My Grandmother
Popularity: 3%
Archive for July, 2009
Death to the Hitler Tree?
July 8th, 2009 12:43pm by stultzie
In the present climate of climate change and weekly world symposia on preserving the environment, it would seem an obvious crime to cut down a healthy, thriving oak tree, and that is exactly what is causing heated debate in the small town of Jaslo in south-east Poland.
So why is this noble oak causing such controversy? Well, it’s not just any old tree. The oak was planted in 1942, during the Nazi occupation, having been donated to the town’s German administrator by Adolf Hitler to mark the dictator’s birthday.
Perhaps nothing would have happened had it not been for the still sharp memory of 81-year-old local historian, Kazimierz Polak. When the tree was earmarked to be felled to improve traffic flow, Polak felt he had to make the authorities aware of its historic significance… (more…)
Popularity: 2%
Drunken Tractor Heist
July 8th, 2009 12:21pm by stultzie
BERLIN (Reuters) – A drunk German sparked a slow-speed police chase after stealing a tractor to get home from a nightclub after his girlfriend left without him, said police, who used pepper spray to try to stop the vehicle.
“After his girlfriend abandoned him in a night club, the 23-year-old driver, who doesn’t own a license, commandeered the vehicle to make his way home,” a police spokesman said on Monday.
Six police cars began trailing the tractor, which was chugging along at 20 km (12 miles) an hour, after they were alerted to the theft at about 5 a.m. Saturday.
Officers tried holding up stop signs and directing pepper spray through the open window to bring the driver to a halt.
They then tried unsuccessfully to end his getaway by throwing nail belts on the road, but the tractor’s tires proved too thick, said the police spokesman.
The 40-minute chase finally came to an end when officers shot at the tractor’s tires after it rammed into a police car and collided with another vehicle.
I love so many things about this article. Firstly, I get a kick out of the thrill of being young, drunk and German. Makes me feel, ohhh I don’t know, proud to be German? Yeah, I’ll go with that.
Secondly, I love the progression of tactics used to bring the operator to a halt:
- They tried holding up stop signs… seriously? HE STOLE A TRACTOR so you wave stop signs at him? So good.
- Clearly time for the pepper spray when that fails…through the open window. Skills.
- Booby trap the road with nail belts…obviously just for shits and giggles
- before shooting the tires…
SUCCESS!
And all this at 12mph.
Popularity: 1%
Tweets and Twits for 2009-07-08
July 8th, 2009 12:00pm by flipvineThe new Trojan Man – feels like nothing’s there!
July 8th, 2009 09:42am by flipvine
Ladies, Gentlemen, Friends, Romans, Countrymen and of course Horses, rejoice! According to new Trojan ads, their new Ecstasy-flavored condoms “Feel like nothing’s there!”.
Now, I see a couple points of irony in this particular flavor of advertising. Umm.. looks lemony-yellow to me, but that’s beside the point.
“Nothing’s there” – that’s what she said. That would be the first point of irony. I mean, if you’re having sex, I would imagine you’d WANT to have something there. (Actually, let me know if I’m completely off-base on this one – for instance if the whole Ecstasy thing is actually the opposite of the Magnum line and is actually meant for people who suffer from a total lack of genitals – I really didn’t do my research on this one, but I did laugh for about 6 minutes after seeing that ad).
Popularity: 8%
