Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Crusader

Society of Jesus calls missionaries to Second Life to save virtual souls from 'erotic simulation'

Cade Metz
The Register
Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:20 UTC
Jesuit missionaries may soon venture into Second Life, intent on saving virtual people from virtual sins.

Writing in the Italian Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, whose contents are approved by the Vatican, Father Antonio Spadaro has told fellow Catholics that they shouldn't be wary of venturing into Second Life's virtual world, arguing that the online alternate universe might be the perfect place to land converts, Reuters reports.
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Bell

Wash. City Using Classical Music To Chase Gangs From Bus Stop


Associated Press
Tue, 31 Jul 2007 04:35 UTC
City authorities, fed up with gang activity in public places, are taking Bach their bus stop.

Transit workers are installing speakers this week to pump classical music from Seattle's KING-FM into the Tacoma Mall Transit Center. The tactic is designed to disperse young criminals who make drug deals at the bus stop or use public transportation to circulate between the mall and other trouble-prone places.

The attack by Bach, Brahms and Beethoven follows the theory that prompted the city to stage pinochle games on dangerous street corners: Jolting the routine in such spots throws criminals off balance.

"It's based on routine activity theory and situational crime prevention. You mix different types of activities in locations that are crime-ridden to change the composition of the environment," said psychologist Jacqueline Helfgott, who chairs the Criminal Justice Department at Seattle University.

Skeptics include Tony Wilson, a bus driver for 18 years.
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Smiley

Man Sues Over McDonald's Receipt In English


AP | wftv
Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:53 UTC
Lawyer Wants 13 Cents

BEIJING -- A lawyer reportedly has sued McDonald's in China after he was given receipts that were printed mostly in English.

The state-run newspaper Beijing Youth Daily said the lawyer claims the use of English instead of Chinese "violates the consumers' right to know."
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Cut

Prepare for a new round of crying game: Paris Hilton loses inheritance


Daily Telegraph
Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:06 UTC
Party princess Paris Hilton is $60 million out of pocket after her billionaire grandfather - appalled by her jail term for drink-driving offences - axed her inheritance.

Family patriarch Barron Hilton was already embarrassed by his granddaughter's wild behaviour - notably when her home sex video was leaked on the internet.

But the 79-year-old considered her 23-day sentence last month the last straw.
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Sheeple

Meditators say vibrations will raise Dow, ward off hurricanes, create utopia


Reuters
Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:56 UTC
U.S. stocks had a tough week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffering its worst one-week point drop in five years, but a group of meditators promise their good vibrations will send the index past 17,000 within a year.

A group called the Invincible America Assembly made that claim and more Friday, insisting they have America's prosperity under control and their positive vibes will bring fewer hurricanes and better U.S.-North Korean relations.
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USA

Soliciting sex draws fowl sentence for 3


Cleveland.com
Sat, 28 Jul 2007 04:23 UTC
PAINESVILLE, Ohio - A judge known for giving unusual sentences has ordered three men who pleaded guilty to soliciting sex to take turns dressing in a bright yellow chicken costume.

Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti agreed to suspend a 30-day jail sentence if they wear the costume between 4 and 7 p.m. Friday outside the court while carrying a sign that reads "No Chicken Ranch in Painesville."
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Wine

Quit horsing around!


Daily Mail
Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:26 UTC
She may be standing in the shadows but one little horse is reaching heights of her own.

At a mere 17 inches, the miniature brown mare known as Thumbelina takes pride in the lofty title of the World's Smallest Living Horse.

Her companion, Radar, is a Belgian draught horse with his own big claim to fame - as the Worlds Tallest Living Horse.

©Getty
Big heights: Radar, a Belgian draft horse towers over Thumbelina, a miniature who is the world's smallest living horse.
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Coffee

Excuse Me, Is This Your Phone?

Ed Shanahan
Reader's Digest
Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:49 UTC
We dropped 30 phones in 32 cities. How many would we get back?
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Bulb

Agency Offers AIDS Education to Elderly

KAREN MATTHEWS
Associated Press
Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:16 UTC


©AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
Joy Antonella, 91, center, reads a handout during an HIV/AIDS educational presentation and screening for seniors at the Peter Cardella Senior Center in Ridgewood, New York

NEW YORK - While volunteers passed out cups of Jell-O to the white-haired lunch crowd at a senior center, another group was distributing something that didn't quite fit amid the card games and daily gossip: condoms. "You're giving out condoms," 82-year-old Rose Crescenzo said with a wistful smile, "but who's going to give us a guy?"

But this was no joke.
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Light Sabers

Police lose scooter in blazing 8 mph chase

Sam Beattie
Gazette Live
Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:26 UTC
This plucky pensioner led police on a low-speed chase around Middlesbrough - and then gave officers the slip.

The lukewarm pursuit started after he caused traffic chaos by crawling down the fast lane of a busy dual carriageway.

Police asked the stubborn senior citizen to pull over. But he defiantly cranked his battery-powered mobility scooter up to its top speed - 8mph - and somehow managed to escape their attention.

©Gazette Live

Comment: Man on the run... Man on the run...

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