XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Friday 9 December 2011

FOX News Caught Using Fake Video Of Riots -

FOX News Caught Using Fake Video Of Riots -

"Anchor baby" among roughly 10,000 words -- including "hoodie" and "babydaddy" -- added to the dictionary last month -

"Anchor baby" among roughly 10,000 words -- including "hoodie" and "babydaddy" -- added to the dictionary last month - 


A decision by the American Heritage Dictionary to revise its definition of "anchor baby" -- labeling it an offensive and disparaging term -- is an attempt to manipulate the "linguistic landscape" and push a leftist agenda, some opponents of illegal immigration say.
"Anchor baby" was among roughly 10,000 words -- including "hoodie" and "babydaddy" -- added to the dictionary's fifth edition last month. The hot-button term, a noun, was initially defined as: "A child born to a noncitizen mother in a country that grants automatic citizenship to children born on its soil, especially such a child born to parents seeking to secure eventual citizenship for themselves and often other members of their family."


That definition caught the attention of Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Washington-based Immigration Policy Center, who heard American Heritage Dictionary executive editor Steve Kleinedler read it during a radio interview last month. Giovagnoli blasted the definition on the organization's blog last Friday, saying it masked the "poisonous and derogatory" nature of the term.
By Monday, the term had been changed. It is now defined as such: "Offensive  Used as a disparaging term for a child born to a noncitizen mother in a country that grants automatic citizenship to children born on its soil, especially when the child's birthplace is thought to have been chosen in order to improve the mother's or other relatives' chances of securing eventual citizenship."
The revision is now a "well-crafted" definition of how the term is used, Giovagnoli said.
But not everyone agrees.
"That's a political statement and it's not even accurate," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. "[An anchor baby] is a child born to an illegal immigrant."
Krikorian said the revised definition makes a political statement and is much more than neutral, "just the facts" reference material.
"It's a sign of real provincialism," he said. "I understand why people don't like the term, but I know lots of people who use it in a non-disparaging fashion. There really isn't a shorthand way of describing people like this, and there does need to be because it an important source of political debate: Should the children born to illegal immigrants get automatic citizenship?"




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/09/revised-definition-anchor-baby-part-leftist-agenda-critics-say/

MYSTERY: Florida Crocodile Population Sees Boom -- Outside Nuclear Power Plant... -

MYSTERY: Florida Crocodile Population Sees Boom -- Outside Nuclear Power Plant... - 




Once on the endangered species list, the American crocodile has flourished in a most unlikely place.


In the shadow of a nuclear power plant.


The plant, FPL’s Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant uses over 150 miles of man made canals to help cool the atomic fueled operation.


But there are no two headed toads or three eyed Ibises in this non radioactive water loop, instead there are plenty of crocodiles.


The canals act as a natural habitat and because the site is on FPL land, rarely sees human activity.




That’s where Bob Bertelson and Mario Aldecoa come in.  They work for FPL’s Land Utilization unit monitoring the ground water and wildlife on the sprawling property.


Bertelson says he’s seen a ten fold increase in the number of croc in the last 20 years.


A pleasant surprise for the reptile loving biologist who says, “Do not turn your back on a croc, they are unpredictable.”


Read more - 
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/12/08/croc-boom-at-turkey-point-boosts-species/

IKEA Shanghai: Love in the MDF coffee table aisle - Eligible seniors descend, en masse, for weekly 'romance sessions.' -

IKEA Shanghai: Love in the MDF coffee table aisle - Eligible seniors descend, en masse, for weekly 'romance sessions.' - 


Whether it’s the good, the bad, or the downright ugly, breakfast hotspot and green-minded retailer of not-always-green home furnishings, IKEA, is forever a popular topic on this here blog. But today, here’s something, via The Wall Street Journal, that I didn’t see coming: Apparently, IKEA stores in China, particularly the Shanghai location, are notorious for attracting elderly singles on the hunt for a little romance … and free coffee. I guess you could call the stores (Swedish) meat(ball) markets for the 65-and-over-set.


I live just down the street from the IKEA Brooklyn store and I’ve noticed it can be a tad cruise-y on occasion (but not nearly as bad as Whole Foods outposts in Manhattan) and I totally admit that I actually went on a date, yes, date, at the store when it first opened. Because really, there’s nothing quite as romantic as throwaway wine glasses, dirt cheap bath towels, and check-out lines that rival security at LAX during the holidays.

Anyways, the amorous goings-on at my local IKEA pale in comparison to the retailer's location in Shanghai’s Xuhui shopping district where hoards — we’re talking 70 to 700 people here — of eligible senior citizens descend on a weekly basis to scope out the new arrivals. And I’m not referring to the newest edition of the Billy bookcase.

Take for example Tang Yingzhuo, a 62-year-old widow who prefers the IKEA cafeteria to bars, clubs, and Karaoke establishments. A regular attendee of “romance sessions” for the aged at the Shanghai IKEA, Tang confesses that she’s not all about prowling for potential mates while at the store: “I make more senior citizen friends when I come here. There's more to offer than meeting a boyfriend at IKEA." And then there’s Qian Weizhong, a retired gentleman of a certain age that recently scored the digits of a “nice lady” while attending an informal meet-up in the store’s cafeteria.

However adorably weird, the Shanghai IKEA store’s reputation as a meeting place for throngs of passion-seeking pensioners has proven to be an issue with management and those shopping for furniture and home accessories, not a mate. The store has brought in extra security to man the cafeteria on days when the elderly converge to drink free coffee (scored with an IKEA Family membership card) and chat up Mr. or Mrs. Right. The crowd can get rowdy at times; a store security guard tells the WSJ that he once had hot coffee splashed on him for trying to shush a group of unruly geriatrics.

The store has even erected signage to discourage the assemblage of coffee-guzzling grey-hairs from forming and scaring away paying customers. A sign at the entrance to the cafeteria reads: “IKEA would hereby like to inform this group and its organizers: Your behavior is affecting the normal operations of the IKEA cafeteria. Frequent fights and arguments do serious harm to the image both of Shanghai residents and IKEA. Bringing in outside food and tea violates the cafeteria's regulations…If you are a member of this group, we feel we have warned you, do not use the resources of IKEA to organize events of this kind."


Read more - 
http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/blogs/ikea-shanghai-love-in-the-mdf-coffee-table-aisle?hpt=hp_bn12

Squirrel Caught On CCTV Pulling Fire Alarm - one mischievous squirrel -

Squirrel Caught On CCTV Pulling Fire Alarm - one mischievous squirrel -





Administrators at an Ellenton, Florida elementary school tried to find out who pulled a fire alarm last year. 


Security camera footage helped identify the culprit. It turned out to be one mischievous squirrel. 


The video shows the squirrel enter a restroom, scale the wall, then hang from the fire alarm lever. 


The squirrel remains a legend in the Manatee County School District. 


The troublemaker's actions were brought up at a school board budget meeting this week to justify a contingency fund for the district maintenance department.