Iran announced that they were planning on shooting a monkey into space with one of their Kavoshgar-5 rockets. Western officials were worried that the Islamic Republic was really just testing its own ability to create long-range ballistic missiles. Thankfully Iran has failed to send a rhesus monkey into Earth’s orbit. Iran postponed its plans on October 3rd to send a monkey into space. Iran has already sent a rat, turtles and worms to space by its Kavoshgar-3 rocket in 2010. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country plans on putting a man into space by 2017.

For some reason, possibly having something to do with the fact that three of the last seven governors have had certain legal problems, Illinois seems to be coming out with a new license plate design for 2009.

(Not really, but this design is making the e-mail rounds today.)

Hey, they should at least give you an option to buy one. Maybe this is a way to make up for the money the CTA is wasting!

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That four wheeled pride and joy sitting in your driveway – due for a car wash – will probably stay dirty unless you take it to a drive through car wash. Cities across the country are debating the idea of denying homeowners the privilege of washing their own vehicles outside their own house(s).

In King County, Wash., local officials are mulling a move to prohibit residents from washing their cars on the street over concerns that the runoff is sloshing into Puget Sound. In Fairfax, Calif., fearing similar runoff pollution, officials have proposed a ban on washing cars in front of one’s home, with citations and possible imprisonment for violators.

Read more on the Wall Street Journal. It’s for the fishes right? Keep your cars dirty for the sake of helping our eco-system stay healthy. What are your thoughts?

Found this little gem regarding a classified US Military document via Daily Kos – U.S. Aims To Lure Insurgents With ‘Bait’.

A Pentagon group has encouraged some U.S. military snipers in Iraq to target suspected insurgents by scattering pieces of “bait,” such as detonation cords, plastic explosives and ammunition, and then killing Iraqis who pick up the items, according to military court documents.

Sound off in the comments concerning the idea of scattering explosive materials in hopes of luring positive sniper targets. WTF?

I’m shocked to discover this, but I’m a huge documentary buff, I love them… while browsing a certain online video site I stumbled upon one that literally rocked my world.

Determined to find the law that requires American citizens to pay income tax, producer Aaron Russo (“The Rose,” “Trading Places”) set out on a journey to find the evidence. This film which is neither left, nor right-wing is a startling examination of government. It exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America since 1913 when the Federal Reserve system was fraudulently created. Through interviews with U.S. Congressmen, a former IRS Commissioner, former IRS and FBI agents and tax attorneys and authors, Russo connects the dots between money creation, federal income tax, and the national identity card which becomes law in May 2008. This ID card will use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips which are essentially homing devices used to track people. This film shows in great detail and undeniable facts that America is moving headlong into a fascist police state. Wake up!

via http://www.freedomtofascism.com/

According to the New York Times:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

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Take it to the comments. [via]

Have to say this is QUITE funny!

If you were one of two individuals running during a political poll, how would you feel if the final decision concerning who would win was decided with a good ‘ol coin toss?

Two candidates in the Philippines who got the same number of votes in a local election have settled the issue of who won by tossing a coin.

Bryan Byrd Bellang and Benjamin Ngeteg tied for the last of eight council seats in Bontoc, a resort town some 280km (175 miles) north of Manila.

They agreed to the coin toss, set down in local election rules. Mr Bellang called heads and won the seat.

Personally, I would have insisted on a much more predictable game of rock, paper, scissors. But that’s just me. What would you have preferred?

Today the Defense Department blocked the websites YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos and FileCabi, MySpace, BlackPlanet and Hi5, Pandora, MTV, 1.fm, live365, and Photobucket from all military owned networks citing security and technical concerns.

“The U.S. Army’s not going to pay the bill for you to get on MySpace and YouTube,” said Maj. Bruce Mumford, of Chester, Nebraska, who is serving as the brigade communications officer for the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, in Iraq. [...]

As blogs and video-sharing become more common, the military has voiced increasing concern about service members revealing details about military operations or other information about equipment or procedures that will aid the enemy.

At the same time, service members have used the Web sites to chronicle their time in battle, posting videos and writing journals that provide a powerful, personal glimpse into their days at war.

Having a background in IT, I can understand the bandwidth concerns – but I am a firm believer that the troops deserve unfettered access to the internet preserving their rights to free speech that they are so bravely protecting.

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