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From a Raleigh, NC TV station - 'Clair' To Spread Clean Air Message Across Region:

A character modeled after a 10-year-old Chapel Hill student soon will be teaching youngsters across the region about the dangers of air pollution.

Clair, which is short for "clean air," is at the heart of a campaign being launched by Triangle Air Awareness to encourage residents to maintain the area's high quality of life by reducing air pollution.

"I hate to say it, but children listen a lot more closely. They go home and tell parents, 'We need to not drive so much. You need to turn off those lights when you leave the room.' They're very invested," clean air advocate Anne Galamb said.

They "go home" and hit up their parents with some ecoweenie propaganda they've learned? Where the heck were they? We knew the answer, of course:

"We also thought children would be more interested in hearing about clean air from somebody that was a child."

So, the organization enlisted McDougal Elementary School fifth-grader Madeline Taylor to play the role of Clair and found sponsors to finance a tour of area schools this fall.

Why is it that "professional educators" can always find classroom time for this sort of piffle, but can't manage to teach kids to read, write, or do arithmetic? One wonders how much time they would provide for a "spokestyke" named Neutron Nick who wanted to tell the kids about nuclear power, provided, of course, that his parents would let him skip class.

(Via Air Pollution News)

Everyone needs a hobby

Pupils perform 'alarming' feat:

A high-pitched alarm which cannot be heard by adults has been hijacked by schoolchildren to create ringtones so they can get away with using phones in class.

Techno-savvy pupils have adapted the Mosquito alarm, used to drive teenage gangs away from shopping centres.

They can receive calls and texts during lessons without teachers having the faintest idea what is going on

The alarm, which has been praised by police, is highly effective because its ultra-high sound can be heard only by youths but not by most people over 20.

Schoolchildren have recorded the sound, which they named Teen Buzz, and spread it from phone to phone via text messages and Bluetooth technology.

Now they can receive calls and texts during lessons without teachers having the faintest idea what is going on.

The article also asks why the pesky tykes don't just put the phone on vibrate. It's not as much fun, of course.

How do you say chutzpah in Chinese?

Chinese researcher fakes chip development:

A university in Shanghai has fired the dean of its microelectronics school for faking the development of a series of digital signal processors, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

"The Hanxin computer chip series are fake and the state-funded chip research is fraudulent," the Xinhua report said.
...
In March, the Chinese press published allegations that Chen fabricated the development of the Hanxin chip series, passing off remarked chips from Freescale Semiconductor as products of his own work. Friday's Xinhua report did not detail how Chen's fraud was carried out.

The Hanxin 1 chip was announced in 2003 and followed by several subsequent versions. At the time of their introduction, the Hanxin chips were hailed as a milestone in China's efforts to develop its own intellectual property. They were also cited as evidence that Shanghai was on its way to becoming a global center of chip design and production.

It must suck to be Professor Chen.

Today's Hoot!

There's a big gaming convention called E3 going on in Los Angeles, but the fun is being rationed - Prudes finger naked E3 Expo strumpets:

The Entertainment Software Association has effectively ruined the best chance that the average gamer will ever get of seeing a authentic expanse of female flesh by ordering "booth babes" at the E3 Expo in LA to put it away - or face the consequences.

No pictures by following the link. On the other hand, they could use the gals as-is in Chicago where that pesky global warming is promising days of unseasonably cold weather. Don't anyone tell Al Gore.

I support the illegal alien boycott on May 1!

I've always wanted to shop in an uncrowded Wal-Mart! (badda bing)

As long as the illegal aliens are marching, maybe they'll march back across the border! (badda boom)

I've got a million of them, but I'm willing to share the limelight. Check out Congressman Steve King of Iowa:

The May 1st anti-Gringo-fest is also being billed as "A Day Without Immigrants" which is a misnomer on a couple of counts. First, the threatened boycott fails to conjure the image of a Norwegian refusing to buy his May 1 lutefisk at the corner Fareway. Second, the pro-amnesty groups are insistent on confusing legal and illegal immigration. Let's not start mixing our apples and oranges. The issue before Congress is illegal immigration. Perhaps the May 1st boycott should give America a glimpse into "A Day Without ILLEGAL Immigration."

I can hardly wait!

Actually, it seems that there have been quite a few days recently without illegal aliens only it was just the illegal alien profiteers who noticed:

Thousands of illegal immigrants stayed home this week amid rumors of immigration roundups that federal officials say were unfounded, leaving some industries scrambling for workers.

Hold on, here comes the good part.

Len Mills, executive vice president of Associated General Contractors of South Florida, estimated at least 50 percent of workers on construction jobs in the region had not shown up for work.

"This is costing millions of dollars a day, and I don't know who is going to pay for it," he said.

We already are, Len. But Len's a regular Einstein compared to the next profiteer:

"Everybody's edgy," said Chris Ruske, owner of a southern New Jersey nursery. "There's an awful lot of rhetoric, and you wonder what's true. You wonder if the immigration Gestapo are coming to get you."

A little Googling produces an article with some fetching snaps of Chris who pretends to be doing some physical labor despite carrying a watermelon under his shirt and fear of the pesky Gestapo. I'm sure his Millville neighbors enjoy supporting his cut rate illegal workforce with free medical care and schooling.

The rumors affected a wide variety of businesses. In New Jersey and New York, day-laborer gathering sites drew only a trickle of workers.
...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Dean Boyd said the agency has received hundreds of calls about immigration raids in recent days. Such rumors are typical after a raid like the one last week in which more than 1,000 employees of pallet manufacturer IFCO were arrested at more than 40 company sites nationwide, he said.

"However, we don't conduct random sweeps," he said. "All our arrests are the result of investigations, evidence and intelligence."

Aw c'mon, Dean! You could do a random sweep at an illegal alien march and fulfill your quota for the year!

Of course, all the usual suspects are truly supporting the illegal alien whinefest. My favorites:

Teachers’ unions in urban areas have advocated that children should not be held to account for being truant. Confirming this, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District, with three-quarters of a million children, said that school principals have been advised to join the protests to keep order among the children who may walk out.

Yeah right. Who's higher on the list of illegal alien profiteers than "professional educators?" Oops, there is another group who gets the honor:

In spite of the pleas by Mayor Villaraigosa and Cardinal Mahony, the Democrat leaders of the California State Assembly have decided to call their own boycott for May 1, canceling legislative session that day in deference to the protests. But, showing that their commitment only goes so far, they declared Monday a “check-in” day so as not to forfeit their $459 tax-free per diem for the weekend and Monday. A true legislative walkout would have led to lawmakers losing per diem pay for Saturday and Sunday, as well as Monday since spending more than three consecutive days away from the Capitol triggers a halt in the highly-prized extra pay.

The legislative protest by the Democrats caught Republican Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy’s attention. Mountjoy remarked at the close of Thursday’s session that he had spoken to former members of the legislature who where willing to come to work on Monday for half price. The only issue was that they were, “undocumented by the Secretary of State.” Does that mean that “undocumented” lawmakers are willing to do the work that American lawmakers aren’t willing to do?

I guess there's a booming market in illegal alien comedy, but they better work fast because there's going to be no shortage in California of cheap legislative labor:

Mexican lawmakers are on their way to Los Angeles to participate in Monday's boycott and demonstrations in support of amnesty for all illegal aliens in this country. The Mexican government lawmakers last night passed a resolution showing their overwhelming support for the demonstrations and boycott in the United States. All political parties in the lower house of the Mexican Congress approved the resolution.

Yet more evidence that Hitler was a nincompoop. Why did he bother with a messy blitzkrieg when he could have just sent a human wave of civilians and politicians over the Polish, French, and Russian borders?

Remember, folks: if it's closed on May 1st, you don't ever want to do business there again.

Today's Hoot!

Sarandon Bulking Up for Sheehan Movie Role. She's already got Media Whore Mama's fashion sense.

Doing the jobs no one else will do

Mexico set to join space race:

Flying Burrito Brothers

Mexican lawmakers are in the process of setting up a national space agency, according to Reuters. The lower house in Mexico City has given the green light to a proposal that could see rocketry in development within the year.

Must be some spare change south of the border.

The initial outlay would be just $2m, about enough for an inflatable globe and a bottle rocket, but it's a start. The early days of the agency will concentrate on developing technology and working with universities and industry on satellite launches.

Not everyone's keen on the idea. Ruling group the National Action Party voted against the move, saying the cash would be better spent on trying to tackle widespread poverty.

Explain to 'em how they could use rockets to deliver illegal aliens over the border and they'll come around.

Send for some professional educators - we're having a lineup down at the jail

Interested-Participant lately has been chronicling the news of what passes for education in today's American schools and that, of course, wouldn't be complete without reports on teachers, er, "getting it on" with their students. A couple recent faves:

Teacher Accused of Sexually Abusing and Piercing Students

A 32-year-old special education teacher at McHenry West High School, Laura Sieradzki, has been accused of having sex with a 17-year-old male student and piercing two female students' bodies in an "inappropriate area." I'm guessing it wasn't the cafeteria.

Arkansas Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy

A spokesperson for the Malvern Police Department said Henderson and the boy met at the school and subsequently had sexual intercourse. At first, Henderson denied the accusations but changed her tune when police let her listen to some recorded telephone messages she left for the boy. Her response was a simple, "Damn!"

It's all Bush's fault, but no word on women and minorities

Huge dip in U.S. deaths startles experts:

In what appears to be an amazing success for American medicine, preliminary government figures released Wednesday showed that the annual number of deaths in the U.S. dropped by nearly 50,000 in 2004 -- the biggest decline in nearly 70 years.

The 2 percent decrease, reported by the National Center for Health Statistics, came as a shock to many, because the U.S. is aging, growing in population and getting fatter.

And there's more pollution, more junk food, more global warming, more tainted water, more dead fish, more SUVs. and more general willfullness on the part of the American citizenry in not listing to their betters who really know what's good for them. Gotta love it.

Today's Hoot!

The Iowahawk Guest Commentary by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is chockful of rich creamy goodness, but I especially liked this part:

I’m serious, why does Zawahiri insist on making nice with these infidel college dickslaps? Okay, so a few dhimmis throw us a few bucks every month. But Holy f**king Prophet, otherwise they’re as useless as tits on an Imam. “Sorry, Zarkman, can’t help you with the wiring diagrams, my Ph.D. is in deconstructivist semiotics,” whatever the f**k that means. I mean, holy dung, how do these motards chew gum and protest march at the same time? And the ones that actually do get over here never want to volunteer for anything other than being a stupid hostage, and then they start whining for vegan meals and high-speed internet, and then they get all pissy and crying when you actually cut off one of the other’s heads. Helloooooo, Moby McMoonbeam: that’s what you f**king hostages are for. S**t, I swear the only victory we’ve had lately is when Team Satan came and took those Unitarian peace creeps off our hands. Your problem now, dawg.

Nothing that couldn't be solved by airdropping them without a parachute.