Amazing Stuff

(This story has circulated the Internet and appeared in my inbox a few times. It’s been verified by Snopes.com.)

During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever.

All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then, they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the “no man’s land” between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a “Christmas” truce.

The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. In a few places, allied troops fired at the Germans as they climbed out of their trenches. But the Germans were persistent and Christmas would be celebrated even under the threat of impending death. Continued

This is really cool!

In broadcasting the world’s first live 3-D football game to theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston on Thursday evening, the NFL promises an “up close, personal, visceral” experience that could open a new revenue stream for the league.

This guy is amazing…

Video captures a very lucky penguin escaping a pod of killer whales chasing their next meal…

*

*

That would be truly impressive. The Washington Post reports:

District and federal officials are preparing for as many as 4 million people for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, a crowd that would be three or four times larger than previous big events on the Mall.

Only a fraction of those people will be close enough to get a good look at the action. But officials are planning extra JumboTrons at the Mall and along the inaugural parade route so that spectators can feel a part of the historic day.

[...]

Officials are talking about opening large sections of the Mall east of the Washington Monument, a space normally used for staging the many components of the inaugural parade, Fenty said. That would make the Mall a viewing area that experts said could accommodate several million people — significantly more than in the past. Officials have not said where the parade groups will gather instead.

The changes would not affect the 240,000 people who will get free tickets in the space closest to the swearing-in ceremony.

[...]

Obama is known for choosing venues where he can address huge crowds. In August in Denver, he accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination with a speech before 84,000 at Invesco Field. On election night, about 200,000 jammed Chicago’s Grant Park for his victory speech.

[...]

It does not appear that the 300 acres of the Mall in the two-mile stretch from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial has ever been filled with people, according to Terry Adams, a National Park Service spokesman.

The 1995 Million Man March, which drew about a million people, give or take a few hundred thousand, filled two-thirds of the one-mile section between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, according to photographs taken at the time. Farouk El-Baz, a Boston University expert who analyzed the crowd size, estimated that the entire two-mile stretch is so open that it could hold 3 million people.

*
It would certainly be a sight to behold. I would love to be there, if for no other reason than the unusually historic nature of this particular inauguration. But three things will keep me away: I don’t like standing outside in cold weather, I don’t like big crowds and I have to work on that day (although I could take it off if I really want to, but the first two reasons are enough not to make the trip). No worries though; I’ll watch the replay of the festivities from the comfort of my cozy couch.

From the ABA Journal:

Surprised to find an intruder with a softball bat demanding his wallet when he awakened one night earlier this month at his Tempe, Ariz., apartment, 23-year-old Alex Botsios reportedly did his best to find his money.

But when the intruder tried to take the laptop computer containing all of Botsios’ work as a first-year law student at Arizona State University, Botsios protested … and then decided to make a fight of it, according to the Dallas Morning News Crime Blog.

“I was like, ‘Dude, no—please, no!’ ” Botsios tells KPHO 5, a local CBS affiliate in Arizona. “I have all my case notes … that’s four months of work!”

Botsios, who hails from Keller, Texas, says he was initially frightened, but rushed the intruder and eventually realized he was armed only with the bat, the newspaper blog reports.

The alleged intruder was Gabriel Saucedo, 23, who was overpowered by the angry law student.

Saucedo needed stitches before he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping, reports KPHO. “Other than a bruised knuckle and a few scratches, Botsios was unharmed.”

From Obama’s speech last night:

… our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

*

*

Fill in the blank…

The ____________ uses crises, real or manufactured, to expand the power of government at the expense of the individual and private property. He has spent, in earnest, 70 years evading the Constitution’s limits on governmental power. If ________________ don’t stand up to this, who will? If they don’t offer serious alternatives that address the current circumstances AND defend the founding principles, who will?

And the correct answers (as intended by the original author) are Continued