From Annanova

Toddler survives 26ft fall

A German toddler escaped without injury after falling 26 feet from a house.

Elif Celik, 28, was visiting a friend in Duesseldorf with her son Yussuf, who is 21 months old, when he fell.

“Our children were playing on the roof-deck,” she explained. “Then I heard a noise, ran outside - and my child was gone.”

Looking down, she saw him lying on the ground: “I was convinced that he could only be dead,” she said.

But then Yussuf stated crying and calling for his mother and she realised there was still hope.

An ambulance arrived and a doctor examined Yussuf to find he had survived the fall unhurt.

Despite hitting a steel beam and the roadside curb, he had no injuries besides a few scratches.

Staff at nearby Solingen Hospital later confirmed this diagnosis.

Police are now trying to find out how Yussuf could fall from the roof-deck in the first place.

They believe he may have slipped through between two beams of the guard rail.

New and Improved! Memblog. A site that will list contests, activities or generally anything you want mentioned - just email them. If you are running a long string of writing on your site, or hosting something interesting, let them know so they can post about it.

So, I’m watching the 1982 “classic teenage sex comedy” The Last American Virgin just now. This little gem from 1982 had one of my favorite 80s actresses in it, a woman by the name of Diane Franklin. She’s the hot girl that our kinda geeky, kinda overly sensitive hero is deep in love with. He even stays to comfort her after an unfortunate incident., and confesses his love to her. Cut to the big party at the end.

Before I go further, I have to comment on how the movie never seemed to have a moment when some cheesy 1980s love song WASN’T playing in the background. Journey even got a chance to represent here, folks. The less Steve Perry, the better- that’s what I always say.

Anyways, back to the end of the movie. Our hero goes to the party after dropping some serious cash on a nice necklace he has engraved with a message for his new girlfriend, the previously mentioned hot girl. He gets to the party, finds a stereotypical geek who guides him to the love of our hero’s young and (so far rather pathetic) life. And what does he find in the kitchen?

Our hot girl, deep in a passionate kiss and embrace with her big dumb jock boyfriend. She sees our hero, who has the prerequisite look of shock and betrayal on his face. They hang on this moment for like a minute or something, too; this happens to be just enough time for James Ingram’s “Just Once” to begin playing and get to the chorus. Hot Girl sees the hurt hero and begins to shed a single tear, then doesn’t hesitate to remain in said embrace with said big dumb jock boyfriend. We close the movie with our hero running to his car, and the credits begin to roll on our hero crying in his car as he drives away.

I sat there for a few minutes, not believing what I’d seen. I rewound the DVR, making sure I’d just seen what I had seen. Sure enough, the events played out as before.

…

Understand, I’m something of a traditionalist when it comes to teenage sex comedies, especially ones with a romantic angle. So, with that in mind I have to ask-

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?

Can anyone explain this to me? Anyone at all? I haven’t been this disappointed with the end of a movie since-

Uh, since…

Shit. That really was just about the worst ending I’d ever seen for a movie.

Actually, I take that back. The ending of Suicide Kings was probably worse, but at least there was an alternate ending on the DVD that made things better. This, this was just horribly, ridiculously bad. I kinda want those twenty minutes back in my life.

Shit ain’t right, man. Shit ain’t right.

Out.

Head on over to the Survivor site and check out the new site design. I enlisted the help of Liz at http://hiptobeasquare.com/ to re-design the site. So now with a new season, a new deisgn and some new players we are just 13 days away. Sign up to play if you haven’t already. Remember: you need to have your own blog already. It can be hosted at blogspot but just have a site that you update reguarly.

Prizes so far include:

Some things always amaze me. The smile on my neices’ faces, the realization that Diet Pepsi tastes as good as it does…

And the unimaginable stupidity that certain people in politics can present.

I’ve decided I’m gonna try to make this a weekly little thing, where I examine Stupidity in Politics from the view provided here in the cheap seats. And this week, I have an example from the very people I support.

See, the person I’m giving the “distinction” of making the “Stupid Political Move of the Week” is State Department press aide Emily Miller. And how did Ms. Miller earn this?

Well… did you see “Meet the Press” this morning?

Oh, you didn’t? Not surprising. I only watched before today when someone I was interested in seeing appeared. Not after today, though. Nuh-uh. See, Secretary of State Colin Powell was on with Tim Russert. Russert took his usual approach of asking questions that can be a bit tough to answer if you really don’t want to answer them. Powell wanted to answer the question. Ms. Miller, on the other hand, didn’t want him to answer them.

I’ve pulled the following transcript from the drudgereport website, and it is what appeared on the Meet the Press broadcast earlier this morning. You can watch tonight on CNBC to see it yourself:

NBC’s MEET THE PRESS joined in progress….

TIM RUSSERT: Finally, Mr. Secretary, in February of 2003, you placed your enormous personal credibility before the United Nations and laid out a case against Saddam Hussein, citing.

(Camera moved off of interview subject)

EMILY MILLER, STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS AIDE: You’re off.

SECRETARY POWELL: I am not off.

EMILY MILLER, PRESS AIDE: No. They can’t use it, they’re editing it.

SECRETARY POWELL: He’s still asking the questions.

EMILY MILLER, PRESS AIDE: He was not …

SECRETARY POWELL: Tim, I am sorry I lost you.

MR. RUSSERT: I am right here Mr. Secretary. I would hope they would put you back on camera. I don’t know who did that.

EMILY MILLER, PRESS AIDE: He was going to go for another five minutes.

SECRETARY POWELL: We’ve really scre…

MR. RUSSERT: I think that was one of your staff Mr. Secretary. I don’t think that’s appropriate.

SECRETARY POWELL: Emily, get out of the way. Bring the camera back please. (Camera returns to the interview subject) I think we’re back on Tim, go ahead with your last question.

MR. RUSSERT: Thank you very much, sir.

In February of 2003, you put your enormous personal reputation on the line before the United Nations and said that you had solid sources for the case against Saddam Hussein. It now appears that an agent called “Curve Ball” had misled the CIA by suggesting that Saddam had trucks and trains that were delivering biological chemical weapons.

How concerned are you that some of the information you shared with the world is now inaccurate and discredited?

SECRETARY POWELL: I’m very concerned. When I made that presentation in February 2003, it was based on the best information that the Central Intelligence Agency made available to me. We studied it carefully. We looked at the sourcing and the case of the mobile trucks and trains. There was multiple sourcing for that. Unfortunately, that multiple sourcing over time has turned out to be not accurate, and so I’m deeply disappointed.

But I’m also comfortable that at the time that I made the presentation it reflected the collective judgment, the sound judgment, of the intelligence community, but it turned out that the sourcing was inaccurate and wrong and, in some cases, deliberately misleading. And for that I’m disappointed, and I regret it.

MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Secretary, we thank you very much for joining us again and sharing your views with us today. SECRETARY POWELL: Thanks, Tim.

(END OF PRE-TAPE INTERVIEW)

MR. RUSSERT: AND THAT WAS AN UNEDITED INTERVIEW WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, TAPED EARLIER THIS MORNING FROM JORDAN.

WE APPRECIATE SECRETARY POWELL’S WILLINGNESS TO OVERRULE HIS PRESS AIDES’ ATTEMPT TO ABRUPTLY CUT OFF OUR DISCUSSION AS I BEGAN TO ASK MY FINAL QUESTION.

…………………….

Now, let’s say youre a very high ranking member of a presidential cabinet. You’ve come onto the most prestigious news program on tv to do an interview with a guy who asks tough but fair questions. He throws you a question that is tough but fair. It’s an important question, one you can use to help further your cause and the Administration’s goals if you answer it just right. What could possibly be worse then than one of your aides trying to cut off the interview on THE MOST WIDELY WATCHED NEW PROGRAM ON SUNDAYS WHILE THEY ARE TAPING IT?!?

Thus, with that boneheaded move we award the “Stupid Political Move of the Week” to State Department press aide Emily Miller, who probably isn’t going to be involved in any more interviews for Secretary Powell.

Oh, and second place is a tie, for the same issue. This goes to Martin Baron, Editor of the Boston Globe as well as Piers Morgan, editor- oh, wait- FORMER editor of the Daily Mirror. See, the Mirror received photos of what were supposed to be British troops performing acts on Iraqi prisoners that could only be described as turturous. The Boston Globe, seeing an opportunity to smack around Tony Blair’s government (and Bush, by extension) runs these photos as well. The only problem? The pictures were fake. Every one of them. Not real at all. And the Mirror ALREADY SUSPECTED THIS.

Morgan’s already resigned over the incident. The Globe had to apologize over it. Plus, the pictures stirred up more than a small shitstorm in Iraq where a large amount of people thought they were real. So, here’s to Martin Baron and Piers Morgan for ruining than their credibility by not checking upon the veracity of these pictures before putting them out for all the world to see. Oh, and Piers? I’m sure you’ll find a job somewhere soon.

After all, I hear the Weekly World News is hiring.

Out.

Do you think that today we are being desensitized as a population with more and more gruesome things being shown on TV and shared? Honestly I don’t think as much as we blame the media for. You see, I had the choice of watching the video below and not watching it. I chose to watch it knowing that it was much like the ‘Faces of Death’ type of thing. I found it very gruesome, but also I found myself with a better understanding of what these people will do and how brainwashed they are.

So the question remains, in America are we becoming desensitized? As a whole yes, but we placed ourselves in this position where we are afraid to have a “nipple” on TV. In other country’s its common place to have pornography on the late night channels.

As a race, we like violence. The Romans were no less gruesome in the Gladiatorial Games where they faced slaves against mighty warriors and slaughtered them mercilessly. Hundreds of thousands watched and shouted with glee with every sword thrust. Are we more civilized than them? This is a civilization that brought us laws - many of which ours are based off of, a civil service such as a Senate, police forces, running waters, public baths, public toilet systems, architectural styles?

Is this any worse than the picture of the Vietnamese that lit himself on fire in the middle of the street? Everyone saw it.

We are not desensitized, we crave it in one way or another, maybe instinctual. We are just shielded by the FCC, in what they think we shouldn’t see or hear. Maybe it makes for a better society, a less violent society? I don’t think so.

The video of Nick Berg *Warning* This is very very very graphic. You should watch it just to know the lengths these people will go through.

The Translation of the video from Northeast Intelligence Network

In a horrific display of barbarism, a masked person claiming to be Abu Mus’ad Al Zarqawi slaughtered American contractor Nick Berg. The video was released on a website that is frequented by followers of Ansar Al Sunnah in Iraq, and almost immediately appeared on a host of other Arabic language jihad websites.