What weird news stories make you either laugh out loud, or just say "huh?'

[Rowan MacD]

  Returning to that Abercrombie and Fitch push up bra debacle....An outstanding Ed OP on the subject!

Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps

By LZ Granderson, CNN Contributor
April 19, 2011 8:52 a.m. EDT

Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- I saw someone at the airport the other day who really caught my eye.

Her beautiful, long blond hair was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie "10" (or for the younger set, Christina Aguilera during her "Xtina" phase). Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss, and her earrings dangled playfully from her lobes.

You can tell she had been vacationing somewhere warm, because you could see her deep tan around her midriff thanks to the halter top and the tight sweatpants that rested just a little low on her waist. The icing on the cake? The word "Juicy" was written on her backside.

Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see alright. ... I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she's not even in middle school yet.

Abercrombie & Fitch came under fire this spring for introducing the "Ashley," a push-up bra for girls who normally are too young to have anything to push up. Originally it was marketed for girls as young as 7, but after public outcry, it raised its intended audience to the wise old age of 12. I wonder how do people initiate a conversation in the office about the undeveloped chest of elementary school girls without someone nearby thinking they're pedophiles?

What kind of PowerPoint presentation was shown to the Abercrombie executives that persuaded them to green light such a product?

That there was a demand to make little girls hot? How young is too young to be sexy?
 
I mean, that is the purpose of a push-up bra, right? To enhance sex appeal by lifting up, pushing together and basically showcasing the wearer's breasts. Now, thanks to AF Kids, girls don't have to wait until high school to feel self-conscious about their, uhm, girls. They can start almost as soon as they're potty trained. Maybe this fall the retailer should consider keeping a plastic surgeon on site for free consultations.

We've been here with Abercrombie before -- if you recall, about 10 years ago they sold thongs for 10-year-olds -- but they're hardly alone in pitching inappropriate clothing to young girls. Four years ago the popular "Bratz" franchise introduced padded bras called "bralettes" for girls as young as six. That was also around the time the good folks at Wal-Mart rolled out a pair of pink panties in its junior department with the phrase "Who Needs Credit Cards" printed on the front.

I guess I've been out-of-the-loop and didn't realize there's been an ongoing stampede of 10-year-old girls driving to the mall with their tiny fists full of cash demanding sexier apparel.

What's that you say? Ten-year-olds can't drive? They don't have money, either? Well, how else are they getting ahold of these push-up bras and whore-friendly panties?

Their parents?

Noooo, couldn't be.

What adult who wants a daughter to grow up with high self-esteem would even consider purchasing such items? What parent is looking at their sweet, little girl thinking, "She would be perfect if she just had a little bit more up top."

And then I remember the little girl at the airport.
And the girls we've all seen at the mall.
And the kiddie beauty pageants.

And then I realize as creepy as it is to think a store like Abercrombie is offering something like the "Ashley", the fact remains that sex only sells because people are buying it. No successful retailer would consider introducing an item like a padded bikini top for kindergarteners if they didn't think people would buy it.

If they didn't think parents would buy it, which begs the question: What in the hell is wrong with us?

It's easy to blast companies for introducing the sexy wear, but our ire really should be directed at the parents who think low rise jeans for a second grader is cute. They are the ones who are spending the money to fuel this budding trend. They are the ones who are suppose to decide what's appropriate for their young children to wear, not executives looking to brew up controversy or turn a profit.

I get it, Rihanna's really popular. But that's a pretty weak reason for someone to dress their little girl like her.

I don't care how popular Lil' Wayne is, my son knows I would break both of his legs long before I would allow him to walk out of the house with his pants falling off his butt. Such a stance doesn't always makes me popular -- and the house does get tense from time to time -- but I'm his father, not his friend.

Friends bow to peer pressure. Parents say, "No, and that's the end of it."

The way I see it, my son can go to therapy later if my strict rules have scarred him. But I have peace knowing he'll be able to afford therapy as an adult because I didn't allow him to wear or do whatever he wanted as a kid.

Maybe I'm a Tiger Dad.

Maybe I should mind my own business.

Or maybe I'm just a concerned parent worried about little girls like the one I saw at the airport.

In 2007, the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls issued a report linking early sexualization with three of the most common mental-health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. There's nothing inherently wrong with parents wanting to appease their daughters by buying them the latest fashions. But is getting cool points today worth the harm dressing little girls like prostitutes could cause tomorrow?

A line needs to be drawn, but not by Abercrombie. Not by Britney Spears. And not by these little girls who don't know better and desperately need their parents to be parents and not 40-year-old BFFs.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.

[Lady Kett]

Bravo, LZ Granderson!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Our sons are grown, and we never had to deal with that type of stuff (if I bought it, they wore it, since it meant they didn't have to go shopping - shudder!).

LZ Granderson's article should be copied and passed out by every teacher to every parent of every child in school. And by the PTA.  And by the pediatrician's office.  And etc., etc.

The ability to procreate does not necessarily go hand in hand with parental responsibility and good judgment.  It's sad that common sense has gone by the wayside. 

[arbcoind]

I read that article yesterday and agree 100%.  I live in a neighborhood with alot of kids, you woudn't believe what I see getting on and off the elementary school bus.  I have a teen son, thank goodness.  He's jeans and t-shirts and skate shoes.

Gina

[Rowan MacD]

   If you don't think the death penalty is a deterrent to murder...read the last paragraph.


Man accused of stalking woman before killing her in Oak Brook

By STEVE SCHERING Sun-Times Media Apr 15, 2011 02:11AM
A 20-year-old Canadian man methodically stalked and tracked a Westmont woman before killing her Wednesday night in Oak Brook — even stopping to reload his gun and continue shooting during the attack.
DuPage County Judge Michael Wolfe denied bail Thursday for Dmitry Smirnov of Surrey, British Columbia, who is charged with the first-degree murder of Jitka Vesel, 36.
In court Thursday, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said Smirnov met Vesel in 2008 through an Internet dating site. After they met, Smirnov moved to the United States.
But the relationship soured, and Smirnov moved back to Canada. Since 2009, Berlin said, he has been harassing Vesel. She filed a complaint that year with the Berwyn Police Department over harassing e-mail and telephone calls, Berlin said.
About two weeks ago, Smirnov decided to leave Canada, returning to the United States, Berlin said. He first stopped in Seattle to buy a .40-caliber handgun and ammunition.
Smirnov arrived in Chicago last weekend, using the Internet to locate Vesel's home, Berlin said. He then used a GPS tracking device, which he glued to Vesel's car, to track her movements via the Internet, Berlin said.
He was waiting for Vesel when she went to her car in the parking lot of the Windsor Office Park in Oak Brook, Wednesday night.
"He ran up to her, he began shooting, he reloaded and shot her some more," Berlin said. "She fell on the ground and he kept shooting. He shot her numerous times."
Smirnov then fled the scene, calling Chicago police to tell them he had killed a woman in Oak Brook, Berlin said. Chicago police contacted Oak Brook authorities, and Smirnov turned himself in to a Romeoville police officer.
Eleven shell casings were recovered at the scene, Berlin said, and investigators found the gun in Smirnov's car.
  Berlin said Smirnov had done research on the Internet to determine if Illinois had the death penalty, deciding to go through with Vesel's murder when he discovered it does not.Smirnov could face up to life in prison. His next scheduled court date is May 9.

[Merlin the Elder]

Oddly enough, years ago a similar case ended up with a successful insanity plea. The "logic" was that the number of shots expended to kill the person was not the doings of a sane person. Go figure.

[Rowan MacD]

 The restaurant owners need to quit putting this stuff out next to the dumpsters for pickup, it might help. 


Fryer grease rustling rises due to oil price hikes


By David Hendee David Hendee – 2 hrs 44 mins ago

OMAHA, Neb (Reuters) – Rises in fuel prices have led to an increase in the number of used fryer grease rustlers roaming restaurant alleys in the United States.

Grease thefts have spiked whenever fuel prices climbed during the last four years and this spring is no different, according to Tom Cook, president of the National Renderers Association.

"It's on the rise and it's because of higher oil prices," Cook told Reuters in a telephone interview. "I have one member who told me it's costing his business $1 million a year."

Recyclers typically contract with restaurants to pick up the waste product. The grease is cleaned and sold for use as biofuel, livestock feed and other products.

An Omaha recycler has filed theft reports with police in Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa. Thieves recently stole about 4,200 pounds (1,909 kgs) of used grease from six Lincoln fast-food restaurants.

Processed fryer oil is not trash. It is called yellow grease and is traded. Its value is driven by higher prices of gas and ethanol.

Recyclers and collectors pay restaurants about 18 cents a pound for grease. After further processing, it can be sold for 42 to 45 cents a pound, said Cook, who is based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Yellow grease was trading for less than 8 cents a pound in 2000.

Cook said he plans to conduct an industrywide survey to determine the extent of the losses. Many restaurant owners don't realise what they are losing and local law enforcement agencies have other crime-fighting priorities, he said.

One way to curb demand for stolen grease is to alert potential buyers, especially in the feed industry, to only buy from known sources to ensure the product they receive is free of impurities and moisture, Cook said.

"The price (of yellow grease) is real good right now," he said, "and those who steal it are really getting a good deal because they're not paying for it."

[Rowan MacD]

  OK we gotta draw the PC line right here. The reference to 'owners' in particular gave me a WTF moment.  
  I thought pets were property.  I have to license my dogs like I license my car, I have to provide regular care and maintenance; again like my car.
 In return all my 'pets' have to do is just exist (so actually I expect more from my car than my dogs)....read on.

Calling animals 'pets' is insulting, academics claim

Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends "pets" because the term is insulting, leading academics claim.

Dogs are cleverer than cats because their friendly character has helped them develop bigger brains, a study set to end the argument between pet lovers has shown.

Domestic dogs, cats, hamsters or budgerigars should be re branded as "companion animals" while owners should be known as "human carers", they insist.

Even terms such as wildlife are dismissed as insulting to the animals concerned – who should instead be known as "free-living", the academics including an Oxford professor suggest.

The call comes from the editors of then Journal of Animal Ethics, a new academic publication devoted to the issue.

It is edited by the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, a theologian and director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, who once received an honorary degree from the Archbishop of Canterbury for his work promoting the rights of "God's sentient creatures".

In its first editorial, the journal – jointly published by Prof Linzey's centre and the University of Illinois in the US – condemns the use of terms such as "critters" and "beasts".
Related Articles
 
It argues that "derogatory" language about animals can affect the way that they are treated.

"Despite its prevalence, 'pets' is surely a derogatory term both of the animals concerned and their human carers," the editorial claims.

"Again the word 'owners', whilst technically correct in law, harks back to a previous age when animals were regarded as just that: property, machines or things to use without moral constraint."

It goes on: "We invite authors to use the words 'free-living', 'free-ranging' or 'free-roaming' rather than 'wild animals'

"For most, 'wildness' is synonymous with uncivilized, unrestrained, barbarous existence.

"There is an obvious prejudgment here that should be avoided."

Prof Linzey and his co-editor Professor Priscilla Cohn, of Penn State University in the US, also hope to see some of the more colorful terms in the English language stamped out.

Phrases such as "sly as a fox, "eat like a pig" or "drunk as a skunk" are all unfair to animals, they claim.

"We shall not be able to think clearly unless we discipline ourselves to use less than partial adjectives in our exploration of animals and our moral relations with them," they say.

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

 OK we gotta draw the PC line right here. The reference to 'owners' in particular gave me a WTF moment.  
  I thought pets were property.  I have to license my dogs like I license my car, I have to provide regular care and maintenance; again like my car.
 In return all my 'pets' have to do is just exist (so actually I expect more from my car than my dogs)....read on.

Calling animals 'pets' is insulting, academics claim

Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends "pets" because the term is insulting, leading academics claim.

Dogs are cleverer than cats because their friendly character has helped them develop bigger brains, a study set to end the argument between pet lovers has shown.

Domestic dogs, cats, hamsters or budgerigars should be re branded as "companion animals" while owners should be known as "human carers", they insist.

Even terms such as wildlife are dismissed as insulting to the animals concerned – who should instead be known as "free-living", the academics including an Oxford professor suggest.

The call comes from the editors of then Journal of Animal Ethics, a new academic publication devoted to the issue.

It is edited by the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, a theologian and director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, who once received an honorary degree from the Archbishop of Canterbury for his work promoting the rights of "God's sentient creatures".

In its first editorial, the journal – jointly published by Prof Linzey's centre and the University of Illinois in the US – condemns the use of terms such as "critters" and "beasts".
Related Articles
 
It argues that "derogatory" language about animals can affect the way that they are treated.

"Despite its prevalence, 'pets' is surely a derogatory term both of the animals concerned and their human carers," the editorial claims.

"Again the word 'owners', whilst technically correct in law, harks back to a previous age when animals were regarded as just that: property, machines or things to use without moral constraint."

It goes on: "We invite authors to use the words 'free-living', 'free-ranging' or 'free-roaming' rather than 'wild animals'

"For most, 'wildness' is synonymous with uncivilized, unrestrained, barbarous existence.

"There is an obvious prejudgment here that should be avoided."

Prof Linzey and his co-editor Professor Priscilla Cohn, of Penn State University in the US, also hope to see some of the more colorful terms in the English language stamped out.

Phrases such as "sly as a fox, "eat like a pig" or "drunk as a skunk" are all unfair to animals, they claim.

"We shall not be able to think clearly unless we discipline ourselves to use less than partial adjectives in our exploration of animals and our moral relations with them," they say.

Methinks some people have too much time on their hands to think up garbage like this.  Why don't they work on trying to solve the REAL problems in the world?

[dbaldock]

...
Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends "pets" because the term is insulting, leading academics claim.
...
Prof Linzey and his co-editor Professor Priscilla Cohn, of Penn State University in the US, also hope to see some of the more colorful terms in the English language stamped out.
...

Methinks some people have too much time on their hands to think up garbage like this.  Why don't they work on trying to solve the REAL problems in the world?

I guess we now have a new colorful phrase to use, "As disconnected as an academic."      

[Elennare]

Wow, really?

I think those "academics" need to spend more time outdoors and/or watching nature shows if they think "wild" is not an appropriate word for non-domesticated animals.

Interestingly, I saw this headline while browsing through the newspaper the other day and didn't bother to read the article because I thought it was another stupid "hey, everybody, look at me!" stunt by PETA, not an actual journal article.

Also, I have yet to see my cat react poorly to being called my pet.  I'm pretty sure she's convinced that she owns me, anyway.

[Merlin the Elder]

I know what you mean, Elennare. My Malamute doesn't seem to worry about being politically correct when he takes me for a walk.

[Magpie Flynn]

... Definitely a WTF/facepalm moment right there. I'd like to see the study behind this with some pretty graphs showing me that my pets itty bitty little hearts are crushed when I refer to them as such.

[BubbleWright]

Perhaps these academics should talk to some of the free range animals to get their opinions- Lions, and Tigers, and Bears- OH MY! ...crunch, crunch, slurp, slurp! .......end of discussion.  

[Rowan MacD]

 This is a local (to Omaha, Ne) story.....Sad

'Pirate' may have been suicidal

By Jason Kuiper and Emerson Clarridge
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS


The 38-year-old Omaha man who dressed as a pirate and armed himself with a sword was drinking and apparently suicidal when he made the 911 call that brought police to his house Thursday night.

Jonathan F. Martis' mother said Friday that her son told people he wanted to die. Martis was shot by police while wielding his sword.

Ruth Martis said she was told that Jonathan was upset when he woke up and realized he had survived the shooting.

The bizarre confrontation and shooting unfolded about 6:20 p.m., after Martis reported a disturbance at his home, 3312 X St., then met police armed with a sword. Officers commanded him to drop the sword, but he refused and advanced on them, said Officer Michael Pecha, a police spokesman.

An officer fired a Taser that appeared to have no effect on Martis. The costumed man continued to advance and was shot in the torso by Officer Troy Hiller, Pecha said.

Martis had told witnesses that he was going to harm the responding officers, Pecha said.

Ruth Martis, who lives in Washington County, said she has not talked to her son since the shooting, but she did have a phone conversation with him about an hour before.

"He was having a bad day but I told him it was just that, a bad day and that tomorrow would be better," she said.

Jonathan had threatened suicide in the past, and recently had been very down, she said. He also might have stopped taking his medication for attention-deficit disorder in recent days and started drinking more, she said.

Martis had gone to a store about 4:30 p.m. Thursday to make his usual purchase — a 12-pack of Keystone Ice, said Martis' 24-year-old friend William Settje.

By Thursday night, Ruth Martis said, her son was calling family members "like he was trying to say goodbye."

Jonathan's brother got one of the calls and went to the South Omaha house, Ruth Martis said. Jonathan was wearing the pirate costume his mother made for him.

It had multiple layers, which she speculated might have reduced the effectiveness of the Taser.

Jonathan's brother told Ruth Martis that when Jonathan was hit by the Taser, he shook a little, then "cut through the (Taser) wires with his sword and came back at cops."

Police are still interviewing people close to the situation and were not able to immediately confirm Ruth Martis' account of events.

Hiller, who has been with the department since the fall of 2004, is on administrative leave while the investigation continues.

As evidence technicians worked the scene Thursday night, pieces of Martis' maroon costume were collected in a pile in the street in front of the home. The clothing was next to a pair of handcuffs.

Martis operates an engine repair business from the home. Ruth Martis said he was having trouble at work and had been fighting with his girlfriend.

He had been glum since his girlfriend suffered a miscarriage about 2½ weeks ago, Settje said.

Settje said he met Martis last Halloween at the Brass Monkey bar, where Martis spent the evening with his girlfriend.

"He was the captain, and she was his wench," Settje said.

Settje became fast friends with Martis, whom he referred to as his "mate."

Martis had a penchant for dressing as a pirate at parties. He did not sport an eye patch but often used pirate-related makeup and carried a sword, Settje said.

He was docile and never violent, he said.

"It's just so out of the norm. It's not like Jon. But for him to wield a sword toward an officer, I just can't see that," Settje said.

He said Martis owned two swords, one purchased recently, that he kept hanging on a wall on the second floor of the home where he lived with his girlfriend.

Settje said when Martis bought the 12-pack of beer, he was not wearing the costume.

Douglas County Court records showed that Martis has a long criminal history.

He served a little over a year in prison for attempted first-degree assault and was released in March 2002.

He was sentenced to 90 days in jail in 2001 for driving under suspension, was sentenced to serve 270 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to third offense driving under the influence in 2000 and 90 days in jail for a protection order violation in 1999.

"It's sad. ... I'm not faulting the cops," Ruth Martis said. "When he gets better, I hope he goes to a mental health hospital and not jail."

His condition was not being released Friday by Creighton University Medical Center.

The Martis shooting was the second time in eight months that Omaha police shot a man wielding a sword.

Abraham A. Dawson, 25, was shot by police Sept. 10 after he threatened his 2-week-old baby at the Pine Tower apartments, 1500 Pine St.

Police said Dawson, who suffered from mental illness, was standing over the infant and refused to drop the weapon.

Officer Paul Milone shot Dawson, who died at the scene. A grand jury ruled that there was no criminal conduct in the shooting.