Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Mr. Potato

4-Year-Old Boy Wins Rights to Tropical Island in Lottery

Island
© Reuters/Simon KwongA boat sails across Taiwan Strait off Quemoy, a Nationalist-held offshore island about 1,800 metres away from rival China.
A 4-year-old boy has won the use of an uninhabited tropical island, with white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters, in a Taiwan lottery aimed at boosting spending during an economic downturn.

Officials said Yeh Chien-wei, who won the prize at Thursday's draw, will get exclusive rights to the tiny plot in the Taiwan Strait from May through September.

Penghu County, an offshore archipelago, will provide food, drinks, water and electricity to the boy. He has been quoted in local media saying he wants to play in the sea.

Magic Wand

Brad Pitt, Obama in secret meeting

pitt
© Associated PressBrad Pitt before his top-level talks with Barack Obama on Capitol Hill.
First of all, no, Brad Pitt is not short. Yes, he's handsome enough to stand out in any crowd. And, sorry, Angie wasn't with him.

From the moment he stepped into the Capitol today, sunglassed and goateed, Pitt's star power transformed congressional business-as-usual in a way any lawmaker or new president might envy.

Pitt's superpowers are such that he and President Barack Obama pulled off an improbably secret meeting on the same topic earlier in the day, White House spokesman Thomas F. Vietor confirmed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not immune to his charms. Praising Pitt for his work to rebuild New Orleans' hurricane-ravaged 9th Ward, she even allowed that meeting him affords her "bragging rights to my children and my grandchildren - a real treat for me as well."

Book

Most Britons have lied about the books they read

Books Shelf
© REUTERS/Simon NewmanA customer browses the book section at an Oxfam store in Dalston in east London
Two out of three Britons have lied about reading books they have not, and George Orwell's 1984 tops the literary fib list, according to a survey published Thursday.

Commissioned by organizers of World Book Day, an annual celebration of reading in Britain, the study also shows that the author people really enjoy reading is J.K. Rowling, creator of the bestselling Harry Potter wizard series.

According to the survey, 65 percent of people have pretended to have read books, and of those, 42 percent singled out 1984. Next on the list came War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and in third place was James Joyce's Ulysses.

Sun

Mayor scales ladder to 'rescue' sunbathing dog

Sunbathing dog_01
© photography-on-the.net
A South Texas mayor became so concerned about reports of a Great Dane being stuck on a second-story balcony that he alerted emergency workers, went to the location himself, scaled a fire department ladder and entered the apartment to help the dog. The problem was, the dog wasn't in distress. The bigger problem came when the surprised dog owner found Mayor Pat Ahumada standing in his kitchen Tuesday.

"He broke into my house," the owner, who asked not to be identified, told the Brownsville Herald. "My dog is very well taken care of. He shouldn't have done that."

Ahumada, a dog lover whose zeal for the animals has caused problems before, said a local TV station called him to say a dog was stuck. Ahumada called animal services, the fire department and the police.

Cookie

British Police's First Lesson from U.S. Cops: Where to Get the Best Doughnuts

U.S. and British
© Daily MailU.S. train cops in Philadelphia show the British Transport Police where to get the best doughnuts.
It is the stuff of TV and movie cliche, but it seems doughnuts really ARE high on an American cop's list of priorities.

After all, Philadelphia police officers were quick to show their British counterparts where to get the best kind during an exchange programme today.

British Transport Police (BTP) officers are currently in the States to share railroad security and counter-terrorism practices with officers from Amtrak Police Department (APD), which looks after America's railways.

But first things first - the day began with the all-important visit to Dunkin Donuts.

Family

Los Angeles: Cops Called to Octo-Home Eight Times

Suleman
© Unknown
Long before we knew way too much about octo-mom Nadya Suleman and her 14 children, the police were well aware of her, according to a report published Tuesday.

Police were called to Suleman's last two homes a total of eight times, TMZ.com reported.

- Jan. 9, 2008 -- One of Suleman's children was locked in a room. Police picked the lock, TMZ reported.

- May 12, 2008 -- Neighbors called police after the front door was left open.

- July 7, 2008 -- Police escorted the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services during an investigation into the well being of the six children. The allegations were unfounded, according to officials, TMZ reported.

Black Cat

Cat Credited With Waking Up Bremerton Woman Amid Fire

In a rare role reversal, it was the cat who helped out the firefighters.

More importantly, it was a cat who saved a woman's life with what would normally be a routine annoyance for cat owners - the early-morning face pawing.

Around 6:45 a.m. Saturday, an elderly Bremerton woman's Veldee Avenue home filled with smoke billowing through the vents from the home's heater.

The smoke alarm was going off, but she didn't hear it.

Good thing she has a cat.

Stop

$#$%##! LA County, US tries for cuss-free week

Pay no attention to that eerie silence in the nation's most populous county this week; it will simply be the sound of 10 million people not cussing.

At least that's the result McKay Hatch is hoping for once his campaign to clear the air is recognized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

On Tuesday, the board is scheduled to issue a proclamation by Supervisor Michael Antonovich making the first week in March No Cussing Week.

Grey Alien

German man calls police over 'Russian-speaking extraterrestrials'

A man in northwest Germany called police early on Monday to report a close encounter with Russian-speaking extraterrestrials, police said.

The 40-year-old man from Gifhorn, Lower Saxony called the police at 3:30 a.m. local time [2:30 GMT] and said six extraterrestrial beings, each about 15 centimeters tall, were flying around his apartment and talking Russian.

Play

Satire: Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?