WTF?

The Tracy Press: On Tuesday, the council approved via a 4-1 vote (with Councilman Steve Abercrombie dissenting) a contract with ADPI-Intermedix, based in Oakland, to send the bills. The city expects to have a billing system ready next month, but doesn’t yet know when it will actually start charging. Residents will pay $300 for every fire department response to a medical emergency. Non-residents can expect to pay $400. There is no set cost for a fire department visit to a…

Dear Switzerland, You welcomed me with open arms as a child immigrant from 1997-1998. You unknowingly shaped my life in immeasurable ways. I attended your schools and played in your community bands. In short, I love the cheese and wine you produce, not to mention your beautiful landscapes. I’ve even made a lifelong friend. I get that you have this image of yourself of being all progressive and such. Sure, you helped broker the peace between the United States and…

John and Andy (in order of geographic proximity to me)– As an unfashionable Californian, I’m a little bit ashamed to think that some high-end California hat store is now selling pith helmets. I wish I was joking. As the Los Angeles Times reports: While I didn’t think it was quite the appropriate headgear for that evening’s black-tie wedding, it fits in nicely with the explorer/desert military vibe that labels like Versace and Galliano had embraced for their Spring/Summer 2010 men’s…

Apparently, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has commissioned a 160-ft high bronze statue commemorating the “African Renaissance.” The statue, “shows a muscular man in a heroic posture, outstretched arms wrapped around his wife and child, who is balanced on one of his biceps,” reports the Associated Press. Plus, the entire group is coming out of a volcano. (Last I checked there weren’t any volcanos anywhere close to Senegal.) Senegalese media reports that the statue will be dedicated in a grandiose ceremony…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on the launch of the new BBC Persian television service is airing today. It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams): New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 8 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg Boston – 4 pm Eastern –…

The Washington Post, January 14 2009, by Bob Woodward: The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a “life-threatening condition.” “We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” said Susan J. Crawford, in her first…

I just got an obvious spam email: I am in a hurry writting this mail to you, I had travelled to United Kingdom for official purposes yesterday, Unfortunately for me all my money was stolen at the hotel where i lodged, I am so confused right now, I dont know what to do or where to go,I didnt bring my phone here and the hotel telephone lines was disconnected during the robbery incident,so i have access to only emails, Please…

Dear Mr. Stursberg [Richard.Stursberg at cbc.ca] and Ms. Mitton [Susan.Mitton at cbc.ca], I am appalled at the decision that was made to cancel Search Engine. I have been a longtime listener and fan of the show down here in the Lower 48 ever since it won Best of 2007 iTunes Podcasts. I didn’t know the show existed until then and since, have been a loyal fan and devotee. As a producer and reporter on American public radio, I understand the…

Please, gag me with a flag pin. I know I’m not the first to say this, but please, NYT: “closed-fist high-fives” it is not. Terrorist fist jab, it is not. Fist bump, fist pound, or dap are the acceptable nomenclature. Props to Gawker for this deft analysis: These are kids (meaning “18-35-year-olds across the entire nation), white and black, for whom respect knuckles are second nature. And Obama’s bump and shoulder-brush, probably simply because he’s such a natural actor, don’t…

Wait, there’s a networking company in Lithuania called Santa Monica Networks? And they do business from Lithuania, through Latvia and Estonia, all the way up to Finland? Huh?