Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S

Mr. Potato

Axis of Hysteria! North Korea Fears 2012 Disaster Film Will Thwart Rise as Superpower

Image
© Columbia PicturesA scene from disaster film 2012: North Korea's government is scrambling to prevent pirated copies of the film 2012.
North Korea's government is scrambling to prevent pirated copies of the film 2012 from getting into the country because Pyongyang fears the disaster movie could jinx its lucky year, according to a report.

The regime's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, has said 2012 will be the year that North Korea will "open the grand gates to becoming a rising superpower".

April 15, 2012 will mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the nation who is still revered as The Great Leader - and remains the official head of state despite the fact that he died in 1994.

Smiley

Satire: Congress To Investigate UFO's

Washington DC -- House-Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to sooth everyone's frayed nerves and get people to think of something else besides health care. Ms. Pelosi will have Congress look into the UFO phenomenon, and decide once and for all if UFOs are real. She will then report the results directly to the American people herself. The cost of the investigation will be high, about $1 trillion.

"Let's just all chill, folks--ok?" Said Ms. Pelosi. "Let's just have a little fun, and think about UFO's for awhile, ok?" She droned.

Ms. Pelosi then went on the Internet inside her office. She spent five minutes of her valuable time looking at a few UFO websites. She pondered the information for a second, and then came to a conclusion: UFOs aren't real. She quickly called a press conference to give her findings.

Oscar

Canadian cashier says she'll keep working after winning Lotto 6/49 jackpot

Despite winning more than $20 million Ontario's newest multi-millionaire has no plans to quit her job as a grocery store cashier.

The woman, identified only as Bonnie, won half the jackpot in Saturday's $41-million draw.

She works at a No Frills outlet in London, Ont., and dropped off doughnuts and coffee to her co-workers Monday before heading to Toronto to pick up her prize.

Smiley

US: Michigan fugitive found in Pennsylvania bar wearing hospital gown

A fugitive wanted for bank robbery in Michigan is in police custody after he walked into a Pittsburgh bar wearing only a hospital gown.

Authorities say 20-year-old Elbert Lewis Thompson II walked out of Allegheny General Hospital and into JR's Bar on Friday night in a gown and with a needle in his arm, prompting a call to police. Thompson was taken into custody a short time later.

Police in Vandergrift say Thompson had been detained by officers after fleeing a traffic stop there, about 25 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. He was initially hospitalized after complaining of feeling sick and losing consciousness.

Mr. Potato

Satire: U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion

Ben Bernanke
© The OnionCalling it "basically no more than five rectangular strips of paper," Fed chairman Ben Bernanke illustrates how much "$200" is actually worth.
Washington - The U.S. economy ceased to function this week after unexpected existential remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shocked Americans into realizing that money is, in fact, just a meaningless and intangible social construct.

Calling it "basically no more than five rectangular strips of paper," Fed chairman Ben Bernanke illustrates how much "$200" is actually worth.

What began as a routine report before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday ended with Bernanke passionately disavowing the entire concept of currency, and negating in an instant the very foundation of the world's largest economy.

"Though raising interest rates is unlikely at the moment, the Fed will of course act appropriately if we...if we..." said Bernanke, who then paused for a moment, looked down at his prepared statement, and shook his head in utter disbelief. "You know what? It doesn't matter. None of this - this so-called 'money' - really matters at all."

Mr. Potato

Relax, Legal Scholars: Supreme Court Bobbleheads Are Safe at Yale

Justice Souter bobblehead
© greenbag.org
We try to never miss New York Times SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) reporter Adam Liptak's column -- he is always tracking down some interesting legal character or getting behind the scenes in an interesting trial.

But somehow we missed his piece yesterday, and we thus missed this: Yale Law School's Lillian Goldman Law Library is acquiring, and safekeeping for posterity, bobblehead dolls depicting the Supreme Court justices.

The justices (Yale picked up Rehnquist's most recently) have been standouts all of their lives, and their bobbleheads are no different.

Display

Burglar busted after using company's computer

myspace.com
© unknown
Kennewick, Wasington - A burglar who spent about five hours on a store's computer after breaking into the business gave police all the clues they needed to track him down.

Investigators say the 17-year-old logged into his MySpace account while at Bella Office Furniture and that made it easy for them to find him.

He also spent time looking at pornography and trying to sell stolen items, all while using the business' computer.

Beer

US: Arizona town opens time capsule, minus brandy

Somerton is missing a bottle of brandy.

When officials of the Arizona community opened a time capsule Saturday, they discovered town history - all except a bottle of brandy that was supposed to be in the capsule buried 25 years ago.

Somerton street and solid waste supervisor Pancho Soto was part of the crew that buried the time capsule.

Green Light

Fake cop arrested after pulling over a real one

Phoenix - An Arizona man accused of admonishing motorists of traffic laws while posing as a police officer apparently picked the wrong driver to pull over.

A Maricopa County jury on Tuesday found 62-year-old David Word guilty of impersonating a lawman for pulling over an off-duty police officer. Sentencing is set for May 5.

Avondale police officer Matt Lydic says he was on his way to work in his personal vehicle last May when Word pulled him over while driving a black Ford Crown Victoria equipped with lights and a siren. Lydic says Word told him to slow down, then drove away.

The officer noticed police-style equipment in the car and copied down the license plate, which came back registered to Word. Police arrested Word at his home in Surprise.

Roses

Passers-by call Colorado police over topless gardener

A nudist in Boulder who was threatened with eviction last spring for gardening outside wearing only pasties and a thong has caused another stir by gardening topless. At least four callers told police 52-year-old Catharine Pierce was in her yard topless on Wednesday. State law prohibits exposed genitals, but Pierce was wearing a thong and gardening gloves.