In Other News

[ricketyclik]

Missouri votes against banning children from carrying guns in public

“While it may be intuitive that a 14-year-old has no legitimate purpose, it doesn’t actually mean that they’re going to harm someone. We don’t know that yet,” said Tony Lovasco, a Republican from the St Louis suburb of O’Fallon.

“Generally speaking, we don’t charge people with crimes because we think they’re going to hurt someone.”

I presume then that children are allowed to operate a motor vehicle in Missouri, since there is no intent to do harm?

[Broken_Erika]

Bobi breaks Guinness World Record for oldest dog ever

A 30-year-old Portuguese dog has been named as the world's oldest ever by Guinness World Records - beating a record that stood for a century.

Bobi is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo - a breed that has an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.

The previous oldest dog ever was Australia's Bluey, who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five months.

As of 1 February, Bobi was 30 years and 226 days old, and is said to be doing well for his age.

His grand old age has been validated by the Portuguese government's pet database, which is managed by the National Union of Veterinarians, according to Guinness World Records.

He has lived his whole life with the Costa family in the village of Conqueiros, near Portugal's west coast, after being born with three siblings in an outbuilding.

Leonel Costa, who was eight years old at the time, said his parents had too many animals and had to put the puppies down, but Bobi escaped.

Leonel and his brothers kept the dog's existence a secret from their parents until he was eventually discovered and became part of the family, who feed him the same food they eat.

"Between a can of animal food or a piece of meat, Bobi doesn't hesitate and chooses our food," said Mr Costa, who always soaks the food in water to remove most of the seasoning.

Apart from a scare in 2018 when he was hospitalised after suddenly collapsing due to breathing difficulty, Mr Costa says Bobi has enjoyed a relatively trouble-free life and believes the secret to his longevity is the "calm, peaceful environment" he lives in.

It may also be in the blood - Bobi's mother living to the age of 18.

However, time has taken its toll on Bobi, who now has trouble walking and worsening eyesight.

Mr Costa says Bobi is the "last of a long generation of animals" in the Costa family and describes him as "one of a kind."

Bobi's crowning as the oldest dog ever comes just two weeks after Guinness World Records named another dog, Spike the Chihuahua, as the oldest living dog - at 23 years old.

Guinness have since updated its records, and announced Bobi as both the oldest dog living, and the oldest dog ever.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64507336

[BeBMan]

Dying for sex: endangered male quolls may be mating themselves to death instead of sleeping, scientists say

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...scientists-say

[BeBMan]

"The" Picard and "The" Sisko would disagree with this anti-the talk!

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I blame Dave Chapelle.

-Really.

[Dauphin]

They could have said don't refer to 'the Associated Press'.

[Broken_Erika]

AP deletes ‘the French' tweet and apologises after it is widely mocked

The Associated Press, the biggest news agency in the United States, has apologised after it was ridiculed for warning journalists against referring to "the French".

The AP stylebook Twitter account had recommended writers avoid using "the" in phrases like "the disabled, the poor and the French".

It said this could be dehumanising.

The French embassy responded by briefly changing its name to the "Embassy of Frenchness in the United States".

"We just wondered what the alternative to the French would be," Pascal Confavreux, the embassy spokesman, told the New York Times. "I mean, really."

The original AP tweet received more than 20 million views and 18,000 retweets before being deleted.

It was widely mocked on social media.

The writer Sarah Haider joked that there was "nothing as dehumanizing as being considered one of the French" and that a better term was "suffering from Frenchness".

Ian Bremmer, a political scientist, suggested "people experiencing Frenchness" as an alternative.

After it deleted the tweet, the AP stylebook said its reference to French people was "inappropriate" but that it "did not intend to offend".

"Writing French people, French citizens, etc., is good. But "the" terms for any people can sound dehumanising and imply a monolith rather than diverse individuals," it wrote.

"That is why we recommend avoiding general 'the' labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the wealthy, the disabled, the college-educated," it wrote.

For example, a better term than "the poor" was "people with incomes below the poverty line", it added.

Lauren Easton, the vice president of AP corporate communications, told the French daily newspaper Le Monde: "The reference to 'the French' as well as the reference to 'the college educated' is an effort to show that labels shouldn't be used for anyone, whether they are traditionally or stereotypically viewed as positive, negative or neutral."

The AP stylebook is considered one of the best style guides for journalists and other writers, particularly in the US.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64436973

[Broken_Erika]

US town's toilets-on-skis race is flush with success

US town's toilets-on-skis race is flush with success

The small town of Conconully, Washington, has had the tradition of racing outhouse for 42 years.
The annual competition takes place on Main Street. People gather from across eastern Washington to watch.
Participants build the outhouses out of wood and are required to have toilet, a loo roll, and a competitor inside equipped with a helmet.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-64313360

[SlowwHand]

[-Jrabbit]

They say justice delayed is justice denied, but after several decades, John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revivial finally has ownership of his own music.

Capping one of the longest and nastiest legal battles in music business history, John Fogerty has gained worldwide control of the publishing rights to his Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, more than 50 years after the songs were first released.

Fogerty has acquired a majority interest in the global publishing rights to his song catalog with the group, which includes “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Up Around the Bend,” “Have You Ever Seen Rain” and others from Concord for an undisclosed amount, a rep for the company confirmed

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/john-fogerty-acquires-rights-to-creedence-clearwater-revival-songs-1235487289/

[pchang]

Apparently, they answered Yes and then No.

[BeBMan]

They should use lottery to get a new speaker after x attempts of unsuccessful votes

[Uncle Sparky]

[PLATO]

makes you wonder how on earth did the republicans take the house from the dems.

Choice between "Do you hate democracy" or "Do you hate being poor?" ?????????????

[My Wife Hates CIV]

makes you wonder how on earth did the republicans take the house from the dems.