to apologize to "anybody that I offended when I rushed to my brother’s defence."

On Monday evening, McConnell told CBC's Power & Politics that she isn’t clear on what the mayor was thinking when he crashed into her. "It was surreal, it was as if he didn’t even see me, or as if his adrenaline had overcome his thought processes," McConnell said.

Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, wanted to see a snap election called, a scenario that he said would allow Toronto residents to show whether or not they support their embattled mayor. "Folks, this will make it very clear who the people of Toronto support," he said.

Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti questioned why it would be necessary to have an election in all municipal wards, rather than one that solely involves the mayor. "It is the mayor that has brought us to this point," Mammoliti said.

Doug Ford's motion was ruled out of order by the speaker. The call for a potential snap election was not greeted enthusiastically at Queen’s Park.

"It's not something we're considering at the moment," Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey told reporters. "We're not considering changing the electoral period that members sit. It's not something we're contemplating."

Tim Hudak, the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, said the province should consider taking action if Toronto’s council indicates that it cannot function.

The motion from Coun. Ford came hours after he repeated his pledge to fight council's actions in court.

"This is a modern-day overthrow of an elected official. This is wrong," he told reporters. "This is what you see in Third World nations …​ This is a modern-day coup d'état."

Coun. Ford added that the mayor is getting professional help and has not had any alcohol for three weeks.

On the weekend, Ford appeared prepared to press forward at city hall, no matter what council did on Monday. "I'm going to continue to fight for the little guy. I'm going to continue to save taxpayers money. And if the councillors want to strip all my powers, that's up to them," Ford told the U.S.-based Fox News.

He keeps using the most unfortunate terms like 'little guy'.

Ford also taped an interview with CNN, during which he mingled with supporters in a neighbourhood in Etobicoke — the Toronto suburb where he served as a city councillor before being elected mayor, and where he still lives — and repeated his claims he has been unfairly targeted by the media. Things turned testy, however, when Ford was pressed about his initial denial, and eventual admission, of drug use.

"Typical media, you're all the same, cut from the same cloth," he told CNN's Bill Weir.

Coun. Ford, standing nearby, tried to get his brother to calm down.

Mayor Ford apparently cursed during the interview — a seeming echo of last week's gaffe, the use of a profane expression during a media scrum — though his exact words were bleeped out. He immediately apologized for swearing in the presence of children. 

It has been an extraordinary month for Ford, who has admitted to having smoked crack cocaine and to having purchased illegal drugs, both while serving as mayor. Ford has also apologized for "mistakes," some of which were alcohol-related. So far, he has resisted all calls for him to either take a leave of absence, or step down.

In other related news, on Monday, a judge dismissed an application to view the video by one of three young men who stand beside Ford in a now-famous photo.

Last week, Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer viewed the video and on Monday ruled against Muhammad Khattak's motion to view it. Khattak's lawyer, who says his client does not appear in the alleged crack video, had argued that news reports about the scandal have harmed his client's reputation.

Khattak is one of three alleged gang members who appear with Ford in a photo that was distributed by people trying to sell the video. In that photo, Khattak stands beside Ford and two other men outside what police information describes as a crack house.

Khattak was arrested in June during a series of police raids called Project Traveller that targeted suspected gun and drug traffickers. Khattak is charged with drug trafficking and participating in a gang.

Churches Using Beer to Attract New Members

In an attempt to combat dwindling attendance levels and add new members to their shrinking congregations, some churches in the U.S. are starting to think outside the box -- by embracing the bottle.

I guess this is what happens when the Holy Spirit is not present and active in your church. When He is, he draws people to the church. When you have to use beer to draw people to the church, it's time to revisit your relationship with the Lord.

Church-in-a-pub is a Forth Worth, Texas congregation that enjoys craft beer with Sunday evening services. The meetings are described as "salvation and everlasting life with really good beer." 

NPR reports that the Lutheran service attracts 30-40 parishioners each week at a local brew pub, where they order pizza and pints of beer and then have church — communion included.

"I find the love, I find the support, I find the non-judgmental eyes when I come here," said 28-year-old church member Leah Stanfield to NPR. "And I find friends that love God, love craft beer."

Forget Rob Ford, Remember Mel Lastman?

The mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, is under some pressure to step down because of his admission of using crack while in office. His hilarious defense was that he was in a drunken stupor at the time. That's a lot better. 

Rob Ford

The things he says in press conferences are just mind-blowing. Like after his admission of using crack, he said he felt 1000 pounds lighter. One look at Rob Ford and that doesn't even need a punch line.

But we should hardly be shocked by Rob Ford; Toronto has a history of electing whacky mayors. Remember Mel Lastman, Mayor of Toronto from 1997-2003? Here is what Wikipedia has to say about him:

Having adopted the nickname "the Bad Boy" for himself and developed Bad Boy Furniture into a chain of stores around the Toronto area. "Bad Boy" Lastman was associated with many publicity stunts, including travelling to the Arctic in the 1960s to "sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo."

In 1993, Lastman saw Clinton impersonator Tim Waters on television, and shortly afterwards contacted him and arranged for a commercial to be shot. The commercial featured Waters dressed as Clinton delivering the classic Nooooooobody! line. While merely a mildly amusing commercial to most of the viewing public, Lastman's move attracted attention, as he soon received a letter from the White House requesting that he "cease and desist all unauthorized use of the likeness of the President of the United States of America in advertising of commercial services and products". Lastman refused to stop airing the commercials, and even produced several more, featuring both Waters and a Hillary Clinton impersonator. "Last time I checked," Lastman quipped, "this was Canada, not the 51st state."

Lastman gained national attention after multiple snowstorms, including the Blizzard of 1999, dumped 118 cm of snow and effectively closed the city.[3] He proceeded to have the Canadian Forces (Army) aid in helping to shovel snow, and use their equipment to augment police and emergency services.

In June 2001, shortly before leaving for Mombasa, Kenya to support Toronto's bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics, he jokingly said to a reporter "What the hell do I want to go to a place like Mombasa?... I'm sort of scared about going out there, but the wife is really nervous. I just see myself in a pot of boiling water with all these natives dancing around me." The remarks sparked a firestorm of controversy, with much speculation that they would offend African IOC members and endanger Toronto's bid. Lastman apologized profusely for those remarks. IOC Vice-President Dick Pound later stated that the comments did not affect the outcome of the bid.

In January 2002, Lastman was ridiculed for hugging and shaking hands with members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang when they held a convention in Toronto. Lastman later claimed that he didn't know that the Hells Angels were involved in selling illegal drugs.

During the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) crisis, Lastman did an interview on CNN. When he was asked what the World Health Organization was doing about the crisis, Lastman replied "They don't know what they're talking about. I don't know who this group is. I've never heard of them before."

After his wife Marilyn was caught shoplifting from an Eaton's store in Toronto, he threatened to kill CITY-TV reporter Adam Vaughan unless he stopped reporting on his family.

During his reign as mayor, Lastman and his wife held a surprise news conference announcing that he had a 14 year long extramarital affair with Grace Louie, a former Bad Boy employee. Louie, along with her two sons by Lastman, sued for 6 million dollars claiming that they were his illegitimate children but had not received sufficient child support. Lastman denied responsibility for the two children and successfully fought them off when they tried to claim a share of his estate, although it was already revealed that he was indeed their father.

To be fair, he did accomplish some things. Among his accomplishments as mayor of Toronto, Lastman brought World Youth Day to Toronto in 2002. He also succeeded in pushing the construction of the TTC Sheppard line, the first new subway line in decades. He played a key role in the negotiations that had the Empress Walk condominium complex developed and two leading schools refurbished, all without using public funds.

Gender 'Indeterminate'?

In the black and white world of evangelical Christians, this phenomena does not fit well. We believe that all life is created by God, and that God makes no mistakes; and yet, how does one explain this?

One can't help but think that it is better to wait and see how the child develops before making a decision, if indeed, a decision is possible.

Germany has become Europe's first country to allow babies with characteristics of both sexes to be registered as neither male nor female.

Parents are now allowed to leave the gender blank on birth certificates, in effect creating a new category of "indeterminate sex".

The move is aimed at removing pressure on parents to make quick decisions on sex assignment surgery for newborns. However, some campaigners say the new law does not go far enough.

As many as one in 2,000 people have characteristics of both sexes.

They are known as "intersex" people because they have a mixture of male and female chromosomes or even genitalia which have characteristics of both genders.

The intense difficulty for parents is often that a gender has to be chosen very quickly so that the new child can be registered with the authorities, the BBC's Steve Evans in Berlin reports. Sometimes surgery is done on the baby to turn its physical characteristics as far as possible in one direction or the other, our correspondent says.

The law in Germany has been changed following a review of cases which revealed great unhappiness.

In one case, a person with no clear gender-defining genitalia was subjected to surgery. The person said many years later: "I am neither a man nor a woman. I will remain the patchwork created by doctors, bruised and scarred."

German passports, which currently list the holder's sex as M for male or F for female, will have a third designation, X, for intersex holders, according to the interior ministry.

It remains unclear what impact the change will have on marriage and partnership laws in Germany.

Current laws define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and civil partnerships are reserved for same-sex couples.

Silvan Agius of IGLA-Europe, which campaigns for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people, said the law needed to go further. "While on the one hand it has provided a lot of visibility about intersex issues... it does not address the surgeries and the medicalisation of intersex people and that's not good - that has to change," he told the BBC.

While Germany is the first country in Europe to legally recognise a third gender, several other nations have already taken similar steps.      

Third gender recognition
Australia - passport applications since 2011
Bangladesh - passport applications since 2011
Germany - on birth certificates from 2013
India - electoral roll since 2009
Nepal - census since 2007
New Zealand - passport applications since 2012

Australians have had the option of selecting "x" as their gender - meaning indeterminate, unspecified or intersex - on passport applications since 2011. A similar option was introduced for New Zealanders in 2012.

In South Asia, Bangladesh has offered an "other" gender category on passport applications since 2011.

Nepal began recognising a third gender on its census forms in 2007 while Pakistan made it an option on national identity cards in 2011.

India added a third gender category to voter lists in 2009.

While transgender or intersex people have long been accepted in Thailand and are officially recognised by the country's military, they do not have any separate legal status.

Groom Forgets Bride at Gas Station

Yikes! Hope she has a good sense of humour.

The Associated Press, Berlin

A German couple’s marriage got off to a rocky start when the groom forgot his bride at a highway gas station on the way home from their honeymoon, only noticing she was missing after hours had passed.

Police said on Friday the couple was heading home to Berlin from France when the man pulled over near the central town of Bad Hersfeld late Thursday to fill up their van. The woman had been sleeping in the back but got up — unbeknownst to the man — to use the toilets and he drove off before she returned.

Only after 2 hours on the road did he notice she was gone and called police, who said she was patiently waiting.

Honest, Judge, I'm Only Mostly Dead

Where's Miracle Max when you need him?

An Ohio man is finding out there's no easy way to come back from the dead.

Donald Miller Jr. went to court this week to ask a county judge to reverse a 1994 ruling that declared him legally dead after he had disappeared from his home eight years earlier. But the judge turned down his request, citing a three-year time limit for changing a death ruling.

Hancock County Probate Court Judge Allan Davis called it a "strange, strange situation."

"We've got the obvious here. A man sitting in the courtroom, he appears to be in good health," said Davis, who told Miller the three-year limit was clear.

"I don't know where that leaves you, but you're still deceased as far as the law is concerned," the judge said.

'It kind of went further than I ever expected it to...' said Donald Miller Jr.

Miller resurfaced about eight years ago and went to court so that he could get a driver's license and reinstate his Social Security number.

His ex-wife had opposed the move, saying she doesn't have the money to repay the Social Security benefits that were paid out to her and the couple's two children after Miller was declared dead.

Robin Miller said her former husband vanished because he owed big child support payments and that the overdue payments had totalled $26,000 by 1994, The (Findlay) Courier reported.

Miller, 61, who now lives in the northwest Ohio city of Fostoria, told the judge that he disappeared in the 1980s because he had lost his job and he was an alcoholic. He lived in Florida and Georgia before returning to Ohio around 2005.

Sir Bob Geldof Predicts Apocalypse Before 2030

'We’re facing a mass extinction event,' claims Bob Geldof

Live Aid founder and activist Bob Geldof has warned that the human race may be extinct within 15 years because of climate change.

Perhaps Sir Bob is not keeping up with the latest trend in Global warming. See http://northwoodsministries.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-pause-in-global-warming.html

“The world can decide in a fit of madness to kill itself,” announced Bob Geldof at the launch of the One Young World summit in Johannesburg. “Sometimes progress may not be possible.

“We're in a very fraught time,” he added. “There will be a mass extinction event. That could happen on your watch. The signs are that it will happen and soon.”

Sir Bob, wearing his trademark sunglasses, addressed 8,000 One Young World delegates from 190 nations across the world in Soccer City, Johannesburg last night. He is a counsellor for the organisation, which hopes to inspire and create the next generation of global leaders.

The Live Aid founder and one-time Boomtown rat announced that his generation has let down the young people of today. “My generation has failed more than others. You cannot let your generation fail. The next war will not be a World War 1 or a World War 2, it will be the end.

Attendees shouted and blew on thousands of vuvuzelas as Sir Bob added: " We may not get to 2030. We need to address the problem of climate change urgently. What are you going to do about it? Get serious. Some of the nations that arrived here so proudly will not be there to meet us."

However, the singer tried to inject a note of positivism into his gloomy predictions. “Just because you may not believe that progress is possible, that should not prevent you from trying for it,” he said. “The alternative is finality.

“We need to be more human. Less Irish. Less Cameroonian. Less Chinese. Less Russian. More human.”
However, Sir Bob then disappeared down a philosophical route that baffled most of the audience, many of whom do not count English as a first language. “The ordinary trouble of ordinary days doesn't seem to matter much,” he sighed. “We are in the great existential age of our humanity. We somehow feel we've missed something's that’s greater than ourselves and we don't know what it is or how to find it.”

He finished his address apologizing for being "bloody miserable". "Just get on with it," he told delegates, before leaving the stage.

Sir Bob needs to spend more time with his friend and Live Aid partner Bono. Bono hasn't missed the bigger Something.

Saudi Youth Gets 10 years and 2,000 Lashes for Naked Dancing

Manama: A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a young man to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes for dancing naked on the roof of a car.

File picture from Los Angeles - not sure what happened to this lunatic

The defendant was also ordered to pay a 50,000 Saudi riyal (Dh48,956) fine for his “indecent act” committed in winter at a camp where young men gathered over the weekend, local Arabic daily Okaz reported on Thursday.

The public had expressed outrage at the “open immoral and decadent behaviour” after a video clip of the rowdy dance was widely circulated on the internet.

Three other men were given prison terms and fines for taking part in the dance. One was sentenced to seven years in prison and 2,000 lashes and the other two to five years and 1,200 lashes each.

 The car had been confiscated. The four defendants have the right to appeal the verdict.

According to the daily, the public prosecutor said that he would challenge the ruling, saying that it was “too lenient.” Crazy. they could go and rape some little girl or murder their sister and get much less a penalty.

How the US Came Within an Eyelash of Nuking Itself

A secret document, published in declassified form for the first time by the Guardian today, reveals that the US Air Force came dramatically close to detonating an atom bomb over North Carolina that would have been 260 times more powerful than the device that devastated Hiroshima.

The document, obtained by the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under the Freedom of Information Act, gives the first conclusive evidence that the US was narrowly spared a disaster of monumental proportions when two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina on 23 January 1961. The bombs fell to earth after a B-52 bomber broke up in mid-air, and one of the devices behaved precisely as a nuclear weapon was designed to behave in warfare: its parachute opened, its trigger mechanisms engaged, and only one low-voltage switch prevented untold carnage.

Each bomb carried a payload of 4 megatons – the equivalent of 4 million tons of TNT explosive. Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and as far north as New York city – putting millions of lives at risk.

Though there has been persistent speculation about how narrow the Goldsboro escape was, the US government has repeatedly publicly denied that its nuclear arsenal has ever put Americans' lives in jeopardy through safety flaws. But in the newly-published document, a senior engineer in the Sandia national laboratories responsible for the mechanical safety of nuclear weapons concludes that "one simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe".

Writing eight years after the accident, Parker F Jones found that the bombs that dropped over North Carolina, just three days after John F Kennedy made his inaugural address as president, were inadequate in their safety controls and that the final switch that prevented disaster could easily have been shorted by an electrical jolt, leading to a nuclear burst. "It would have been bad news – in spades," he wrote.

Jones dryly entitled his secret report "Goldsboro Revisited or: How I learned to Mistrust the H-Bomb" – a quip on Stanley Kubrick's 1964 satirical film about nuclear holocaust, Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

 Slim Pickens in a scene from Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Photograph: The Ronald Grant Archive

The accident happened when a B-52 bomber got into trouble, having embarked from Seymour Johnson Air Force base in Goldsboro for a routine flight along the East Coast. As it went into a tailspin, the hydrogen bombs it was carrying became separated. One fell into a field near Faro, North Carolina, its parachute draped in the branches of a tree; the other plummeted into a meadow off Big Daddy's Road.

Jones found that of the four safety mechanisms in the Faro bomb, designed to prevent unintended detonation, three failed to operate properly. When the bomb hit the ground, a firing signal was sent to the nuclear core of the device, and it was only that final, highly vulnerable switch that averted calamity. "The MK 39 Mod 2 bomb did not possess adequate safety for the airborne alert role in the B-52," Jones concludes.

The document was uncovered by Schlosser as part of his research into his new book on the nuclear arms race, Command and Control. Using freedom of information, he discovered that at least 700 "significant" accidents and incidents involving 1,250 nuclear weapons were recorded between 1950 and 1968 alone.

"The US government has consistently tried to withhold information from the American people in order to prevent questions being asked about our nuclear weapons policy," he said. "We were told there was no possibility of these weapons accidentally detonating, yet here's one that very nearly did."