The new The Fireman album is out

The Fireman’s much anticipated third studio album Electric Arguments finally came out this week.

Listen to the album at http://myspace. com/thefiremanmusic or http://www. thefiremanmusic. com

To launch the album, earlier this week, Paul visited The Fire Station pub in London to chat to the world’s media about Electric Arguments.

Talking about the new album, Paul told the media, “ We had creative freedom to make this album any way we wanted. It could have been very carefully considered but that wouldn’t be The Fireman.” Talking about working with Youth he added, “I like working with someone. I like giving up control. It’s more fun than sitting in a room on your own all day. ”

On the decision to include vocals this time round, Paul commented, “The first two Fireman albums were instrumental. Youth suggested to me, ‘how about a bit of vocal?’ And I said, ‘well I haven’t got any songs, I’ve got no idea’. And because it’s The Fireman and anything goes, I said, ‘yeah sure’. So I just ad-libbed it and eventually a song came out of it. ”

Full-size cardboard figure causes bank standoff

A standoff at a New Jersey bank is over after police learned a "person" seen inside was actually a full-size cardboard figure.

Officers went to the PNC Bank in Montgomery Township on Thursday night after an alarm went off. They saw what they thought was at least one person through the windows of the bank, which had its blinds drawn.

The area was sealed off and three nearby apartment buildings were evacuated as a precaution. Meanwhile, authorities used bullhorns and made telephone calls in a bid to make contact with whoever might be in the bank.

After repeatedly failing to get a response, a SWAT team entered the building and discovered the cardboard figure.

It was not immediately clear what set off the bank alarm.

Unable to see and unwilling to quit

Cracked ribs made it hard to breathe. A chipped bone in his hip ached as he walked. And 60-mph winds stabbed at him like icy needles.

But at that moment, Trevor Thomas of Charlotte could not imagine feeling better.

He was a third-of-a-mile from the rocky summit of Mount Katahdin, a granite giant that climbs skyward out of Maine's wilderness.

The peak marked the end of a 2,175-mile journey, the completion of a through-hike on the Appalachian Trail. And for the first time in six months, Thomas knew for sure he was going to make it.

“Just keep moving,” he said to himself. “Whatever you do, don't stop.”

Hiking the entire Appalachian Trail is an accomplishment few people can claim. This year about 1,600 have tried and about 460 have finished.

Only one of them – Thomas – was blind.

Way to go!

Glued locks stalled the Black Friday sales

Glued locks stalled the Black Friday sales at a number of shops in downtown Charleston.

Vandals poured glue inside door locks on dozens of shops along King and Market streets on Friday.

A Charleston police officer estimated more than 20 merchants were affected.

A group of locksmiths were scrambling to open doors while shoppers waited outside.

Merchants didn't think the delayed opening would hurt much, since shoppers usually make it to downtown shops later in the day on Black Friday.

Wal-Mart Worker Crushed to Death on Black Friday

This is why we all should avoid retail stores on the day after Thanksgiving!

A worker at a New York Wal-Mart location was crushed to death this morning, "Black Friday," when hordes of shoppers overwhelmed him to get inside for bargain-hunting.

From the AP:

At least four other people were injured, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island was closed. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight people off my back."

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, which represented the deceased worker, has called for a investigation by OSHA and the NY State labor department.

Director of Special Projects for Local 1500 Patrick Purcell called Wal-mart's comments in response to the incident both "cold and heartless." "If the safety of their customers and workers was a top priority, then this never would have happened," Purcell stated. "Wal-mart must step up to the plate and ensure that all those injured, as well as the family of the deceased, be financially compensated for their injuries and their losses. Their words are weak. The community demands action," Purcell concluded.

Purcell also suggested that people visit the website walmartcrimereport.com to review other incidents of Wal-mart not providing a safe work and shopping experience.

Thief is 'victim' of his own crime

This is why thieves aren't smart.
You got to know who your 'victims' are!

A quick seven

Things we all are thankful for this Thanksgiving

1. The shrub will soon be gone. Regardless of all of the dismal forecasts of martial law and suspended elections (and knowing that he still has 54 days left for this kind of mischief), the Reign of Error is nearly over and, as a parting gift, Our Worst President Ever has ruined the neo-con movement as a political force; proven Milton Friedman’s untrammeled free trade and Arthur Laffer’s supply-side ‘Trickle Down’ economic theories a bitter joke by implementation; soured the majority of America on the right-wing agenda; lessened the political influence of the christopugicans; eliminated the chance of any future spawn of the shrub's family holding national office for many generations if ever, and destroyed the repugican party as a bonus.

2. President Barack Obama – if he does nothing else, just by his election he has changed the way the world sees us, and the way we see ourselves. And it will be refreshing to have a president that we can be proud of for a change, and one who can even complete a full sentence in grammatical English.

3. Big Media influence is waning as ‘Citizen Journalists’ on the net and in the blogosphere present opinions not found in the corporately-owned mass media. Americans now read more of the foreign press online than ever before, meaning we are gradually becoming less parochial and xenophobic in our knowledge of the world.

4. The GOP might actually nominate Sarah Palin as its presidential nominee in 2012, thereby guaranteeing its decline into a minor regional party sure to lose national elections for many, many generations to come. Short that, the GOP will be wandering lost in the wilderness – they have to either go left, and lose their base, or stay to the same course and learn defeat.

5. Karl Rove and his minions are finished as a force in politics, and Rove himself will face indictments up the whazoo after January 20th. He will be frog-marched in handcuffs yet.

6. The Buzz is, that hundreds of federal employees, silenced by fear or fiat during the reign of cabal, will be blowing the whistle following Obama’s inauguration. Can investigations, indictments and convictions be far behind?

7. Science and the Rule of Law will be respected once again by our government, and decisions will be made by a president who uses his brain for the job.

UBS poised to name US tax dodgers

Boy, could this get interesting ...

Considering it came less than two months after the last occasion when thousands of UBS shareholders assembled to hear about the Swiss banking group’s woes, Thursday’s special meeting in Lucerne held more information than might have been expected.

The 2,395 investors gathered in a dingy suburban hall and heard for the first time that the world’s biggest wealth manager looked poised to bow to US pressure and release the names of an unspecified number of American customers who may have committed tax fraud in squirreling away their assets.

They'll have some explaining to do ... to say the least ... on why they fucked the country over and denied the basics to our soldiers, working people, the young, the elderly and the infirmed.

Read more at Financial Times.

This'll burn you a new one

From the "Give me the money and screw you!" Department:

theodp writes "Bank of America has taken steps to cover up the original we-don't-need-no-stinking-America sentiment of its patent application for Country Assessment, which described BofA's innovative way of dealing with the problems of 'a typical American employee [who] demands a high salary, good benefits, a good work environment, vacation time, and other job-related perks' -- relocating jobs to India or the Philippines.

BofA has instructed the USPTO to strike its remarks about why employing Americans is such a bad idea, and to replace references to India and the Philippines with 'Country X' and 'Country P'.

How clever.

By the way, BofA came under fire Tuesday as news broke that CEO Ken Lewis, who is currently preaching 'tough love' for the Big 3 automakers was quietly spending $7B of his spare cash to up BofA's stake in China Construction Bank after snagging a whopping $25B in U.S. bailout money."

See more of this at TechDirt.com

National Buy Nothing Day

Remember today is not only the one time only National Heritage Day for American Indians ... it is also ...

National Buy Nothing Day!

National Buy Nothing Day is a celebration of rejecting the consumerism of the retailers and sending them a message that we want better products for better prices and not just teasers of one item at a ridiculous price that they want thousands to fight over in the scheme of getting them in the stores and then gouging them on other items in want is aptly termed Black Friday.

Turkey Awards for 2008

Of course there can be no end of the year celebrations without remembering the 'Turkeys' that paraded themselves before us in 2008 ...

Bill O'Reilly
Sean Hanity
Rush Limbaugh
Ann Coulter
Michelle Milken
Joe 'The Plumber'

This is getting to be a pattern ... wing-nuts dominating the 'Turkey Awards'.

Top Political Turkeys of 2008

Yesterday was Turkey Day in the United States, but in the world of Politics everyday is 'Turkey Day'!

Here is a list of the Political Turkeys of 2008

Rudy Giuliani
Elizabeth Dole
Ted Stevens
John McCain
Karl Rove
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Robin Hayes
Pat McCrory

Hey, and they're all repugicans!
Now who would have thought that!

Daily Horoscope

The daily horoscope says:

You're starting to see how this could lead to a steady paycheck.

Interesting?!