Wino

Who in his right mind would withdraw $2 million in cash? I thought only drug dealers used cash. TAIPEI (Reuters) – A man in Taiwan was robbed of more than $2 million in cash that he had just withdrawn from the bank, a police official said on Tuesday. Three masked gunmen robbed the 50-year-old victim on Monday afternoon in the southern city of Tainan, logging the highest-value robbery in city history with a heist of T$77 million (2.39 million), said a police investigation official surnamed Chang. The gunmen approached the victim, surnamed Tsai, as he drove from the bank to his watch shop nearby, Taiwan's Central News Agency said. One shot a shop employee in the foot during a scuffle to fight off the gunmen, the agency said. Police are looking for the three men while advising people in the 769,000-population city to be more vigilant. "We're putting out a notice on public safety, telling citizens that we're ready stand beside them for protection as they use the bank," Chang said. (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091124/od_nm/us_taiwan_robbery

These cataract surgeries have come a long way in recent years. I would not put the surgery in the elective cosmetic category, but really a necessary operation. A pilot I know put off cataract surgery for years. When he landed his plane on a taxiway instead of the runway, he decided it was time for the operation. He now looks back on it and doesn't know why he waited so long.

"On the other hand, I stand by my "friggin' nuts" comments regarding those who claim they saw an alien, were abducted by aliens, and/or were probed by aliens in places the sun don't usually shine....hehe. " With the universe so vast, there is a high probability there are millions of planets similar ours. I should think chances are good life like ours, or more advanced, may exist. I think it is conceivable other life forms could exist and travel the galaxies. At http://www.ufocasebo...abductions.html are accounts of some of your said “nuts.†The http://skepdic.com/aliens.html website is more in line with your way of thinking. Now, let me see if I have this straight? You don’t believe in UFO, life on other planets, or spirits? I bet the next thing you will be saying is there's no Santa Claus or tooth fairy!

555555. Not sure about stinky, but certainly different.

Looks like the tabloids were reporting some truth about Tiger's infidelities. Embattled athlete Tiger Woods all but fessed up to having strayed from his image as a family man in a heartfelt public apology on his Web site Wednesday. "I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart," he writes. "I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect." In the wake of a one-car accident last week, rumors swirled that the crash was somehow caused by allegations that Woods, 33, had had an affair behind wife Elin Nordegren's back. Despite Florida authorities saying they considered the case closed, scrutiny only grew – and another woman emerged, claiming she and the pro golfer had had a 31-month romance. Woods, while not explicitly admitting to extramarital affairs, pleaded for privacy in his Wednesday mea culpa. "I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family," he writes. "Those feelings should be shared by us alone." Later, he adds: "Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions ... I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology." http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20323755,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+people%2Fheadlines+%28PEOPLE.com%3A+Top+Headlines%29

Here is an article by LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer. Interesting that the government officials tried to pass this death off as meningitis, heart attack, car accident, or a suicide. What a joke. CAIRO – A 26-year-old doctor who exposed the torture of jailed protesters in Iran died of poisoning from a delivery salad laced with an overdose of blood pressure medication, prosecutors say. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew. Investigators are still trying to determine whether his death last month was a suicide or murder, Tehran's public prosecutor Abbas Dowlatabadi said, according to the state news agency IRNA. The revelations of torture against prisoners in Iran's postelection turmoil angered even government supporters and deeply embarrassed the country's clerical leadership and security forces. Much of the abuse took place at Kahrizak, a prison on Tehran's outskirts where hundreds of opposition protesters were taken. Several there died, and the facility became so notorious that Iran's supreme leader was forced to close it down. Ramin Pourandarjani, a doctor at Kahrizak, later testified to a parliamentary committee and reportedly told them that a young protester he treated died from severe torture. He said he was also forced by security officials to list the cause of death as meningitis, according to opposition Web sites. Pourandarjani died on Nov. 10 in mysterious circumstances, with authorities initially saying he was in a car accident, had a heart attack or committed suicide. Forensic tests showed that the doctor died of "poisoning by drugs" that matched doses of propranolol found in a salad that was delivered to him, Dowlatabadi said Tuesday. "A large number of these pills must be used for a person to pass away from them," he said. Propranolol is used to treat high blood pressure, rapid heart rate and tremors, and can be lethal in high doses. The restaurant delivery man told investigators that he gave the salad directly to Pourandarjani and described how the doctor took it from him at the door of his room, then closed the door behind him, Dowlatabadi said. The delivery man is not under arrest, he said. Last week, Iran's top police commander, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, insisted the death was a suicide. He said the doctor faced criminal charges over failure to fulfill his duties to treat the detainees and killed himself in despair in a courthouse lounge. The police chief said a note was found with the body. But the police chief, speaking more than a week after the death, only highlighted the mysteries. His comments were the first and only public word that Pourandarjani had faced any charges — or that he had died in a courthouse. The IRNA report on the prosecutor's announcement did not say where the doctor was when the salad was delivered to him. One pro-reform lawmaker dismissed the claims and suggested a link to the prison torture. "It is impossible to accuse him of suicide," said Masood Pezeshkian, the pro-opposition Web site Roozonline reported Wednesday. "The idea of suicide by someone who had no problems and no serious disease — and was present during the events at Kahrizak — seems questionable to us." The doctor's father, Reza-Qoli Pourandarjani, told The Associated Press last month that he didn't believe any of the causes of death given so far by the government. But he didn't go as far as accusing anyone of killing his son. "Just the night before his death, my child talked to me on the phone, it was around 8 or 9 p.m. He sounded great, very dignified, displaying no sign of someone about to commit suicide," he said in a telephone interview from his home in Tabriz in northwestern Iran. "He was even full of hope" and making plans with friends, the father said. The next day, the elder Pourandarjani received a call from a Tehran security official informing him that his son was in a car accident with a broken leg and needed his consent to have surgery. When he traveled to Tehran, "we found out that that wasn't the case," the father said. Several opposition Web sites raised concerns that Pourandarjani was killed because he knew details on a number of torture victims at Kahrizak, including 24-year-old Mohsen Rouhalamini, the son of a prominent conservative figure. Rouhalamini's death in late July was the main factor raising anger among government supporters over the abuse. In his testimony, the doctor told the committee investigating abuse that Rouhalamini was brought to him at Kahrizak "in a dreadful state after being subjected to extreme physical torture. He was in a critical state," the opposition Web site Mowjcamp said, citing parliament officials. Pourandarjani said that after the youth's death, "officials in Kahrizak threatened that if I disclosed the causes of the wounds of the injured at Kahrizak, I would not be able to live," the site reported. Hundreds of protesters and opposition activists were arrested in the crackdown on protests following the disputed June 12 presidential election, in which the opposition says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory was fraudulent. The opposition says at least 69 people were killed while the government has confirmed around 30 deaths. More than 100 protesters, activists and pro-reform opposition have been on trial, accused of fueling the protests and being part of a plot to overthrow the government. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091202/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_doctor_s_death

Doesn't seem right that Meredith was outed but that is the price celebrities pay for fame. After recent reports say 'Family Ties' mom Meredith Baxter was spotted on a gay cruise, the actress is coming clean on 'Today,' saying: "I want to say I'm a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition." In an interview with Matt Lauer, Baxter -- who has been married three times and has five children -- says she figured out her sexuality seven years ago. "Some people would say, well, you're living a lie and, you know, the truth is – not at all. This has only been for the past seven years," Baxter told Lauer. She says she didn't disclose this before because she has "always lived a very private life," and that "to come out and disclose stuff is very antithetical to who I am." Baxter says that she realized she needed to come forward because she "got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was an awakening. I understood why I have the issue in my life ... I was involved with people who made me think they're the problem. It never occurred to me, that it was me," Baxter said. Speculation about Meredith's sexuality was raised when tabloid magazine The National Enquirer reported that she was spotted on a gay cruise recently. Baxter shot to fame thanks to her role as matriarch Elyse Keaton on the hit '80s sitcom 'Family Ties.' Before her success there, she already had a long career in showbiz, with acting gigs dating all the way back to 1971. She had stints on 'The Love Boat,' 'Family' and 'Bridget Loves Bernie,' among other shows and movies. Baxter has five children from three separate marriages. She had two children with husband Ted Bush, and later had three more with David Birney. In recent years, Baxter has become very focused on charity work since she survived breast cancer. She's since started her own charity -- the Meredith Baxter Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. http://www.popeater....h-baxter-gay%2F

Seems to me, not all the people that reports sightings of UFO are nuts.

Here is what they are saying lately about the Tiger Woods case. The Florida Highway Patrol announced Tuesday it would not be pursuing an investigation into the Tiger Woods accident last week. Woods was issued a "careless driving citation," however, but that's a relative slap on the wrist and essentially the equivalent of Tiger driving around Orlando without his seatbelt. Most importantly, perhaps, the FHP stated that "there are no claims of domestic violence by any individual." Woods faces a fine of up to $164 and four points against his driver's license. http://golf.fanhouse.com/2009/12/01/florida-police-issue-careless-driving-citation-to-tiger-woods-c/

Everyone can make an error. Ask Al Gore.

Yes, like those UFO articles, there is some truth in them.

Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

Okay a sausage eaten at breakfast is not a breakfast sausage, it is a bratwurst, knockwurst, bierwurst, blutwurst, or braunschweiger sausage.

Seems to me many are putting old Jimmy on a pedestal. I like what he has done since leaving office, but he is no more credible than any other politician. Is his statement about the Joe Wilson incident any more believable than anyone else’s opinion? I don’t think so.

Here is a sad story about a beauty queen that died as a result of cosmetic surgery. I don't have all the details of what went wrong, but it is a tragedy to pass away during elective surgery. Buenos Aires, Argentina (Dec. 1) -- A former Miss Argentina died Sunday after complications arising from plastic surgery, the official Telam news agency said. Solange Magnano, 37, died in a hospital after being transferred from a clinic where she underwent an elective surgery on her buttocks on Wednesday, the agency reported ZUMA Press Magnano ran her own modeling agency in Argentina, and had been a model and Miss Argentina in 1994. She also was the mother of 7-year-old twins. The cause of her death was under investigation, authorities said. News of her death shocked her fans. By Monday, a tribute page on the social networking site Facebook had more than 830 members. "This is a horrible day. We will miss you, Sol," one Facebook poster wrote. "You couldn't be any more beautiful than you already were," another person added. "You had to pay with your life." Magnano's most recent project was a runway show to be held in December in her hometown of San Francisco, Argentina, according to Telam. In recent years, Argentina has become an international destination for plastic surgery. The costs of such procedures there are much lower than in other countries. Estimates say that 1 in 30 Argentines has gone under the knife, making surgeons here some of the most experienced on the globe. Medical tourism has seen a huge jump over the past decade, and is projected to be a $100 billion global industry by 2010, according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions http://news.aol.com/article/solange-magnano-former-miss-argentina/792317

I have never been to the Pattaya campus but here is the address I found. Address:Thammasat University Pattaya Center, 39/4 Bang Lamung, Chonburi 20150 Thailand Telephone: +66 (0) 38259010-69

Hard to beleive he would do this operation at this late stage in his life. At age 77, Richard Ramsey is likely among the oldest people in the U.S. to undergo a sex-change operation. In June, the 20-year Navy veteran from New Jersey became Renee, telling her doctor, "Now I'm the lady I always knew I was," reported the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ramsey, who's one of about 700,000 people in the U.S. who would describe themselves as transgendered, says she knew from the time she was a child that she was "different" -- but went on to marry twice and have four children, the paper said. "Now, the hardest thing I have to do is learn to be a lady," Ramsey said. "When I get angry at someone, I have to practice acting like a lady instead of sounding off like I used to do." http://news.aol.com/health/article/navy-veteran-richard-ramsey-has-sex/761734

To each his own. Some families feel comfort to have the body buried and a gravesite to visit.

I saw on TV where Mexico City is also having a big ballon festival. They said it was an effort to bring back tourists after the big flu scare.

What does World AIDS Day entail? Is it a fund raising event? Or just making people aware of AIDS.

I see where the winning team was awarded a 100,000 baht prize.

Usually you get what you pay for. If you like a dentist and trust him/her, then why quibble over a few dollars? When it comes to health care, you deserve the best.

Do they have big crowds when the American football playoffs come up?

Oh yes, shall we start calling him St. Jimmie?

According to the above referenced article, when Roman puts up a $4.5 million bonds, he will be released and put under house arrest in his Swiss chalet. He will have an ankle braclet.