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Man Pays $21K Property Taxes In Coins

Frank Alford Says It's His Way Of Protesting Higher Taxes

New Albany, Indiana -- A Floyd County man showed up at the city-county building in New Albany to pay his property taxes with more than $21,000 in coins.

Frank Alford, who owns several single-family rental homes, said it's his way of protesting higher taxes, reported WLKY-TV in Louisville, Ky.

When he walked into the Floyd County treasurer's office Thursday morning, a deputy clerk immediately recognized Alford because last year, he paid his taxes with dollar bills.

Binoculars

30,000 desert 'beauties' to compete in Dubai

camel
© UnknownWhat a beauty!
Thousands of camels from across the gulf region are queuing up in the UAE to compete in one-of-its-kind beauty contest to be held in its capital Abu Dhabi.

Around 30,000 camels will participate in the beauty pageant to be organised during the 13-day long Dubai camel festival, being organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

The orgnisers believe that despite it was the second year of the the festival, it would be much bigger in size than the last year.

"Everyday we are registering around 600 to 700 camels and we have to extend the registration deadline by one more day, in order to cope with all the arrivals," Salem Ebrahim Al Mazrouei, in charge of organising the festival, was quoted by the Khaleej Times.

Millions of Dirhams in cash as well as 143 four-wheel-drive vehicles and pick-up trucks will be given away to prize-winning entries, he said.

Cheeseburger

Burger chain markets meat scented perfume

American fast food chain Burger King is marketing a men's fragrance with the scent of meat. Called Flame, the company says the spray is "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat".

The scent is on sale in New York for $3.99 (£2.65) and through a website that features a variety of romantic images - but no actual burgers. Its character the Burger King is also seen reclining almost naked in front of a log fire with whipped cream.

Better Earth

McCartney says he was the real political Beatle, not John Lennon

Paul McCartney claims that he was the real politicized figure in The Beatles, not John Lennon, according to an interview published Sunday.

McCartney was quoted as saying it was he who first raised concerns over the Vietnam war within the group and advocated their anti-war stance.

Fans have long regarded Lennon, who wrote songs such as "Revolution" and - in later years - "Give Peace a Chance," as the group's authentic political voice.

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4,414 friends and counting: how Kirk became a slave to his blog

Kirk Douglas
© ReutersKirk Douglas, 92, who is known for his action hero roles such as the gladiator in Spartacus, has been named the oldest celebrity blogger on MySpace
Kirk Douglas, the square-jawed hero famed for saving the world, getting the girl and in moments of toga-clad inspiration declaring "I am Spartacus!" has a new string to his bow - as MySpace's oldest celebrity blogger.

The 92-year-old actor, who retired from the screen five years ago, is cutting a fresh swath through Hollywood with a page on the social networking website that reflects on his "years of living, loving and learning" and records the genteel details of his life.

The site features his thoughts on US politics (he's a fan of Barack Obama), notes that his favourite films are Champion, Spartacus, Paths to Glory and Lonely are the Brave ("I just happen to be in these movies"), and reveals that his greatest remaining ambition in life is to meet Angelina Jolie, "provided my wife lets me".

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Cake request for 3-year-old Hitler namesake denied

Easton, Pa. - The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance. Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah, are upset not only with the decision made by the Greenwich ShopRite, but with an outpouring of angry Internet postings in response to a local newspaper article over the weekend on their flare-up over frosting.

Cell Phone

John McCain Campaign Info Left in BlackBerry Phone Sold to Reporter

McCain blackberry
BlackBerry phones caused John McCain a bit of embarrassment several months ago after one of John McCain's campaign staffers said incorrectly that the Arizona Senator "helped create" them.

Now it seems his former campaign workers can't even figure out how to erase private data on the devices before putting them up for sale.

A BlackBerry purchased at an auction of used office equipment from the McCain-Palin campaign turned out to contain cell phone numbers and other information for about 50 people. The data might have gone unnoticed -- except it was Tisha Thompson, a Fox news reporter, who made the purchase.

Pumpkin

Merriam-Webster Places Dick Morris' Picture Next To Word "Pathetic"

Pa·thet·ic [puh-thet-ik] 1. causing or evoking pity, sympathetic sadness, sorrow, etc.; pitiful; pitiable: a pathetic letter; a pathetic sight. affecting or moving the feelings.3.pertaining to or caused by the feelings.4.miserably or contemptibly inadequate: In return for our investment we get a pathetic three percent interest. 5. Dick Morris

In what Merriam-Webster editors are attributing to the voluminous usage, or citations, the forthcoming 2009 edition of the world-famous dictionary has added political pundit Dick Morris's picture and name as one of the possible definitions for the word "pathetic."

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Nude Virgin Mary cover prompts Playboy apology

A nude model resembling the Virgin Mary on the cover of the Mexican edition of Playboy magazine, published only days before a major Mexican festival dedicated to the mother of Jesus, prompted the company's U.S. headquarters on Friday to apologize.

The magazine, which hit newsstands on Dec. 1 as ceremonies began leading to Friday's pilgrimage to the Mexico City shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, showed a model wearing nothing but a white cloth over her head and breasts.

She is standing in front of a stained glass window with the cover line, "We Love You, Maria" in Spanish. The model's name is Maria Florencia Onori.

The Virgin of Guadalupe, said to have appeared to a sixteenth century Indian peasant, is Mexico's most revered Roman Catholic figure and the annual pilgrimage to the Mexico City basilica dedicated to her is one of the world's largest religious events.

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Bruni sues over use of nude image on bags

Saint Denis De La Reunion - French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is suing a fashion chain for selling bags emblazoned with nude images of her in the latest legal action over the presidential couple's image.

At a court hearing on Monday in the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, Bruni-Sarkozy's lawyer said the former model was demanding 125,000 euros ($168,300) in damages from local chain Pardon which sold the bags there for a few days.

"This little-known company is using the image of a famous person in a shocking way ... for media attention," Gesche Le Fur told the court in the island's capital, Saint Denis.

Bruni-Sarkozy, 40, rose to fame as a model before becoming a pop singer. Public interest in her has surged since her whirlwind romance with President Nicolas Sarkozy, whom she married in February less than three months after they met.

The couple have repeatedly gone to court over image issues, attracting criticism that they are too focused on trivial matters. The founder and manager of the Pardon chain, which sells clothing and fashion accessories in Reunion but does not trade in mainland France, told the court he had withdrawn the bags from stores at the weekend.