Friday, Sept 27, 2013

1.      The FAA may allow some electronic device usage during take-offs and landings, such as reading e-books or watching videos.  ***  Of course, that’s only for the pilots.

2.      A zoo in England has banned visitors from wearing animal print clothing, such as leopard or zebra, because it can confuse or scare the animals.  ***  For the same reason, zoo personnel cannot be heard referring to older women as “cougars.”

3.      Wal-Mart is gearing up for the holidays.  The good news:  Store officials said this will result in 50,000 more seasonal jobs.  ***  The bad news:  All the positions are at the factories in China.

4.      Voters in Switzerland overwhelming defeated a proposal to end the military draft and a second proposal to do away with the army all together.   ***  And no one was more pleased with the outcome than the manufacturer of Swiss Army knives.

5.      Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has increased Harley-Davidson’s credit rating.  ***  Amazing.  All it took was one friendly little visit by a local motorcycle gang.

6.      At the airport in Paris, French police seized more than a ton of cocaine that was stashed in 30 suitcases on a flight from Venezuela.  ***  Now, that’s a good example of how crime doesn’t pay.  With 30 suitcases, the extra baggage fee was greater than the street value of the drugs.

7.      In order to fund new programs Harvard is asking for $6.5 billion in donations.   ***   And President Obama is saying, “Gee, why didn’t I think of that!”

8.      At a meeting with unemployed workers in Sardinia, Pope Francis said the world economy can no longer be based on “a god called money.”   ***   Or as some people call him: “The Donald.”

9.      Police in Michigan arrested four magazine salesmen who carjacked a man at a grocery store and then stabbed someone during a robbery.   ***  You know, I remember when it was bad enough just having them knock on your door.

10.    Ty Warner, the creator of Beanie Babies, has agreed to pay a $53 million fine for not paying taxes on income he earned in an offshore bank account.   ***  Federal prosecutors initially became suspicious that Warner had money stashed offshore when his company came out with the new Mitt Romney Beanie Baby.