I spent almost a year living in Beijing, and, whenever I told people I was Jewish, there was fairly standard reply: “犹太人很聪明很有钱”.

Translation: “Oh, Jews are smart and rich.” I even purchased an (extremely offensive) book in Shanghai called the “The How Jews Make Money Pillow-Side Reader.” Yes, that’s a rough translation, which is nothing compared to some of the “facts” in the book. For example, did you know that JP Morgan and John D Rockefeller were Jewish? I sure didn’t. Wait, because they weren’t.

At any rate, Brown Alum and current Beijing resident Alison Klayman, who’s blogging the Olympic madness over at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, went to Houhai Park in Beijing for a closer look at what Chinese folks think about the people of Israel:

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In what amounts to a pretty unsurprising find, human cultures have been fascinated by gender norms, and more importantly flatulence, since the dawn of civilization. Thus spake Reuters:

The world’s oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 BC and suggests toilet humor was as popular with the ancients as it is today.

It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.”

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OK, so we should start off by pointing out that there is no KFC in Fallujah. There are, however, some enterprising restaurateurs, and apparently, some chicken.

The combination has resulted in a bootleg KFC reportedly taking root in that embattled city. So, while it’s unclear that business is booming, and while it’s pretty clear that (according to KFC) this is not an actual KFC, let’s not let that stop Fox and Friends touting the fast-food fryery as a sign of progress. After all, it’s Tommy Franks’ word against yours:

The weirdest part of this story is that even though it’s premised on a bare-breasted lie (and broadcast on a wing and a prayer) there’s still a colonel of truth to it. (more…)

The most interesting thing to me about Eileen Slocum, who died Sunday, was not her long reign as the grande dame of Newport society and the Rhode Island republican party, but rather her extended family. The year was 1969, a time when many people were far from walking the walk — interracial marriage had been illegal in a dozen states until the 1967 Supreme Court decision, Loving v. Virginia.  It was in this climate that Eileen’s daughter Beryl married the son of New York congressman and flamboyant civil rights activist, Adam Clayton Powell, Junior. This particular congressman was really something — movie star handsome, liked the ladies — and fought hard for the rights of blacks in his district (now Rangel’s bailiwick) and shook up the old-boys’ club in Washington. He was a force of nature and the word ‘firebrand’ was pretty much attached to his name. Such was Eileen’s power in Newport society that when she decided to take the grandchildren she shared with Mr. Powell to the all-white Bailey’s Beach, no one dared say a thing. Decide for yourself how ‘brave’ an act this was… somewhat relevant photo after the jump. (more…)

I mean really serious.

Because in case you have heard, the most credible believer in alien/human encounters since Dennis Kucinich has been recently thrust into the public eye. Actually, as an Apollo 14 spacedude who chilled on the surface of the moon for nine hours, he is a helluva lot more credible than Kucinich on these issues. His name is Dr. Edgar Mitchell. Here’s what he has to say:

Oh yeah by the way he grew up in Roswell, NM. Oh, and he’s also into some far out stuff, like dyadic models of consciousness. At any rate, after Mitchell recently renewed his claims that folks within the government were secretly covering up over 60 years of extraterrestrial contact, NASA released a delicately worded statement lauding Mitchell as a great American and “disagreeing with his opinions.”

A little more context - some of the more credible (eg less easily explained) UFO sightings in recent memory occurred over Texas earlier this year, with all the fanfare and t-shirt sales you might expect from a small town’s encounter with Aliens/international media.

So what’s up? Because talking about aliens in a serious way is so deeply coded to mean you are crazy (which is why asking Denny K the question during the presidential debate was a way to de-legitimize him), I almost hesitate to continue. But since the New York Times broke the ice today with a pretty rational, national security-related argument for investigating UFOs, perhaps the time is right. (more…)

How do you blow a .49 on a breathalyzer? Does that mean that half of your blood is alcohol?

For the answers to these questions and more, we turn to 34 year old North Providence resident and former Brown University presidential chef Stanley Kobierowski, who recently crashed into an electronic message board on I-95 near the mall in what turns out to be the drunkest attempt to drive, or do anything except die, in the history of Rhode Island.

In fact, according to variousw booze-ologists unearthed by the ProJo, this dude should not have been concious:

“For the average individual, there is a very severe risk of death when you start to approach a reading of .4,” said James Harasymiw, director of Alcohol Detection Services in Big Bend, Wis….

“He is in a very small class of people because most people — even heavy drinkers — would be unconscious or approaching death to get up to .5. The danger with this guy is that with that kind of tolerance, you may appear to be fine one moment and unconscious the next.”

Harasymiw calculated… that the man would have had to have had roughly 24 drinks — defined as a 12-ounce glass of beer or a shot and a half of whiskey — over six hours.

For those of you keeping score, that translates out into a whiskey shot every ten minutes for six hours straight. (more…)

Via RIF:

The next Drinking Liberally event, celebrating the near end of the end of the Bush Presidency and the re-confirmation of an America based on the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, will take place tomorrow night at the Wild Colonial. 8PM. Be there or be Right Wing!

Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbor. It makes you shoot at your landlord and it makes you miss him.

Sláinte chuig na fir, agus go mairfidh na mná go deo.

An update for Dave’s coverage of last night’s immigration raids that took janitors across the state–RI Jobs with Justice and others are holding a press conference in about half an hour to respond to last night’s events:

Last night ICE detained 31 people as they got to work.
Stand together today to say we won’t let raids break up our communities.
Join us TODAY (7/16) at 3pm in front of family court. 1 Dorrance Plaza.

You can also read about the raids in today’s BeloJo.

I’ve often seen gentrification as a difficult problem to tackle. For many of my friends—young, working people trying to live in diverse areas and support themselves on small, non-profit or public service salaries—it is a struggle to find housing without becoming an agent of gentrification. But a New York Times piece today about Mount Morris Park, a traditionally-black Harlem neighborhood, explores one of the uglier examples of that phenomenon.

Timothy Williams chronicles the recent dispute over the neighborhood’s Marcus Garvey Park where, since 1969, drummers from Africa and the Caribbean have played an important role in shaping the social fabric and dynamic of the place. “The musicians,” he explains, “who play until 10 p.m. every summer Saturday, are widely credited with helping to make the park safer over the years.”

Across the street from the park however, at 2002 Fifth Avenue, is “a new seven-story cream and red brick luxury co-op with a doorman, $1 million apartments and a lobby with a fireplace.” Predictably, there have been some disputes about the character of the neighborhood.

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If you thought the Rhode Island General Assembly was shenanigan-prone, think again - our neighbor to the north has got us beat (at least for this week), and Wonkette’s got the scoop.

First, there’s the heartwarming tale of a Lowell, MA legislator who gets his jollies by dressing like a homeless man and groping women in public thoroughfares. Not so crazy, you say? Well, when Representative Genital-grabber was caught, he apparently ran off, knocked over a hot dog stand during the ensuing street chase, and, when cornered, gave the police the name of a different state legislator. Fantastic!

Next, we have a legislator from yon Taunton-towne who took his opposition to Jessica’s Law a little too far. Describing how the law would force young victims of abuse to testify, Rep. James Fagan noted that, as a defense attorney, he would rip the little victims into vomit-and-tears-drenched shreds. Here’s the video:

Round Providence, we know David Segal as a Dose poobah and Progressive Dem state legislator, who fights for the environment, affordable housing, progressive taxation, fair school funding, and democracy and criminal justice reform.

But in Knoxville, they know David Segal as the bellicose Ice Bears Right Wing who, according to dropyourgloves.com, fights for basically any reason, to the tune of .55 incidents of fisticuffs per game.

Watch here as the minor league ice-pugilist kicks the crap out of some dude:

Update! Segal has been traded to the Muskegon Fury, where he leads the team in Penalty Infraction Minutes (PIM). Go team! (more…)

Look, folks over at the Associated Press… I know things are bad. Real bad. Still, when you’re penning the End Times journalism pick of the week, write a decent headline.

Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.

Horatio Alger, twist in your grave.

Twist, damn you!

In other sad news, and a subtle reminder of how ridiculous this headline is, Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is dropping out five days before the the presidential runoff election there.

At a news conference, Mr. Tsvangirai, who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, or M.D.C., said he was unwilling to ask the party’s supporters to go to the polls on Friday “when that vote will cost them their lives.”

Mr. Tsvangirai’s decision came on a day when governing party youth militia armed with iron bars, sticks and other weapons beat his supporters as they sought to attend a rally for him in Harare.

Big ups to the Daily Dose’s favorite kickball team, the Providence Burnsiders, for their first win of the season against the much favored French Revenge. As the commentators named him, Tall Skinny Guy, Tibet Sprague acted as the Green Monster in the outfield. Nothing got past those lanky arms.

We had some amazing plays by Candace Toth and her double out ways. The Hurwitz family was in full effect. There was all sorts of backing each other up and just all around good spirit. I think it might have been the new shoulder pads that look kinda like wings that never fully grew in.  Red Bull may give you wings, but nothing makes your head spin like Dan Nesh’s moonshine and that’s right, ladies and gentlemen, he’s on the Burnsiders.
The team really came together and it looks like it is going to be a great season. Big team hugs and a hearty HIP HIP HIZZAH!

Remember Y6B, the year when the global population hit 6 billion? Wasn’t that, like, a month ago?

Turns out it was actually 9 years ago, in 1999. So, according to the J-Curve, we’re about due for another billion.

The world’s population will reach 7 billion in 2012, even as the global community struggles to satisfy its appetite for natural resources, according to a new government projection. There are 6.7 billion people in the world today.

The world’s population surpassed 6 billion in 1999, meaning it will take only 13 years to add a billion people.

By comparison, the number of people didn’t reach 1 billion until 1800, said Carl Haub, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau. It didn’t reach 2 billion until 130 years later.

Meanwhile, some oversexed Massachusetts 15 year olds have entered a “pregnancy or bust” pact, which is totally not helping. (more…)

Just a reminder.

You can peep the schedule for New England’s 2nd largest pride celebration in full here. As Matthew noted previously, the Saturday headliner is 80’s teen pop sensation and current mid-lifer Tiffany. Woot woot!

Well, I’ve been waiting for a story ridiculous enough to make me come out of hiding, and here it is. An Illinois man, for some reason deemed ‘artist’ by the AP, has legally changed his name to “In God we Trust.” The New Haven Register reports:

A school bus driver and amateur artist from the Chicago suburb of Zion has legally changed his name to “In God We Trust.” A Lake County circuit court judge approved Steve Kreuscher’s (CROY’-shirz) name change petition on Friday. The 57-year-old’s first name was changed to “In God,” while his last name was changed to “We Trust.” He says the new name symbolizes the help God gave him during tough times and says he can’t wait to begin signing his artwork with the new moniker.

In other news, I’m changing my name to “Barack Obama.”