Statistics And Other Lies
'Free Tibet' flags made in China
Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.
The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning.
But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper.
Tibet independence
Recession Changes What Americans Buy And How They Eat
Stung by rising gasoline and food prices, Americans are finding creative ways to cut costs on routine items like groceries and clothing, forcing retailers, restaurants and manufacturers to decode the tastes of a suddenly thrifty public.
Spending data and interviews around the country show that middle- and working-class consumers are starting to switch from name brands to cheaper alternatives, to eat in instead of dining out and to fly at unusual hours to shave dollars off airfares.
Rats From Infested House Offered Up for Adoption As Pets
ROCHESTER, Wash. — Rats from a heavily infested house here are being trapped to be offered for adoption as pets.
After being alerted by neighbors, Thurston County animal control officials served a search warrant on April 9 at the residence of Michele Diller, 64. They found that pet rats had ruined the house, chewing through walls, cupboards, drawers and wires, soaking carpets with urine and covering floors with feces. The officials removed a cat, four severely malnourished snakes, five mice and two rats.
15 Most Common Myths And Misconceptions About Beer
Myth #1 – Dark Beer is Heavy
Couldn't be further from the truth, folks. Colour in beer comes purely from the grain used in its creation, with darker beers containing more toasted or roasted barley malt and paler beers containing less or no darker malts. And roasting malt doesn't make it heavier or more caloric.
Myth #2 – Ale is Stronger than Lager
Many Americans Are Rediscovering Thrift Shops
SHEENA MASSIE, dragged by her mother to garage and estate sales as a child, once cringed at the sight of used goods.
“The very thought of being caught by my peers buying other people’s junk was mortifying,” said Ms. Massie, a 25-year-old waitress in Canal Winchester, Ohio, near Columbus. “If someone else didn’t want it, why would I?”
But, like Ms. Massie, who with her mother is opening a thrift shop, more consumers are concluding that brand new is not necessarily better.
The Mathematics Of Prison
Americans, perhaps like all people, have a remarkable capacity for tuning out unpleasantries that do not directly affect them. I'm thinking here of wars on foreign lands, but also the astonishing fact that the United States has become the world's most jail-loving country, with well over 1 in 100 adults living as slaves in a prison.
Florida bans fake testicles
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Senate lawmakers in Florida have voted to ban the fake bull testicles that dangle from the trailer hitches of many trucks and cars throughout the state.
Republican Sen. Cary Baker, a gun shop owner from Eustis, Florida, called the adornments offensive and proposed the ban. Motorists would be fined $60 for displaying the novelty items, which are known by brand names like "Truck Nutz" and resemble the south end of a bull moving north.
Advertisement: Smugglers Wanted, Drug Trafficing Experience A Plus
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala is investigating radio advertisements seeking elite ex-soldiers, who have been known to work for drug cartels, to smuggle goods into Mexico, officials said on Thursday.
The ads were broadcast in the lawless northern jungle region of Peten, home to a tough military training center for Kaibil soldiers, infamous during Guatemala's civil war as a brutal guerilla-fighting, special forces unit.
Ever Wondered What It's Like Not To Have Sex For 70,000 Years?
A fish species, which is all female, has survived for 70,000 years without reproducing sexually, experts believe.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh think the Amazon Molly may be employing special genetic survival "tricks" to avoid becoming extinct.
The species, found in Texas and Mexico, interacts with males of other species to trigger its reproduction process.
The offspring are clones of their mother and do not inherit any of the male's DNA.
Why Is Porn Industry No Longer Recession Proof?
The drop in porn rentals and sales is worrisome on several fronts: Till now, porn has been a recession-proof business. Further, with the country already in a dispirited mood, the fact that porn has gone limp may indicate a true plunge in consumer confidence.
