En Passant

Another trick on Google

To learn the weather forecast for your area, type the word "weather" and your zip code, as "weather 10021."

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to eat candy

One of Manhattan's popular tourist destinations, Dylan's Candy Bar, on 60th and Third, is a store designed for young children.  It has puppets and lollipops, stuffed Teddy bears and cartoon characters, Pez dispensers and multi-colored M&Ms.  From dawn til dusk, the store is packed with strollers, giddy youngsters, and their smiling parents.

Yet many of the smiling parents may have overlooked some of the merchandise:
The store also sells candy cigarettes for the toddlers and displays sex-themed chocolates and flavored voodoo dolls.

Could it happen here?

The New York Sun says, Yes.

Has Osama called yet?

If he does, America-hater Ramsey Clark will probably rush to the phone.  The former U.S. Attorney General, who already defends Slobodan Milosevic, has announced he will help defend Sadaam Hussein.  According to Aljazeera: Clark said, the "US itself must be tried for the November assault on Falluja, destruction of houses, torture in prisons and its role in the deaths of thousands of Iraqis in the war."

Yes, everyone deserves a legal defense.  But must our former Attorney General dedicate his career to defending people who would destroy everything for which the United States stands, while at the same time publicly condemning our country?

So how did The New York Times

play one of the worst natural disasters in history?  Tucked away on Page 25.  [Left-click on image.]

While many newspapers front-paged the disaster, the late edition of Sunday's Times had only a four-line, small-type, below-the-fold reference on Page One, linking to the buried article, even though the wire-service story cited the severity of the quake.  Only on Monday and Tuesday did the Old Gray Lady give the story the prominent Page One position (6-column banner headline on Tuesday) that it merits.

The conundrum of 2008

The Democrats have a candidate who can easily win the nomination, but cannot win the election.
The Republicans have a candidate who can easily win the election, but cannot win the nomination.

Christmas is Christmas. Chanukah is Chanukah.

On television, on websites, and now in the print media, there are portmanteau words combining the holidays Christmas and Chanukah.  Suggestion: Hands off!  The two holidays are distinct, and should remain so.

Out of respect to Christians, Christmas should remain Christmas.  Out of respect to Jews, Chanukah should remain Chanukah.  If you celebrate either, Merry Christmas or (a belated) Happy Chanukah!  If you celebrate both, Happy Holidays! If you celebrate neither, Happy Festivus!  And to everyone, a Healthy and Happy New Year.

Arafat's successor says

the Palestinians don't want just their own country.  They want a two-stage process: 1 their own country,  2 the elimination of Israel. 
And they expect the Israelis to negotiate?  For what?  The date of their own destruction?

A bar exam question

Kaplan's Concord Law School says it's one of the largest law schools in the country, yet for each administration only about 25 of its graduates sit for the bar exam.  What happens to the hundreds of other students in each class?  At most law schools, more than 98% of the third-year class will take the bar.

Did she marry him for his mettle?

Nobel laureate finds that winning the prize comes with unanticipated perk.