Ok, so two things are apparent to me after watching this video:

1. I have until February 10th to stock up on popcorn.

2. Apparently, Steven Hawking is one of the members of "Anonymous" because he's obviously the voice over. Like, duh.

Might want to go a little more covert there, Stevie.

{ht: wwtdd who also has a neato link to some crazy ass shit that the broad from The King of Queens allegedly wrote.}

Posted by: Kathy at 12:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 83 words, total size 1 kb.

This is what you get with socialized medicine.

Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives.

Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone.

£1.7 billion is spent treating diseases caused by smoking, such as lung cancer and emphysema

Fertility treatment and "social" abortions are also on the list of procedures that many doctors say should not be funded by the state.

The findings of a survey conducted by Doctor magazine sparked a fierce row last night, with the British Medical Association and campaign groups describing the recommendations from family and hospital doctors as "out­rageous" and "disgraceful".

About one in 10 hospitals already deny some surgery to obese patients and smokers, with restrictions most common in hospitals battling debt.

Managers defend the policies because of the higher risk of complications on the operating table for unfit patients. But critics believe that patients are being denied care simply to save money.

{...}Among the survey of 870 family and hospital doctors, almost 60 per cent said the NHS could not provide full healthcare to everyone and that some individuals should pay for services.

One in three said that elderly patients should not be given free treatment if it were unlikely to do them good for long. Half thought that smokers should be denied a heart bypass, while a quarter believed that the obese should be denied hip replacements.

{...}Ninety-four per cent said that an alcoholic who refused to stop drinking should not be allowed a liver transplant, while one in five said taxpayers should not pay for "social abortions" and fertility treatment.{...}

Doctors in the UK apparently think the only people they should treat are the people who never get sick.

Well, that would assuredly leave more time for golf.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:06 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 326 words, total size 2 kb.

I think most people remember this moment.

An actor schooled the UN on its priorities, and it worked, in many ways. Because Clooney had the temerity to point out the truth of the UN, that it has, and does, allow genocide to occur, even though its charter explicitly states the opposite, people in developed countries, around the world, finally got a clue as to how the UN was avoiding its duties. While I'm generally of the opinion that celebrities should stay the fuck out of politics, this is one of the extremely rare exceptions to that rule. In this instance, George hasn't really gotten what he was asking for, UN peacekeepers on the ground in Darfur, to protect refugees and keep the relief workers safe. Shocker. The African Union is still doing that job, and they're having a hard time with it, because everyone and their brother seems to be working against them. But he did push in the right direction, mentioning the phrase "right and wrong" whilst doing so, and for that he gets some points from me.

I respect George for fighting for Darfur. It's a worthy cause and he uses his voice and celebrity in a good way to fight for the people there. But that respect I have for George took a big hit when I found out he could be bought cheaply:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named actor George Clooney, who has campaigned for refugees in Darfur, as a U.N. "messenger of peace" on Friday to promote the world body's peacekeeping efforts.

Clooney is the ninth U.N. messenger -- people chosen from the fields of art, music, literature and sports who have agreed to help focus attention on the United Nations' work.

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Clooney would have a special emphasis on peacekeeping. She said he had been "recognized for focusing public attention on crucial international political and social issues."{...}

What did they promise you, George, to get you to do this? Peacekeepers? Boots on the ground? I know there's some quid pro quo going on here. What is it, Georgie Porgy Puddin' and Pie? You have to know that you just got the shit end of the stick, eh? They're going to use you and you're not going to get a damn thing out of them. I'm sure you think you're doing a good thing here; that you're simply killing two birds with one stone, but you've just signed up to be an agent of an agency that doesn't give a damn about solving the problem that is Darfur.

Good work, bud! I'm sure that'll save some refugees from dying.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 461 words, total size 3 kb.

More batshit fucking loco for your edification/entertainment.

I highly recommend checking out the second video, to hear about how Tom Cruise "saved" all the firefighters in NYC after 9/11. The third one focuses on his mission (impossible) to get psychiatry banned.

Good times, my devoted Cake Eater readers. Good times!

Posted by: Kathy at 01:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 56 words, total size 1 kb.

Depending upon whom you chat with around here, Garrison Keillor is a savior, or he's a tremendous asshat. I don't think it'll come as a surprise to anyone when I reveal, right here, right now, that I side with those who think he's an asshat.

{...}Keillor and his wife, Jenny Lind Nilsson, are suing their next-door neighbor, Lori Anderson, to stop her from building a two-story addition to her home that would include a three-stall garage and studio.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court, claims the addition would "obstruct the access of light and air to the Nilsson-Keillor property" and "impair or destroy protected historical resources."

Both homes in the 400 block of Portland Avenue are within the Ramsey Hill historic district.

The complaint also said the project would obstruct their view "of open space and beyond" and possibly hurt property value. The estimated market value a year ago for Keillor's home was about $1.2 million, according to property tax records; Anderson's was about $600,000.

The city also is named a defendant in the documents, which said Keillor and his wife were not notified of public hearings before a zoning variance was approved and the project was OK'd by the Heritage Preservation Commission.{...}

Get that? Keillor is not only suing his neighbors for blocking his view of an alley, but he's also suing the city of St. Paul because, ahem, he says he wasn't notified of public hearings.

Hey, jerkweed, public meetings are, by definition, open to the public, which means there was notice. Just because some city employee didn't come up to your door, ring the bell, a copy of Lake Wobegon (that he was just hoping and praying you'd have graciousness to autograph) in his trembling hands, doesn't mean that there wasn't notice. It just wasn't of the personal variety, which you, in your self-proclaimed position as arbiter of all things Minnesotan, would have undoubtedly preferred. This is the way it works for the rest of us. Why would you think you're immune?

"We were heartsick," Anderson said of learning about the suit.

Olson said when he and Anderson decided to marry, they realized their one-car garage wasn't big enough. Even before they hired an architect, the couple said they talked to neighbors. They planned to build three stalls, a storage area and a mudroom on the first floor and a studio for Anderson's business on the second. The addition would be a few feet lower than the existing home and would be attached to the rear.

The project would add about 1,900 finished and unfinished square feet to the home, which now has 2,124 finished square feet. The Keillor-Nilsson home has 5,168 finished square feet, according to tax records.

Anderson and Olson received a zoning variance for a 23-foot rear-yard setback rather than the standard 25 feet and conditional approval from the Heritage Preservation Commission, pending final approval of the plans.

{...}Olson said Monday that Keillor and his wife "couldn't have cared less" when Anderson told them they were building a bigger garage.

"He's a busy guy," Olson said. "We didn't feel obligated to include him in the planning."{...}

See? Dear old Asshat knew that his neighbors were planning a remodel. He just didn't care until it impeded his view of open space---open space that just happens to be owned by his neighbors. And what about that view, eh? Roll that beautiful bean footage!

See, apparently you're only allowed to use all the space on your lot if you're Garrison Keillor. The little people next door shall not, apparently, be allowed to expand upon land they own because it means dear old Garrison might feel claustrophobic, in his residence, in the middle of a historic neighborhood that's not necessarily known for its overwhelmingly gargantuan lots to begin with.

Go read the rest of the article if you can stomach it.

This is becoming one of those issues here in the urban areas of the Twin Cities---people expanding their homes in a large way, or completely knocking older homes down to build a bigger, more modern home on a lot with existing trees. The lots here are not large, and some of these homes, do, indeed, look like they've been shoehorned in, despite most builders best efforts. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The City of Minneapolis has been toying with the notion of not allowing this to happen anymore, even though it's a proven fact that said homes add to property values. In fact, here in Cake Eater Land, which is one of the older suburbs in the Cities, there is a moratorium on knock-downs in place for one of our older, richer, neighborhoods, until April. Another neighborhood tried to latch onto that moratorium this fall and their measure failed, in part, because contracted home sales were falling through left and right simply at the threat of a moratorium on rebuilds. People want larger houses these days. We lead different lives today than we did when these homes were originally built---and those different lives require more space than what is on offer. I see absolutely no problem with remodeling or knocking down a home on land that you own. The overall aesthetics of a neighborhood should not trump an individual's property rights. It doesn't matter if the proposed house rebuild/remodel is hideous. If someone wants to amend their property, they should be able to do it as they see fit, even if it pisses off the neighbors. That's not going to stop some people, though, Garrison Keillor being one of them.

I have no doubts that, sometime in the future, Keillor will try and make his lawsuit against his neighbors, who have done everything the way they're supposed to do it, part of this larger debate. He throw his weight around, and people who have no cause to be ticked off about this issue, will side with him. Because he's Garrison Keillor, and everyone knows he's a defender of all things good and above average here in Minnesota.

You, know, except for things which restrict his view.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:02 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 1015 words, total size 6 kb.

Go and see the batshit fucking loco.

Swim around in it, until you're so waterlogged you can swim no more.

Then realize, because you're not a member of a freakin' cult, you can laugh your ass off at this. Whereas I'm sure some poor, deluded Scientologists had to pay good money to see this video the first time around and, ahem, undoubtedly took it very seriously.

{ht: Dearest Jonathan}

Posted by: Kathy at 12:03 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 71 words, total size 1 kb.

Yuck.

Twins separated at birth and adopted by separate parents later married each other without realising they were brother and sister.

The siblings were recently granted an annulment in the high court's family division.

The judge ruled that the marriage had never validly existed. Marriages can be annulled if one of the parties was under 16 at the time, if it is a bigamous union, or if the couple are closely related.

The identities of the British pair and the details of the relationship have been kept secret, but it is known that they were separated soon after birth and were never told they were twins. They did not discover they were blood relatives until after the wedding.{...}

On a somewhat related note, I've always thought there was a decent sci-fi book/movie to be written about the future consequences of sperm/egg donation. As in, epidemiologists notice there's a uptake in hemophilia cases/exceedingly stupid children, etc. Once they figure it out, they try to take their case to the public, advocating DNA tests before people get married, to try and stop this sort of thing from going any further and start being murdered/chased around by big bad guys hired by multinational sperm banks/infertility clinics, who, of course, want to stop them.

If anyone wants to run with it, go to town. I'm, obviously, not going to write it. But I would like, at the very least, a thank you in the "Author's Note" section.

{ht: Steve-O)

Posted by: Kathy at 01:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 247 words, total size 2 kb.

I'd throw this one in the Silly Germans file, but alas, it's a pair of Polacks* who've caught my eye this time round.

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees. Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

"I was dumfounded.{sic} I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper Wednesday.

The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.

So, do you think he was more dumbfounded at seeing his wife at a brothel, or knowing he'd just gotten busted, big time, for visiting one?

*And, yes, I can use the term 'Polack'---because I'm half Polish. Anyone else who's not Polish who tries to use it will get their ass beat by me. Got it?

Posted by: Kathy at 04:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 161 words, total size 1 kb.

The whole world appears to be in an uproar today about the fact that Britney Spears finally lost it.

Sigh.

This chick, for all the wackiness she's displayed over the past year, still can see her kids. Does she have full custody? No, she does not. But, she's allowed supervised visitation. I suppose that will probably change after last night's events, but still... She's squeezed out two kids and she still has the right to see them. Even though she's a complete whacko, her biological right to "mother" her children is all important and no one, apparently, wants to intrude upon that right.

Contrast this with the fact that I, as a cancer survivor, will need to have Dr. Academic state in a letter that I am cancer-free and expect to have a normal life span, with a good quality of life, just to get in the door. Of course, I probably won't need him to write the letter for five years, because that's the average amount of time adoption agencies make cancer survivors wait before they can apply to adopt. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, kids.

I'm just wondering: does the bitterness show? I hope it does, because there is something seriously FUCKED UP about this entire scenario.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 214 words, total size 1 kb.

Taking a page out of Robert Mugabe's playbook, Lippy McLipster has decided to issue a new currency in an effort to prop up the notion that's there's no inflation in Venezuela.

In an effort to stem record-high inflation, Venezuela launches a new currency on Wednesday – the “strong bolivar” – by slicing three zeroes off the bolivar.

While President Hugo Chávez’s government is hailing the measure as an anti-inflationary measure that will help stabilise the economy, non-government economists fear the strong bolivar will be anything but strong.

“We’re ending a historical cycle of . . . instability in prices,” Rodrigo Cabezas, finance minister, said on Monday, adding that the change aimed to “recover a bolivar that has significant buying capacity”.

“It was necessary to leave behind the consequences of a history of high inflation,” Gaston Parra, central bank president, said in a televised year-end speech. He added that officials aimed “to reinforce confidence in the monetary symbol”.

However, in view of racing inflation, an increasingly unsustainable exchange rate and shortages of basic goods, José Guerra, a former chief economist at Venezuela’s central bank, said: “The monetary ‘reconversion’ is not going to stabilise prices. It’s not going to help reduce inflation, or anything of the kind,” arguing that the new currency could even trigger higher inflation. “It’s a dangerous move,” he said.

{...}José Manuel Puente, an economist at the IESA business school in Caracas, says the exchange rate is at least 20-30 per cent overvalued. But the key problem, he argues, is the gap between the official and the “parallel” exchange rate for the dollar, which recently exceeded triple the official rate of 2,150 bolivars.

You know, just because people can set their farts on fire doesn't necessarily mean that they should. I believe the same principle applies here.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 308 words, total size 2 kb.